L.
February
2003
Fiona
Grisswell
Continued
from
Edition
I
After
Tom
left,
Gavin
walked
Iver
to
where
Cory
romped
with
iwdog.
f"So
you've
met
Jax,"
said
bavin.
"You
know.his
name?"
"Sure.
Jax
and
I
visit
every
lay.
He
likes
to
play
in
the
creek."
What
about
you
Grandpa.
Do
rou
like
to
play
in
the
creek
too?"
I
Gavin
laughed,
"It's
a
bit
too
bold
for
me
I'm
afraid.
These
old
lones
don't
like
it
very
much."
Why?'asked
Cory,
a
serious
bok
on
his
face.
Startled
by
the
question,
Gavin
id,
"It's
just
one
of
those
things
nat
happens
when
you
get
old."
"1
don't
think
you're
old
irandpa,"
said
Cory,
giving
Jax
a
nalpat.
Swallowing
past
the
lump
of
notion
in
his
throat,
Gavin
took
Cory
by
the
hand
and
walked
to
the
Looking
down,
Cory
squealed,
Look
Grandpa!
A
frog."
Picking
it
up,
Gavin
asked.
Do
you
know
what
kind
of
frog
'pose
it's
not
so
simple
to
give
none,
neither)
i.
uiow
that
J
some
women
can
see
this
puigy,
grey,
and
flea-ridden
wolfskin
on
t
reeking
of
the
stench
of
avy,
f
frostbitten.
predatorial
intent
but
shake
them
as
i
might
i
can't
seem
to
rattle
these
I
enough
for
anyone
to
notice
these
I
i
at
so
fiercely
grip
use
even
as
i
sit
here.
droohna.
maws
facades?
no
blame
though.
maws.
Arts
and
Entertainment
Age
and
Innocence,
Part
II
this
is?"
"A
green
frog?"
Cory
answered
with
uncertainty.
"Let's
go
sit
on
the
bench,"
said
Gavin,
amused.
Gratefully
taking
the
weight
off
his
feet
the
elderly
man
said,
"This
is
a
Northern
Leopard
Frog.
You
see
these
large
dark
spots
on
his
back?
Take
a
good
look
now."
Cory
leaned
closer.
"See
the
faint
rings
around
them?"
Cory
nodded.
"Frogs
might
all
look
the
same
but
they
have
different
markings,
that
is
how
we
tell
them
apart."
"You
know
a
lot
about
frogs
Grandpa,"
said
Cory,
clearly
impressed.
"That
was
part
of
my
job,"
Gavin
answered.
"Playing
with
frogs?"
asked
Cory,
casting
his
Grandpa
a
suspicious
look.
"I
was
a
Wildlife
Biologist."
"What's
that?"
"It
was
my
job
to
look
after
the
animals
who
live
here.
To
make
sure
they
weren't
harmed
by
people"
"Why
would
people
hurt
them?"
Wolfskin
and
Shackles
,
Sam
Stevenson
lerhaps
it's
the
fangs
lit
it's
or
claws"
-
.
or
hairy
back
tough
to
get
any
trust
around
here
Gavin
struggled
to
find
an
answer
that
Cory
would
understand.
"People
didn't
try
ta
harm
the
animals.
It's
just
that
at
one
time
only
animals
lived
here.
Then
people
arrived;
the
wildlife
was
driven
from
their
homes."
"How
come?"
asked
Cory.
"Well,
the
people
wanted
to
build
their
homes
where
the
animals
lived."
"That
doesn't
seem
fair,"
complained
Cory.
"No,
it
doesn't,"
said
Gavin.
"That's
why
became
a
biologist."
"What
do
you
mean?'
asked
Cory.
"Some
animals
can
only
live
in
certain
places.
If
people
build
houses
where
these
animals
live
they
can't
find
a
new
home.
They
eventually
become
extinct."
"That's
what
happened
to
the
dinosaurs,
isn't
it?"
"Where
did
you
learn
that?"
asked
Gavin.
"Our
teacher
told
us
about
dinosaurs
last
year
in
school."
Gavin
nodded,
amazed
at
what
Cory
seemed
to
know.
"So
if
chains,
shack-
fur
to
flesh
and
paw
to
palm.
confident
that
this'
fur
coat
is
merely
a
disguise
i
find
myself
surrounded
by
a
thousand
other
guys
by
a
thousand
other
wolves
and
less
rattled
chains
than
BLustinS'
the
toothprmts
Tve
seen
in
the
aims
and
legs
of
women
but
might
these
not
be
the
meie
marks
of
he
who
is
deaf
to
the
deafening
rattle
of
his
own
chains
those
deaf
not
just
rattle
deaf
NO!
are
those
wolves
most
dangerous
but
deaf
to
screams
of
i
didn't
get
the
chance
to
scream
anything
in
response
to
fastened
skin
of
fur.
for
i
sewed
it
together
myself.
for
every
newspaper,
history
lesson,
or
sitcom,
i
was
given
a
new
wolfpatch
and
told
sew.
they're
extinct
there
aren't
any
more
of
them?"
"That's
right.
Wildlife
biologists
try
to
prevent
more
animals,
like
this
frog,
from
disappearing
forever."
"He's
not
extinct."
said
Coiy.
"He's
sitting
right
heie."
"No,
but
he's
an
endangered
species,"
Gavin
said.
"That's
what
we
call
an
animal
when
there
aren't
very
many
of
them
left
alive."
Cory
stared
at
the
frog.
"Can
I
hold
him?"
Handing
the
frog
over,
Gavin
warned,
"Now
don't
squeeze
him."
After
several
minutes
of
silence
Cory
gingerly
got
off
the
paik
bench
and
walked
over
to
place
the
frog
back
on
it's
rock.
He
watched
it
make
a
few
tentative
hops,
then
walked
back
to
his
grandfather.
"Can
we
go
home
Grandpa?
I'm
hungry."
As
they
approached
the
house.
Cory
looked
up
at
his
grandfather.
"My
friend
Aaron
wants
to
be
a
firefighter.
And
Jason
wants
to
be
a
dentist
like
his
dad,"
he
said.
Reaching
the
yard,
Cory
took
off.
Moments
later
he
reappeared
at
the
door
to
Free
Forum
15
the
house
dragging
his
parents
behind
him.
"Did
you
guys
know
that
Grandpa
used
to
be
a
.
.
.
what?"
Cory
asked.
"A
Wildlife
Biologist,"
said
Gavin.
"Yeah
that.
We
found
a
frog
at
the
paik
today
and
I'm
going
to
become
a
Wildlife
Biologist.
Just
like
grandpa."
Having
taken
care
of
the
important
business,
he
looked
up
at
his
mom,
"Can
I
have
a
chocolate
chip
cookie
please?
Cory's
words
caught
Gavin
off
guard.
He
watched
the
shifting
expressions
on
the
boy's
face
as
he
legaled
his
parents
with
his
adventures
at
the
park.
Cory
tilted
his
face
up
to
answer
one
of
Tom's
questions.
Gavin
realized
that
Catherine
had
looked
at
him
in
much
the
same
way
when
she
was
excited
about
something.
How
strange
that
he
had
never
noticed
before.
Cory
bit
into
another
cookie,
a
look
of
delight
crossing
his
face
as
the
bitter
sweet
flavor
exploded
in
his
mouth.
In
that
moment,
the
shadows
faded
fiom
the
old
man's
eyes.
it
will
protect
you
i
fashioned
the
links
of
these
thieads
of
steel
myself
from
everytime
i
was
chosen
last,
walked
past,
or
was
kicked
in
the
teeth
by
a
bigger
wolf
coat,
yet
the
question
remains,
do
i
have
cause
to
complain?
or
explain
my
cause
for
donning
these
claws?
not
to
complain.
for
my
flesh
is
i
datively
unscathed
compaicd
to
she's
i
have
known
and
one
might
ask:
"why
explain
at
all?
are
you
wiiting
these
woids
to
sew
a
lamb's
wool
vest
to
hide
that
grey
mange?"
and
i
might
reply,
"i
write
not
to
conceal,
but
to
leveal
the
featheis
(flattened
as
they
may
be)
under
both
the
hair
and
skin
of
woman
and
man."
these
words.
do,
shed
ink
though
often
filtered
out
throimh
the
teeth
of
wolves
onto
the
links
of
my
chain
and
(as
all
truth
does
through
chain)
through
its
chainmail
guard
left
stained
and
scarred
i
look
to
sky
and
feathered
:
answer
may
lie
in
lly.
burn.