Last night, a woman came to my door. She sat outside and told her story. I crept to the door and listened.

She said she had fallen in love fell with a prince who was a wolf by day and a man by night. Then a servant threw his wolf-skin into the fire, and he disappeared in a great thunder-clap.

I was astounded. That happened to me. I was the wolf. I had disappeared!

Then I remembered her.

She had gone on a long journey to find me. She had sought help from the wind, the sun, the moon, and the stars.

I wanted to fling open the door and embrace her, but how? Today, I am to be married to another. What am I to do? If you lose the key to your treasure chest, and you have another made, what do you do with the original key when you have found it again?

The White Wolf in The White Wolf, Grey Fairy Book. Painting “Cupid and Psyche” by Edvard Munch.