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Long ago, in a cave by the wide blue sea, there lived a wolf named Umi. He was huge and quiet, and he never laughed nor smiled. Every day, he would come out of his cave only to hunt for food and to find the supplies he needed. Never did he once paused to greet the other animals that lived nearby.
Everyone who lived around knew Umi, and they have all gotten used to his behavior. They thought that he just didn't want to be disturbed. Or maybe he didn't want to have friends. No one really knew for certain. But despite of that, Umi was one of the reasons why the animals felt very safe to live in the area.
The animals believed that the place was quite dangerous, especially during night-time. Many of them had claimed to have seen the shadow of a large creature roaming around their homes. They also said that the creature produced a terrifying sound that added up to its myteriousness. There were no reported incidents of attack yet, but they knew it was better to be safe than sorry.
But Star, a little cub, never believed their tales. She would sneak out from their home at night to watch the sky and the tiny objects that she was named from. She loved watching them quietly as the night breeze blew against her face. She had done it so many times, and she was certain that no one was going to harm her, or even look for her. But that night, her mother -- who happened to notice her absence -- went out to take her home.
Star's mother walked along the large trees nervously as she looked for her daughter. She quietly thanked the moon for providing her enough light. But not far from their home, she noticed a shadow of a creature she didn't recognize.
The creature was huge, and even just its shadow looked fierce. The mother bear gasped when she realized that it might be the creature that everyone was talking about. She peeked quietly as the creature cried out in a very strange voice. This confirmed her suspicion, and mother bear ran to the nearest neighbor and woke them up.
She told them everything she'd seen and heard, and they decided to catch the strange creature once and for all. They woke their other neighbors, and soon, they had a full army. Mother bear brought them to the spot where she saw the shadow, and they attacked him at once. The creature cried in pain as the animals tackled him to the ground.
Meanwhile, the little cub didn't have any hint of what was going on, but she was close enough to hear the cries. She recognized it immediately, and she quickly stood and followed the source of the sound.
"I am here! Where are you?" the cub called out to her best friend. Strange, she thought. Soon, she heard the commotion near her home. "No!," she cried as she ran to save her friend.
"Stop it! He didn't do anything wrong!," Star screamed as the animals stared at her questioningly.
"This creature had been lurking around in the dark, who knows what he's up to?," an old squirrel said.
"I've always known he was not one of us. He never spoke to anyone, he couldn't even look at us!," the doe said, hiding behind her mate.
Star began to cry when she saw the wolf helplessly pinned onto the ground. It was her fault. If it wasn't for her, Umi wouldn't roam around in the night. He was only there to look after her.
"Yes, he's not one of you. Because he would never hurt anyone just because they wouldn't speak!"
Everyone fell silent. The little cub took this opportunity to tell them everything. From the first time they met when she fell hard from a tree, and the wolf rushed as soon as he heard her cries. Since then, she said, they've become good friends. Umi stayed with her whenever she went out late at night to watch the sky. Umi stayed with her and listened to her silly stories about her day. She also explained that the only reason why he was quiet was because he was shy.
The animals looked at each other in guilt. They realized that they have been cruel and judgemental. They apologized to the wolf, and Umi accepted it. He said that he was only afraid that they would make fun of his voice because it was strange, that's why he never spoke to them.
The other animals felt ashamed of their behavior. But Umi made them feel that what they did to him was forgivable. They realized that the wolf was very kind and humble, and they admired him for being a true friend to the little cub.
Since then, the animals felt more secured, not only because they already knew who the strange creature was, but most importantly because they knew that they had a kind neighbor who will always be there to look after them at all times.
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