Usually wolves don't talk, but this one did, and there were such peculiar things about him that Barty actually forgot to be frightened.
"How—how good are you?" he asked.
"I am this good," the Wolf said quite solemnly. "When I see a little boy who is a blessing and a privilege and never frets and says he has nothing to play with, and never wriggles when his
hair is brushed, I am his Best and most Intimate Friend. But—" and his nice voice became quite fierce and growly and he showed all his white teeth, "when I meet a boy who is a little pig and a torment and who makes life a burden when the tangles are taken out—I tear him from limb to limb!"
"I am glad I don't make life a burden," Barty said.
"So am I," answered the Good Wolf. "I prefer to be your Intimate Friend. Look at my ears."
He need not have said that, because Barty had been looking at