The story I chose from this part of the Saints and Animals unit from the Un-Textnook was the The Wolf-Mother of Saint Ailbe. This story had a very nicely rounded out introduction, middle, and conclusion. The story wrapped up nicely as there was a parallel between the beginning and the end of the story. I enjoy when a story comes full circle. Great writers often use this technique. If they use this strategy well, once they have written half of the story, the plot of the next half is already mapped out for them.
This story reminds me a bit of the Jungle Book with how Saint Ailbe was raised by a wolf in the wild. The main difference here of course is that Ailbe was found by a Prince and civilized. This came to be useful for the wolves later in the story as Saint Ailbe was able to save his wolf family from being killed and hunted once he recognized his wolf-mother. This is a great growth and development story for Ailbe as he was initially cast out by a family that did not love or care for him. Shortly after though, he was taken in by two quite different families that grew to care for and adore him. Even though his first real family was a family of wolves, they cared for him more than his own biological parents ever did. To drive the story forward, the part where Ailbe was taken by the Prince was a double edged sword. This was both good for Ailbe because this is how he learned to be human and became a member of society with great influence. Of course, the downside is where he was taken away from his wolf family that had protected and cared for him since he was a baby abandoned in the wilderness. I appreciate the aspect of acceptance and willingness to save those that are different from oneself.
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Image Information: Wolf, Pixabay
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