Summary

The story opens, “Well, Dornicka met a wolf on Mount Radhost” (259). The narrator then corrects himself to observe that in fact Dornicka met an animal that had recently consumed a wolf. Dornicka, who had gone walking up the mountain to look at a statue of a pagan god, had smelled the decay. Dornicka wonders why the wolf is standing in her way, then remembers that she is wearing a bright red cape, which she wore out of the belief that “once you reach your late fifties you can wear whatever you want and nobody can say anything to you about it” (262).

The “wolf,” which the narrator puts in parentheses, is startled by Dornicka’s approach. “No need to take that tone,” says the wolf, “I just thought you were young, that’s all” (262). Dornicka continues on her way...