The old woman left her disabled husband in the forest without food or water: at night, a hungry wolf saw him, and something unexpected happened 

The old woman wiped her tired brow as she looked at her husband’s lifeless body lying on the cart. For a long time, he had not been able to get up from his makeshift straw bed, could not eat without help, could not speak — he only breathed heavily and stared with cloudy eyes at the ceiling.

For her, her husband had long been a burden. Once he had been a strong man, a provider, a protector. But the years had taken everything from him. Now he only consumed the last bit of food, giving nothing in return.

One day, after chopping wood and unable to stand the complaints and sleepless nights any longer, the old woman decided it was enough. She dragged her husband onto the cart, took him deep into the forest where, according to rumors, wolves lived, and left him there under an old, dry oak tree.

“Forgive me, old man,” she murmured without tears, “I can’t do it anymore… survive if you can.”

And she left.

When the last creak of the wheels faded into the distance, the old man understood — he was alone. Completely alone. In the middle of the forest, among hungry wolves.

The cold pierced to his bones. The ground was damp and icy, the night air cut his skin.

He felt a lump in his throat. He could no longer scream, his voice was gone. He simply lay there, looking at the dark sky through gaps in the branches. He was hungry and dreamed of a drop of water.

But suddenly he heard something terrifying…

At first softly — like a twig snapping, the rustle of paws. Then closer. First one, then another, and another. Heavy steps. And the wind howled — or was it a wolf?

The old man felt real fear. His heart pounded so hard it seemed it would burst. Wolves. She had left him there for the wolves to tear him apart.

Suddenly, a shape emerged from the darkness. Grey, large, with shining eyes where a cold fire danced. A wolf.

The wolf froze, looking at him. But then something unexpected happened  Continued in the first comment 

The old man wanted to close his eyes, to stop seeing the beast, but he couldn’t. This is the end, he thought. The wolf will eat me alive.

But the wolf did not lunge at his throat, did not bare its teeth. It slowly approached, lay down next to him — so close that the old man felt the warmth of its thick fur.

The animal took a deep breath, closed its eyes, and did not move anymore, only flicking its ears from time to time.

At first, the old man could not believe it. Then he felt the living, powerful warmth coming from the wolf’s side.

He, nearly frozen and half-dead, pressed himself against the animal.

The wolf did not leave. The wolf warmed him.

And all night they lay there like that, two old creatures forgotten by humans, but who had found each other in the dark forest.