This story takes place in Castilla y León, Spain, a place known for having 1,600

specimens, according to the regional census, of Iberian wolves. A number of which

Ramón Barrios, the protagonist of this story, is well aware, as the forty-five-year-old
works as a full-time forest ranger from his cabin in the north of the country. However,
this man isn't alone, he lives with his wife and his beloved dog. Ramón couldn't be
happier with the profession he had chosen, as he felt a faithful nature lover, and
being a forest ranger gave him the chance to contribute as much as possible with
wildlife and the forest that surrounded him.

One night, while he and his wife were sleeping in their bedroom, he felt his dog
Spock licking his hand that he had left outside the bed. This was a very rare behavior
of the dog, when the dog noticed its owner woke up, it let Ramón know with its
corporal language that something was going on and wanted him to follow it. The man
got up from the bed and listened to his pet.

He knew his dog, and he knew it would never wake him in the middle of the night for
nothing, he had probably seen something from what it wanted to warn his owner.
Getting up, he told her wife: "stay in bed, I'm going to see what's happening outside".
He put on his boots, grabbed an overcoat and of course took his hunting gun in case
something bad came up. This was a zone where wild animals could be found, so it
was better to be safe.

Ramon followed his dog to the henhouse. Perhaps Spock was telling him that a
chicken had escaped. The man could see how his pet was feeling anxious all the
way. The man asked him: "What's the matter, boy? I've never seen you so nervous".
Once he arrived at the henhouse, he could notice there was a blood trail at the
entrance, whatever was bleeding, no doubt was inside the place where the man
raised his chickens. Perhaps a bear had sneaked in and was eating his chickens, so
the man readied his hunting weapon and slowly walked in, watching for danger with
Spott behind him, he didn't want to put his pet in danger.

When the man turned on the light, he was in for a big surprise. On the ground,
hidden in a corner, was a she-wolf breathing heavily. The she-wolf saw him and
made no gesture to indicate to the forest ranger that she was ready to attack him.
This man had been in the profession for years, so he could easily recognise the
behavior of the animals.

Behind him he could hear Spock growling at the she-wolf. Ramon calmed his dog
down, he quickly understood what the she-wolf was doing there. The animal had a
wound on its paw, apparently a cut, so it was shedding a little blood. It wasn't a bad
wound, but it did need to be treated soon. This injury was the reason why the
she-wolf had come to the forest ranger's house. When Ramon got closer to see the
injury, he noticed something else that would further explain this she-wolf's
desperation to ask for help.

This animal's breasts were swollen, indicating that she was pregnant, but it was also
clear from her belly that she wasn't far from giving birth. With such a wound, the
she-wolf could die in childbirth, greatly harming her cubs who, without a mother to
care for them and feed them, could die in a short time. Ramon was moved by this
mother, he looked for his materials and began to treat her paw in that same place
under moonlight in the middle of the night. The forest ranger's job hadn't timetable
when it came to helping animals. Soon after, Ramón's wife came out of the house
worried that her husband had not returned to bed. She walked to the henhouse only
to find to her surprise that her husband was calmly healing a she-wolf's paw. The
woman was a little startled at first, but it wasn't uncommon to see her husband
helping any animal in need.

Once he finished healing the animal, Ramón let her stay in the henhouse while he
finished healing her wound. The next day he would bring her food to make her stay
more comfortable. And so it was. The forest ranger came back to the bed with his
wife that night and the next day the she-wolf was still there, who received him with a
little howl, which could be interpreted as a quite friendly good morning. Ramon
placed some food on her and spoke to the she-wolf: "You can stay for the duration of
your childbirth, just don't eat the chickens".

The man smiled while he was pronouncing these last words. Though he really hoped
that the she-wolf had understood him. A couple of weeks went by and the family and
the she-wolf became more pleasant to live with. The forest ranger had set up a sort
of little house for this mother-to-be so that she would be comfortable when she gave
birth, and her leg was completely healed.

During all this time, the she-wolf had behaved excellently, as if she were just another
dog. Ramon wanted to believe that this was her way of thanking him for saving both
the she-wolf and his children. Finally, the day of the birth arrived, Ramon's wife
wanted to aid the she-wolf and the forest ranger calmed her down: "No, honey, we
must let nature act on its own, she already knows what she has to do, let's just leave
her alone so she can live her process as she would in nature".

If this was the correct decision or not, the wife listened to her husband and they
together went out of the henhouse, leaving the she-wolf alone so she began her
labors in childbirth. What they were able to help her with was to go to the nearby
village to buy some milk for the puppies that were on their way. When they returned
home, they found the beautiful scene where the she-wolf had already given birth to
four healthy cubs.

It was moments like these that drove Ramón to carry on with her work, for it was
thanks to her that these four puppies were born into the world. The woman was
moved when she saw these four little grey wolves feeding next to their mother. Tears
came to her eyes. The she-wolf was exhausted but satisfied. Now she had to
prepare herself for the great challenge of being a mother and taking care of her
children.

Another weeks went by and Ramon the forest ranger continued helping the she-wolf
with feeding her and her puppies, even Spock could be seen as a father figure to
these puppies, the old dog played with the puppies, and they kept following him
around. Once the she-wolf made a full recovery and the cubs were big enough to
walk, she knew she already had to return to its habitat.

The farewell was tremendously emotional. The she-wolf approached the man who
had helped her and gave him affectionate licks and allowed each of her offspring to
say goodbye to this family who had taken them in so lovingly. You could see Spock's
sadness, somehow he knew he was saying goodbye to this family. Ramon tenderly
stroked all the cubs and the she-wolf and said goodbye to them, telling them they
could come back whenever they wanted. He was not sure if they would understand
him, but it would not be the first time that an animal surprised him with its intelligence
and its ability to understand the words of humans. In the end the farewell was simply
a goodbye and not forever.

As the months went by, it could be seen that from time to time the cubs, now grown
up, would drop by the ranger's house and his family from time to time. They even
took the time to play with Spock even though they already outnumbered him in size.
Occasionally Ramon would find previously hunted rabbits on his doorstep and once
he even came across a wild boar. Clearly these were gifts from this family of wolves
who still thanked the ranger for the noble act he had done for them when they
needed him most.