The Church celebrates the feast of St. Francis of Assisi on October 4th. St. Francis was known for many things including his rapport with animals. One account from his life describes how he saved the people of Gubbio from a wolf who had been terrorizing the villagers. The following rendition of that account is presented from the wolf's perspective. To read the more traditional account from the biography entitled the Little Flowers of St. Francis, click here.

So you want to know about St. Francis of Assisi, huh? Well I'd be more than happy to share the story of my experience with him. I was so fortunate to know him because he was so special. He changed my life.

I guess I should start out telling you a bit about myself. My name is Willis. I live in the forest and I used to be lonely. You see, I was too mean for any of the other animals to like me, even my fellow wolves. They all left me behind years ago because they said I had a short temper and sharp teeth. I guess those don't go so well together. But since I met St. Francis, every thing's changed. My temper has gone away, and I've got lots of friends. I can go door to door and talk to anyone who answers. Let me go back to the beginning....

My area of forest was just outside of the village of Gubbio. I hung out around there because there were lots of little animals that I could eat for snacks. And when I was craving a real feast, I could wander a little closer to the village and snack on a little boy or girl. It was a perfect location. I knew people were scared of me, and I knew the other animals were terrified, but since everyone already hated me, I really didn't care that I was scaring them off. It was eventually so bad that I couldn't get dinner because all of the people of Gubbio were too afraid to come near the forest.

After many lonely days, I finally saw someone leave the gate of the village. A huge crowd of people was surrounding the gate, seemingly trying to keep the man from leaving. As I saw him approach, I got really excited. I felt my mouth start to water and my jaws start to open. It had been a long time since I'd had a feast, and this was a big guy.

Well, he got pretty close, and just as I was ready to pounce, he very calmly raised his arm in the air. He made a sign with his hand, and it kind of looked like a cross. Just as he did it, I wasn't hungry anymore. I can't explain it, but I just felt calm, like he looked.

He said a few words, and I was drawn to him. I walked to his feet, and lay down obediently. He called me Brother Wolf and told me he wanted to make peace. He said I'd done many things wrong, but all he wanted was to make a pact of peace with me, for the sake of the people of Gubbio. I wagged my tail and he reached down, placing my paw in his hand. When I touched him I felt grace, and I knew I could never again attack.

The man, whom everyone called Francis, walked me inside the gates of the village. I didn't know what was wrong with me, because with all those people around, I didn't feel the urge for a snack even once. I had been changed. As the children hid behind their parents, Francis silenced the frightened crowd. He told them they were safe from the wolf as long as they promised to provide food for me every day.

The crowd was relieved and agreed to the deal, and for the rest of my life, I walked from door to door for dinner from the kind people of Gubbio.

By Brianne Webb