{"id":22205,"date":"2025-05-21T14:53:40","date_gmt":"2025-05-21T18:53:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lecturia.org\/?p=22205"},"modified":"2025-05-21T14:53:43","modified_gmt":"2025-05-21T18:53:43","slug":"saki-the-she-wolf","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lecturia.org\/en\/short-stories\/saki-the-she-wolf\/22205\/","title":{"rendered":"Saki: The She-Wolf"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Synopsis<\/strong>: “The She-Wolf<\/em>” is a short story by Hector Hugh Munro (Saki), published on August 6, 1912, in the Morning Post<\/em>. It tells the story of Leonard Bilsiter, a man fascinated by esotericism who returns to England after a trip to Russia with tales of “Siberian magic.” During a stay at Mary Hampton’s house, conversations about occult powers intensify, and Mary challenges Leonard to turn her into a she-wolf. What begins as an intriguing proposition turns into a series of unexpected events that will test the beliefs and nerves of everyone present.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
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\"Saki:<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

The She-Wolf<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Saki
(Full story)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Leonard Bilsiter was one of those people who have failed to find this world attractive or interesting, and who have sought compensation in an \u201cunseen world\u201d of their own experience or imagination \u2014 or invention.  Children do that sort of thing successfully, but children are content to convince themselves, and do not vulgarise their beliefs by trying to convince other people.  Leonard Bilsiter\u2019s beliefs were for \u201cthe few,\u201d that is to say, anyone who would listen to him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His dabblings in the unseen might not have carried him beyond the customary platitudes of the drawing-room visionary if accident had not reinforced his stock-in-trade of mystical lore.  In company with a friend, who was interested in a Ural mining concern, he had made a trip across Eastern Europe at a moment when the great Russian railway strike was developing from a threat to a reality; its outbreak caught him on the return journey, somewhere on the further side of Perm, and it was while waiting for a couple of days at a wayside station in a state of suspended locomotion that he made the acquaintance of a dealer in harness and metalware, who profitably whiled away the tedium of the long halt by initiating his English travelling companion in a fragmentary system of folk-lore that he had picked up from Trans-Baikal traders and natives.  Leonard returned to his home circle garrulous about his Russian strike experiences, but oppressively reticent about certain dark mysteries, which he alluded to under the resounding title of Siberian Magic.  The reticence wore off in a week or two under the influence of an entire lack of general curiosity, and Leonard began to make more detailed allusions to the enormous powers which this new esoteric force, to use his own description of it, conferred on the initiated few who knew how to wield it.  His aunt, Cecilia Hoops, who loved sensation perhaps rather better than she loved the truth, gave him as clamorous an advertisement as anyone could wish for by retailing an account of how he had turned a vegetable marrow into a wood pigeon before her very eyes.  As a manifestation of the possession of supernatural powers, the story was discounted in some quarters by the respect accorded to Mrs. Hoops\u2019 powers of imagination.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However divided opinion might be on the question of Leonard\u2019s status as a wonderworker or a charlatan, he certainly arrived at Mary Hampton\u2019s house-party with a reputation for pre-eminence in one or other of those professions, and he was not disposed to shun such publicity as might fall to his share.  Esoteric forces and unusual powers figured largely in whatever conversation he or his aunt had a share in, and his own performances, past and potential, were the subject of mysterious hints and dark avowals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI wish you would turn me into a wolf, Mr. Bilsiter,\u201d said his hostess at luncheon the day after his arrival.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy dear Mary,\u201d said Colonel Hampton, \u201cI never knew you had a craving in that direction.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA she-wolf, of course,\u201d continued Mrs. Hampton; \u201cit would be too confusing to change one\u2019s sex as well as one\u2019s species at a moment\u2019s notice.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think one should jest on these subjects,\u201d said Leonard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m not jesting, I\u2019m quite serious, I assure you.  Only don\u2019t do it to-day; we have only eight available bridge players, and it would break up one of our tables.  To-morrow we shall be a larger party.  To-morrow night, after dinner\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn our present imperfect understanding of these hidden forces I think one should approach them with humbleness rather than mockery,\u201d observed Leonard, with such severity that the subject was forthwith dropped.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Clovis Sangrail had sat unusually silent during the discussion on the possibilities of Siberian Magic; after lunch he side-tracked Lord Pabham into the comparative seclusion of the billiard-room and delivered himself of a searching question.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHave you such a thing as a she-wolf in your collection of wild animals?  A she-wolf of moderately good temper?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lord Pabham considered.  \u201cThere is Louisa,\u201d he said, \u201ca rather fine specimen of the timber-wolf.  I got her two years ago in exchange for some Arctic foxes.  Most of my animals get to be fairly tame before they\u2019ve been with me very long; I think I can say Louisa has an angelic temper, as she-wolves go.  Why do you ask?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI was wondering whether you would lend her to me for to-morrow night,\u201d said Clovis, with the careless solicitude of one who borrows a collar stud or a tennis racquet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTo-morrow night?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYes, wolves are nocturnal animals, so the late hours won\u2019t hurt her,\u201d said Clovis, with the air of one who has taken everything into consideration; \u201cone of your men could bring her over from Pabham Park after dusk, and with a little help he ought to be able to smuggle her into the conservatory at the same moment that Mary Hampton makes an unobtrusive exit.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lord Pabham stared at Clovis for a moment in pardonable bewilderment; then his face broke into a wrinkled network of laughter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOh, that\u2019s your game, is it?  You are going to do a little Siberian Magic on your own account.  And is Mrs. Hampton willing to be a fellow-conspirator?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMary is pledged to see me through with it, if you will guarantee Louisa\u2019s temper.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019ll answer for Louisa,\u201d said Lord Pabham.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By the following day the house-party had swollen to larger proportions, and Bilsiter\u2019s instinct for self-advertisement expanded duly under the stimulant of an increased audience.  At dinner that evening he held forth at length on the subject of unseen forces and untested powers, and his flow of impressive eloquence continued unabated while coffee was being served in the drawing-room preparatory to a general migration to the card-room.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His aunt ensured a respectful hearing for his utterances, but her sensation-loving soul hankered after something more dramatic than mere vocal demonstration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWon\u2019t you do something to convince<\/em> them of your powers, Leonard?\u201d she pleaded; \u201cchange something into another shape.  He can, you know, if he only chooses to,\u201d she informed the company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOh, do,\u201d said Mavis Pellington earnestly, and her request was echoed by nearly everyone present.  Even those who were not open to conviction were perfectly willing to be entertained by an exhibition of amateur conjuring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Leonard felt that something tangible was expected of him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHas anyone present,\u201d he asked, \u201cgot a three-penny bit or some small object of no particular value \u2014 ?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou\u2019re surely not going to make coins disappear, or something primitive of that sort?\u201d said Clovis contemptuously.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think it very unkind of you not to carry out my suggestion of turning me into a wolf,\u201d said Mary Hampton, as she crossed over to the conservatory to give her macaws their usual tribute from the dessert dishes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI have already warned you of the danger of treating these powers in a mocking spirit,\u201d said Leonard solemnly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI don\u2019t believe you can do it,\u201d laughed Mary provocatively from the conservatory; \u201cI dare you to do it if you can.  I defy you to turn me into a wolf.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As she said this she was lost to view behind a clump of azaleas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMrs. Hampton\u2014\u201d began Leonard with increased solemnity, but he got no further.  A breath of chill air seemed to rush across the room, and at the same time the macaws broke forth into ear-splitting screams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat on earth is the matter with those confounded birds, Mary?\u201d exclaimed Colonel Hampton; at the same moment an even more piercing scream from Mavis Pellington stampeded the entire company from their seats.  In various attitudes of helpless horror or instinctive defence they confronted the evil-looking grey beast that was peering at them from amid a setting of fern and azalea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mrs. Hoops was the first to recover from the general chaos of fright and bewilderment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLeonard!\u201d she screamed shrilly to her nephew, \u201cturn it back into Mrs. Hampton at once!  It may fly at us at any moment.  Turn it back!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI \u2014 I don\u2019t know how to,\u201d faltered Leonard, who looked more scared and horrified than anyone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat!\u201d shouted Colonel Hampton, \u201cyou\u2019ve taken the abominable liberty of turning my wife into a wolf, and now you stand there calmly and say you can\u2019t turn her back again!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To do strict justice to Leonard, calmness was not a distinguishing feature of his attitude at the moment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI assure you I didn\u2019t turn Mrs. Hampton into a wolf; nothing was farther from my intentions,\u201d he protested.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThen where is she, and how came that animal into the conservatory?\u201d demanded the Colonel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOf course we must accept your assurance that you didn\u2019t turn Mrs. Hampton into a wolf,\u201d said Clovis politely, \u201cbut you will agree that appearances are against you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAre we to have all these recriminations with that beast standing there ready to tear us to pieces?\u201d wailed Mavis indignantly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLord Pabham, you know a good deal about wild beasts\u2014\u201d suggested Colonel Hampton.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe wild beasts that I have been accustomed to,\u201d said Lord Pabham, \u201chave come with proper credentials from well-known dealers, or have been bred in my own menagerie.  I\u2019ve never before been confronted with an animal that walks unconcernedly out of an azalea bush, leaving a charming and popular hostess unaccounted for.  As far as one can judge from outward<\/em> characteristics,\u201d he continued, \u201cit has the appearance of a well-grown female of the North American timber-wolf, a variety of the common species canis lupus<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOh, never mind its Latin name,\u201d screamed Mavis, as the beast came a step or two further into the room; \u201ccan\u2019t you entice it away with food, and shut it up where it can\u2019t do any harm?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf it is really Mrs. Hampton, who has just had a very good dinner, I don\u2019t suppose food will appeal to it very strongly,\u201d said Clovis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLeonard,\u201d beseeched Mrs. Hoops tearfully, \u201ceven if this is none of your doing can\u2019t you use your great powers to turn this dreadful beast into something harmless before it bites us all \u2014 a rabbit or something?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI don\u2019t suppose Colonel Hampton would care to have his wife turned into a succession of fancy animals as though we were playing a round game with her,\u201d interposed Clovis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI absolutely forbid it,\u201d thundered the Colonel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMost wolves that I\u2019ve had anything to do with have been inordinately fond of sugar,\u201d said Lord Pabham; \u201cif you like I\u2019ll try the effect on this one.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He took a piece of sugar from the saucer of his coffee cup and flung it to the expectant Louisa, who snapped it in mid-air.  There was a sigh of relief from the company; a wolf that ate sugar when it might at the least have been employed in tearing macaws to pieces had already shed some of its terrors.  The sigh deepened to a gasp of thanks-giving when Lord Pabham decoyed the animal out of the room by a pretended largesse of further sugar.  There was an instant rush to the vacated conservatory.  There was no trace of Mrs. Hampton except the plate containing the macaws\u2019 supper.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe door is locked on the inside!\u201d exclaimed Clovis, who had deftly turned the key as he affected to test it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Everyone turned towards Bilsiter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf you haven\u2019t turned my wife into a wolf,\u201d said Colonel Hampton, \u201cwill you kindly explain where she has disappeared to, since she obviously could not have gone through a locked door?  I will not press you for an explanation of how a North American timber-wolf suddenly appeared in the conservatory, but I think I have some right to inquire what has become of Mrs. Hampton.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bilsiter\u2019s reiterated disclaimer was met with a general murmur of impatient disbelief.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI refuse to stay another hour under this roof,\u201d declared Mavis Pellington.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf our hostess has really vanished out of human form,\u201d said Mrs. Hoops, \u201cnone of the ladies of the party can very well remain.  I absolutely decline to be chaperoned by a wolf!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a she-wolf,\u201d said Clovis soothingly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The correct etiquette to be observed under the unusual circumstances received no further elucidation.  The sudden entry of Mary Hampton deprived the discussion of its immediate interest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSome one has mesmerised me,\u201d she exclaimed crossly; \u201cI found myself in the game larder, of all places, being fed with sugar by Lord Pabham.  I hate being mesmerised, and the doctor has forbidden me to touch sugar.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The situation was explained to her, as far as it permitted of anything that could be called explanation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThen you really<\/em> did turn me into a wolf, Mr. Bilsiter?\u201d she exclaimed excitedly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But Leonard had burned the boat in which he might now have embarked on a sea of glory.  He could only shake his head feebly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was I who took that liberty,\u201d said Clovis; \u201cyou see, I happen to have lived for a couple of years in North-Eastern Russia, and I have more than a tourist\u2019s acquaintance with the magic craft of that region.  One does not care to speak about these strange powers, but once in a way, when one hears a lot of nonsense being talked about them, one is tempted to show what Siberian magic can accomplish in the hands of someone who really understands it.  I yielded to that temptation.  May I have some brandy? the effort has left me rather faint.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If Leonard Bilsiter could at that moment have transformed Clovis into a cockroach and then have stepped on him he would gladly have performed both operations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

THE END<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“The She-Wolf” is a short story by Hector Hugh Munro (Saki), published on August 6, 1912, in the Morning Post. It tells the story of Leonard Bilsiter, a man fascinated by esotericism who returns to England after a trip to Russia with tales of “Siberian magic.” During a stay at Mary Hampton’s house, conversations about occult powers intensify, and Mary challenges Leonard to turn her into a she-wolf. What begins as an intriguing proposition turns into a series of unexpected events that will test the beliefs and nerves of everyone present.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13875,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[559],"tags":[584,597,772],"class_list":["post-22205","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-short-stories","tag-great-britain","tag-saki-hector-hugh-munro-en","tag-united-kingdom","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-33"],"acf":[],"taxonomy_info":{"category":[{"value":559,"label":"Short stories"}],"post_tag":[{"value":584,"label":"Great Britain"},{"value":597,"label":"Saki (Hector Hugh Munro)"},{"value":772,"label":"United Kingdom"}]},"featured_image_src_large":["https:\/\/lecturia.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Saki-La-loba.jpg",1024,1024,false],"author_info":{"display_name":"Juan Pablo Guevara","author_link":"https:\/\/lecturia.org\/en\/author\/spartakku\/"},"comment_info":"","category_info":[{"term_id":559,"name":"Short stories","slug":"short-stories","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":559,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":419,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":559,"category_count":419,"category_description":"","cat_name":"Short stories","category_nicename":"short-stories","category_parent":0}],"tag_info":[{"term_id":584,"name":"Great Britain","slug":"great-britain","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":584,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":49,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":597,"name":"Saki (Hector Hugh Munro)","slug":"saki-hector-hugh-munro-en","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":597,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":11,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":772,"name":"United Kingdom","slug":"united-kingdom","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":772,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":92,"filter":"raw"}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lecturia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22205","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lecturia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lecturia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lecturia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lecturia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22205"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lecturia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22205\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lecturia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13875"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lecturia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22205"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lecturia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22205"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lecturia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22205"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}