The story of Romulus and Remus being suckled by a wolf is not a meaningless fable. The founders of every State which has risen to eminence have drawn their nourishment and vigor from a similar wild source. It was because the children of the Empire were not suckled by the wolf that they were conquered and displaced by the children of the Northern forests who were.
"Wild Apples and Other Natural History Essays" by Henry David Thoreau
Based on the myth of the foundation of Rome.
The cry of the babies echoed in the middle of the forest. It was excruciating, many a woman's heart would tremble at such a sound. But there was no one in the forest. No one except...
A shadow passed between the trees. He was barely visible. He flashed again. Closer and closer to crying babies. He stopped. The hunched figure straightened. It towered over babies. Big, taller than a tall man and... fury.
The figure said, "Hush, don't cry..." The voice was feminine, calm, gentle. "Oh, hush..." Then she sang:
Hush, little baby don't you
Hush, little baby don't say a word
Papa's gonna buy you a mocking birdAnd if that mocking bird don't sing
Papa's gonna buy you a diamond ring
It was so weird. Gigantic monster who sang a lullaby to two frightened babies. The babies finally stopped crying and stared at the she-monster with huge eyes.
"Hush, hush, everything gonna be ok," the she-monster said and she stretched out his furry paw towards the little ones. She stroked the two babies' cheeks, then gently took them in his arms. "I'll take care of you."
***
"Babies?! Human babies?! Are you insane?! We can't take care of human babies!"
"Why?"
"Because we are werewolves! Human hunt us!"
She-wolf looked sadly at her companion. She said, "We can't leave them in the woods. They will not survive. And besides..." She cringed and shivered. "... I want to have babies."
The wolf looked at her with love. He knew how it was important for her.
He said not so sure: "But human babies? And two of them? Is this a good ideal?"
"Look at them. They are so small. And so awkward. They can't be left alone. "
He looked at two orphans, two boys. They were so clumsy and weird; no fur, zero teeth, and so small and useless paws. One of them smiled at him with his big toothless smile. Baby's cheeks were chubby and pink. It was such a weird creature and so... adorable.
"Ok, we can help them, we can keep them..."
A big smile of happiness appeared on her face. She squeaked with joy.
"But when someone from our pack knows about humans who would search their babies, we will definitely give them back."
She nodded vigorously, then stretched her furry paws towards the babies.
"Come to mama, you little ones," she said. "I will love you to the end of the world. And I will never leave you alone" She whispered. Babies smiled at her and cooed with satisfaction. She-wolf took the children in furry paws and hugged them tightly. "You are safe now."
***
Children grew and developed. Two werewolves observed how they crawl, take their first steps, begin to howl, and hunt. But they were much weaker, slower, and less enduring than young werewolves. Over time, they began to see that they were different. They started asking their adoptive parents what was wrong with them, why they were so different.
"I knew that the day will come," The werewolf said angrily. "I told you, they are human, you can't raise human children!"
"No, they are your children!"
"Yes, they are. But they are also human! And they need raise with other humans."
"Why?"
"You ask me why? Because they are unhappy. Don't you see it?"
She stared at him with anger and... and sadness. She understood that her children weren't werewolves and because of that weren't happy. But she loved them. And she didn't want to leave them. But... If You Love Someone, Let Them Go.
***
The time had come. Both werewolves escorted the children to the nearest human residences. On the edge of the forest was a small house inhabited by an elderly couple. Faustulus and Acca worked for the king as a shepherd. They lived outside the village and treated werewolves respectfully. Werewolves had never attacked their herds. It was a silent contract.
That was why two werewolves escorted their human children to Faustulus and Acca. They were sure that the couple would take good care of them.
Children looked at their werewolves' parents with sadness. "We want to stay with you."
"Romulus, we told you - you are humans. Humans and werewolves are mortal enemies. You need to raise with other humans. And you need to forget about living with werewolves. "
"But we don't want to."
"You must..."
She said: "We will never forget about you. You are our children. But you need to come back to people's world. You are the elements of that world."
Remus clung tightly to his mother's fur. His brother gently took his hand and led him towards the lonely hut. He did not turn around. Two werewolves kept their eyes on the brothers until they disappeared through the door of the little house.
***
Romulus was the stronger and more open than his brother. He quickly won the love of others. Remus was smaller, more sickly, and coping more difficult in the world of people. He wanted to go back to his werewolves' family. The separation made him weaker and weaker. Suddenly one day he didn't leave the bed.
Romulus went to town and took various jobs. Once when he worked as a baker's assistant, he heard a strange story.
***
There was a priestess. She was in love with the king's son. But he was a cruel man. He raped the priestess and she got pregnant. She was thrown out of the temple and hid in the forest. Few months later she gave birth to boys twins. But the king's soldiers tracked down a priestess. They buried her alive, and her newborn children were abandoned in the forest.
But someone heard that boys were really sons of the god Mars. The god of war sent his special forces to save his sons. Half-wolves, half-men saved children and bring them to their father. One day twins would defeat the actual king and our kingdom would step into the golden century.
***
Romulus was very curious about this story. He promised himself to talk to his adoptive parents about it. But when he returned home after a few weeks, it turned out that his brother was dead.
Remus fell ill with a strange disease. He had spots all over his body, and he was getting weaker day by day. A few hours before his brother returned, he died. In the same moment all over the forest could be heard wolf howls full of regret. "Ah-whoooo!"
When Romulus found out about his brother's death, ran into the woods and didn't come back for several days.
***
She-wolf was all in tears. She felt the soul of her beloved son flying to heaven and howled long into the night. It only stopped when Romulus appeared in the cave.
"Oh, my darling. You came..."
They threw themselves into each other's arms and did not say any word for a long time. Romulus's tears soaked into her fur, mingled with her own.
***
"How did you find us?" Romulus asked a few hours later.
"You were crying such loud in the middle of the forest. Everyone would hear it. But no one was there."
"Forest, twins... Mother, some time ago I heard a strange story. About children of Mars left in the woods."
"Children of Mars..." She-wolf smiled gently. "You aren't children of Mars."
"How you can be sure?"
"Because you are a child of the king's son..."
She told him a story - nearly the same as he heard from the baker. About a priestess, rape, and king's son. But in this story were no supernatural elements. Maybe except the supernatural rescue.
Romulus decided that he would remind the old king, what his son did to Romulus's mother. King's son was killed in a fight. Heirs to the throne were twins raised by werewolves. He, Romulus, was the heir to the throne.
Years later
Romulus became king of an extraordinary kingdom. He build a new amazing city on the seven hills. Thanks to him not only the kingdom, but the whole known world entered the golden ages.
And werewolves? The only supernatural element of this myth? Some people say that in the middle of the darkest forest you may hear the werewolf howl. Some people say that they meet the werewolves. But others say that this is only a fairytale.
When you come to Rome, you will hear a myth of the foundation of the city. And you will see a Capitoline she-wolf - the monument in honor of the she-wolf who fed the twins abandoned in the forest with her own milk. Because some of the legends are true...