The Wolf's Footprint

A bad summer, and the crops didn’t grow. Now winter is coming. Everyone is hungry. People are searching for nettles and acorns.

Elka and her little brother Daw huddle under their blankets, trying to keep warm. Elka is too hungry to sleep. Awake in the dark, she listens to her parents whispering.

“I don’t want to watch them starve. Take them into the wood and leave them. Take them far in, so they won’t find their way back, and leave them.”

The next day their father takes them into the wood, to look for mushrooms. Daw goes along innocently, holding his father’s hand. Elka goes because she doesn’t want Daw to be alone.

The light fades. Their father moves away into the darkness among the trees. He doesn’t come back.

And then the wolves come…

Where do these lost children belong – in the village with the people who left them to starve? Or, in the wood, with the wolves?

'No one writes this kind of dark tale better than Price... brilliantly reworks folk themes... an atmospheric and poignant story.  Not a word is wasted.'  Books For Keeps.

'This is a powerful piece of writing - a folk tale where difficult issues are confronted, no compromises allowed and no happy ending guaranteed.

There's no escaping the anger of the little girl who decides to leave the world of her parents and remain with the pack of wolves who looked after her - nor the loneliness of the brother who pines for her at the edge of the forest. This is a classic.'  Carousel


This book is republished by the author, with illustrations by Andrew Price, because of the continued demand for it, from schools and the general public, after it had gone out of print.

Please note: a decision was taken not to fix the format, so that the font-size and line spacing can be changed on e-readers. However, depending on the e-reader used and the font-size chosen, the picture sizes will also change, and in some cases, may become too large for the page. This is unavoidable without fixing the format, which has other disadvantages.

Readers may need to experiment to find the size that best suits their personal taste..