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Then, one moonlit night as she was walking home through the forest, she decided to take a different path. She needed some time to think about what it was she might have lost, and where it might be found (for as we all know, sometimes a change in routine can give you another perspective on things), when suddenly she was startled by a long, low growling sound from the trees behind her…

The Chinchilla Princess froze. Her heart beat rapidly in her chest as, wide-eyed, she turned around to face the Thing that lurked there.

Two burning red eyes stared at her, and as she watched, a wolf stepped out from the veil of the darkness and padded toward her on silent, stealthy feet.

She trembled. She’d never seen a wolf before, and this one seemed extraordinarily huge and scary!

"Why do you walk my path, alone in the dark, so late at night, Princess?" the wolf asked her, in a voice as deep and rumbling as thunder. "You should be safe and snug at home, in the arms of your beloved woodsman. This is not your way."

The Chinchilla Princess swallowed her fear for a moment and replied, "I have lost something, Great Wolf, and I chose this path for perhaps to find it. I did not know it was your way. I did not mean to trespass. Forgive me, and I will return to my old way."

The wolf walked closer, so close she could smell his musty scent, and feel his hot breath on her skin, and he began to sniff her.

"You reek of sadness, Princess." Great Wolf said as he circled her body, and The Chinchilla Princess breathed deeply to quiet the trembling within her bones.

"What have you lost?"

"I do not know!" She replied. "I only know that every night I cry tiny, crystalline tears into a little blue bottle which I hide away for no-one to see."

"I cry for my eyes which have dulled, for my pelt which is worn, and for my heart which is becoming encased in hard red membrane. And I feel weary all the time."

Great Wolf sat down in front of her and watched her for a time, then said, "Princess – you speak of loss of Spirit. What bleeds you so?"

"I do not know, Great Wolf!" The Chinchilla Princess exclaimed as she crumpled to the ground and began to cry.

"Hush now, Princess." Great Wolf said, settling down beside her on the leafy forest floor, and gently placing his paw on her arm.

"Have no fear. For Spirit lost can be found, and I know of a way for you to find it. But you must be brave of heart and strong of will and ready to make a great sacrifice along the way."

"What sacrifice?" asked The Chinchilla Princess, through her tears.

"Your fear." Great Wolf replied.

..........

"I do not understand," said The Chinchilla Princess to Great Wolf, "for I have nothing to fear, save being eaten by a great, scary wolf like you, in the depths of the forest at night!"

And at that Great Wolf bellowed with laughter – a sound that echoed throughout the forest for a very long time.

To be honest, if you didn’t know Great Wolf was laughing you would run for your life then! But somehow, at that moment, The Chinchilla Princess knew that Great Wolf would help her if she was prepared to do as he said, and that everything might work out fine, and so she stayed.