Mary, the great Percheron, besides pulling wagons or logs in and out of the valley, and being used for jousting in competitions, aided the pages in their efforts to gather fruit. The pages stood on her back and used long poles to reach the highest fruit. Apples, pears and cherries were the big prize. The pages fed her the fruit regularly and she gently worked with the pages. She started to balk when it came to pulling logs. Red was the only person Mary truly obeyed for such work.

Wolf didn't pay Mary much attention, having been bit by her. Mary however took a shine to Wolf and seemed to be miffed at being ignored. Whenever she saw Wolf Mary made a beeline to him and nudged him, demanding attention. Red suggested that he pay more attention to Mary. Mary returned his friendliness and soon Red had Wolf standing on Mary's back while she led Mary around.

Wolf noticed something and asked Red, "Mary is kind of fat, isn't she?"

"You noticed. One month and you finally noticed. Now what do you think is making her so fat?"

"Too many apples." Wolf ventured.

"Good guess, but no. She is going to have a baby."

"She's what?"

"You know those cute little things that cry a lot, drink milk and weigh about a hundred kilos."

"Wow that's a big baby. When is she due?" Wolf asked.

"Any day now. She's been awfully cranky lately."

"Is that why she bit me?"

"Maybe, you certainly surprised her that day."

"Her and me both."

"Well she certainly likes you now. I think she is a good judge of character. That wolf likes you too. In fact I haven't seen an animal that doesn't like you, except maybe one or two rabbits," Red concluded.

When Wolf finished with his morning chores, Red taught him how to knap arrowheads from the flint shards he had collected earlier. Red directed him to the blacksmith, who also acted as the carpenter, as well as the farrier. He also served as the weapons master, responsible for the care of all weapons at camp. Wolf asked the man to help him with making the arrows and a bow. The long arrows that Red favored were made from bamboo. It was an excellent material for arrow shafts, but very hard to work. It would split easily if not trimmed right, especially with the flint arrow heads. The smith patiently taught Wolf to make the arrows on his own.

Wolf couldn't make a bow, not a composite bow like Red's. "It is easy to replace a broken or lost arrow," the smith advised. "You can even experiment with its design. They can be traded. But, a bow is a personal thing; it becomes a part of you. You need a bow that fits you. The composite bow is very hard to build. It's made from layered horn, wood, and sinew and requires expert workmanship. I'll make you one, but you're going to have to work for it." The smith fitted Wolf, temporarily, with a longbow from his stock. Wolf could now take archery lessons and report to the archery instructor.

If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

To earn the bow Wolf settled on working mornings. They spit in their palms and shook hands to seal the deal. He had to tend the fire in the forge and hammer iron. He hammered everything from horseshoes, to wagon parts, to knives. The smith, using tongs, would position the glowing hot iron on the anvil and Wolf would hammer.

The hot work started to build his arm muscles. As the bright orange bars of steel were hammered, they would cool to a dull red before the smith would put them back in the fire. When done with the piece the blacksmith quenched it in water. The work had to be done carefully; the hot steel could deliver a nasty burn on the slightest contact.

After a week of swinging the hammer, Wolf's sore arms started to become hardened to the work. He enjoyed taking out his frustrations on the iron and steel. The blacksmith amazed him with his creativity with iron and he always dispensed little bits of advice, "The quickest ways to kill yourself is by trying to work cold steel, or by not charging enough for your work."

For the first few days of archery lessons, Wolf didn't even shoot an arrow. Instead he learned how to hold the bow, how to take care of it, and how to make bowstrings. He had to draw and hold the bow, then release it without hurting himself. The Raven put him on an exercise routine of chin-ups and push-ups which further strengthened his arms.

With his time at the armory almost over, Wolf felt he had hammered new shoes for every horse in the valley. The Blacksmith gave him one last task; he had to hammer out a long bar of steel. Every time it extended to a meter in length, the smith put a crimp in the middle and folded the bar on the crimp. Wolf welded the two halves together by more hammering. The bar would have to be reheated to a bright orange glow before repeating the process. The hard steel required the smith's help in the hammering. Once the bar had been hammered out and folded several times the smith left it at full length and quenched it in water. He put the bar aside. "Wolf, you're all done for the week, you've been a big help. Maybe we can do more business later. Let me show you your new bow."

He presented the boy with the finished bow. It had no decorations save the maker's mark. There were no extra shapes or nuances, and with a heavy pull Wolf realized he would have to get stronger.

Wolf quickly realized that hammering a few horse shoes into shape could not begin to pay for the bow. "Sir I can't pay you what this is worth."

"Nonsense, you will make me proud when you kill your first rabbit. However if you ever have some time, I could always use more help." Wolf resolved to pay the man back with more work. He had enjoyed working the steel.

Wolf went out on the archery range, to practice with his new bow. A page came running up and breathlessly told him that Mary was in labor. Wolf ran as fast as he could to the stables. A crowd had formed around Mary's stall. He worked his way to the front and found Mary lying down on a bed of straw, with Red at her head. The Veterinarian and the Raven attended Mary. When the Raven saw Wolf he waved him over and told him it's going to be a difficult birth and Mary needed help.

Wolf asked what he could do. The Raven gave him a list of supplies to obtain from the quartermaster and the nurse. Wolf quickly ran off for the items. From the quartermaster he received ten meters of soft nylon rope, a liter of alcohol, a towel, and a blanket. From the nurse he obtained a number of medicines, syringes and a surgery kit. The nurse packed the medicines in a bag and came with Wolf, saying she was not about to miss the birth for all the world.

When Wolf returned to the stable he delivered the supplies to the Vet and went to Mary's head to be with Red. The Vet went to work washing his bare arms and the rope with the alcohol. He then made a loop at the end of the rope. He took the loop in hand, slowly reached up the birth canal, and placed the loop on the foal's hooves. The Vet waited; Mary went through two more sets of contractions before he said she was ready.

With the next contraction the Vet and the Raven started pulling on the rope as hard as they could. It seemed like a long time before two hooves came out followed by the other two. They were then quickly followed by a large slimy sack containing a baby horse the size of a very large dog. The Vet quickly removed the sack around the foal and wiped it down with a towel. It was a male. He then placed him on a sheet where Mary could tend to and lick him. The foal immediately perked up and started breathing and coughing, and all the gathered pages cheered. They were too excited to notice the Vet clamping the umbilical cord and delivering the placenta.

The crowd cheered, Red cried and hugged Mary, and Wolf comforted Red. The foal took it all in stride.

The Raven had Wolf slid the foal aside while he and Red tried to get Mary onto her feet. Once Mary stood up, she took charge of the foal, and for the next hour nobody got close to him. Mary intently cleaned the foal then tried to get him to stand.

When the foal finally managed to stand, the students gave another cheer. Red nudged the foal to where he could nurse from Mary. The Raven dispersed the students by reminding them they had chores and lessons to attend to.

Lunch was served late.