Mareck Silverlock and His All-Wolf Band

By Jeff Baker

Young Mareck cleared his throat.

“My report is on entertainment of the War Years. This was almost forty years ago. Europa and the American Continent were at war. Things were sad. People like, like my Grandfather decided to help.” He shifted on his legs and clutched the paper with his front paws. “In the early 1940s, most of the United States had never heard of Wolfsong. So, my Grandfather Mareck got some of his friends together and they toured the country performing. My Grandfather’s family had fled Europa after they passed the legga… legasha…”

“Legislation,” the teacher said, suppressing a smile.

“Legislation. Called the Wolf Act,” Young Mareck said. “The Wolf Act said that wolves were dangerous and a bad influence on other species.” He took a deep breath and glanced out at the class; everybody seemed to be listening. He went on.

“My Grandparents knew that those were all lies, so they set out to show the country what wolves were really like. They toured the country during the war using the name Mareck Silverlock and His All-Wolf Band. They were very popular and even made recordings. After the war, they were presented with a certifk…certify…with a paper that thanks them for their helping with the understanding of the Wolves in this country.” Young Mareck reached over behind the teacher’s desk and pulled out a large piece of cardboard. “And this is the poster my Grandfather used when he was touring thirty years ago.”

The kids leaned forward, rows of attentive ears and twitching whiskers, and wide eyes. The poster showed the head of a large wolf, head thrown back, mouth open in a howl, muzzle surrounded by frozen breath.

“Wow!” one of the cubs in the class breathed.

“Mareck, is that your Grandfather? In the picture?” one of the others asked.

“No,” Young Mareck said. “My Grandmother said this was someone who helped with the tour. He looked right for the picture, but he wasn’t in the band because he couldn’t sing!”

The other cubs and the teacher laughed and Mareck did too. He knew that when he got home, he was going to try out his howl.

—end—