Surrounded
The wolves watched in morbid curiosity; his situation was already potentially deadly, but the wolves posed their own complicating threat. After watching him struggle in the river for a minute, they finally decided to descend the hill.
They surrounded the terrified boy and howled at him. Were they just waiting for the perfect opportunity to attack? What they did next surprised the boy.
The Neman River
The mighty Neman River runs through Belarus. In the winter months, the river gets cold enough to ice over. For Viktar Aladau, It was his favorite time of year. This meant that he could play on the ice with his wooden sled.
There was nothing the boy enjoyed more. But he had no idea how quickly events could take a turn for the worse.
Viktar Aladau
Even though Viktar Aladau was a 10-year-old boy, he felt that it was harder to impress him than all of his peers. While children his age were content sitting at home and watching TV, he preferred to go out and have adventures.
He loved climbing trees, playing in the park, and, most of all, sledding. That's why when winter came. It was his paradise.
Christmas Rolls Around
Christmas was right around the corner to make his favorite season of the year even better. The cold snow mixed with festivities, hot chocolate, and gifts made him the happiest kid imaginable.
And when Viktar got to unwrap his present, it was something that he could immediately put to use. It was a wooden sled. The possibilities of playing in the snow opened up like never before, but he should have known better.
A Warning
When his parents gave it to him, they warned him about the dangers of going too far from the house. He had known about the wolves that frequented the forests outside of Minsk, but he had never encountered one before.
As most 10-year-olds do, Viktar didn't pay too much attention to the warning. He just wanted to go out and play. But just a week later, he wished he had listened to them.
A Week Later
A week later, Viktar couldn't contain his excitement anymore. He finally managed to get out of the house and go out with his sled. He couldn't wait to use it on the snowy hills around the river.
The river Neman flows through Minsk and forms beautiful snowy hills in the winter, where the edge of the river is in the summer. But Viktar wasn't aware of how fragile the ice could be.
Sledding Into The Ice
Viktar walked to the edge of the river and found a nice hill that he could slide down. He walked to the top of the hill and sat down on his sled before pushing himself down the hill.
He pushed himself down the snowy hill three, four, and five times. He was overjoyed at the rush he felt each time. But then he decided to go down a sixth. This time he would go skidding across the ice of the frozen river. Then he heard the sound of cracking.
A Bad Situation
Viktar had just put himself in a terrible situation. The ice beneath him was thinner than he had thought and was now cracking. As a ten-year-old, he wasn't equipped to deal with a dire situation like this.
But he had no idea that he'd go from the frying pan and into the fire in a moment after one last loud crack.
In The Water
Viktar was now fully submerged in the water. He managed to get his head out of the water but was in a dire situation. He wished that there was someone there to help him. But that's when he noticed that there was something watching him, and he wasn't alone.
That's when the memory of his parents' warning rang out in his mind just a week ago. He knew that his situation was about to get a lot worse.
Wolves
Viktar could see a pack of wolves watching him. It was clear that they wanted to take advantage of his situation. He desperately wanted to vanish and appear in his warm home as opposed to being in an icy lake surrounded by wolves.
Tears streamed down his face, and he had no idea how he would get out of this. But the whole time, the wolves had their own plans.
Waiting For The Perfect Opportunity
The wolves watched in morbid curiosity; his situation was already potentially deadly, but the wolves posed their own complicating threat. After watching him struggle in the river for a minute, they finally decided to descend the hill.
They surrounded the terrified boy and howled at him. Were they just waiting for the perfect opportunity to attack? What they did next surprised the boy.
Grabbing His Collar
One of the wolves took the first step forward. It seemed as if she was the matriarch. She lunged for Viktar and managed to get a hold of his collar. The boy was understandably terrified and screamed.
With eyes shut, Viktar was pulled against the ice. He tried understanding what the wolf was doing, then it all made sense.
Trying To Help
He understood that the wolves were only trying to help him. They weren't biting him but tugging at his clothes to try and pull him from the hole in the icy surface. Knowing this, he tried desperately to cling to the ice ledge, but it was too slippery.
Then another wolf stepped forward to help. Together, they tried desperately to pull him out. But Viktar had no idea how the situation would end.
Onto The Ice
After a lot of tugging, Viktar managed to pull himself onto the ice with the help of the wolves. They looked down at him with concern in their eyes. He was not convinced that they were trying to help above all else.
Still in shock, he lay on his back while he caught his breath. The wolves stood with him to ensure he stayed out of trouble.
Walking Back
Viktar still knew they could be dangerous and didn't want to see the limits of their kindness. Instead, he smiled at the wolves that had saved him and slowly trudged back home.
The wolves stood by the river and watched him leave. He turned back to look at them before making it over the hill where he couldn't see the Neman river anymore. At least he had a once-in-a-lifetime story that he could share. In order to protect the privacy of those depicted, some names, locations, and identifying characteristics have been changed and are products of the author's imagination. Any resemblances to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, are entirely coincidental.