The Wolf Child of Hesse

I know most of you are aware of the story of Tarzan who was raised by a group of apes.  But have you ever heard a story about a pack of wolves kidnapping an infant and raising it as their own?  Such is the story of the Feral Child of Hesse.  The account of the Wolf Child of Hesse was said to happen in the year 1304 (some says 1341,1344)

According to the documents maintained by the local monks, the wolf child of Hesse appears to be around seven years of age.  The boy was found in the deep forest of Hesse, Germany.  It was believed that the boy was taken by a pack of wolves when he was just 3 years old.  Whenever the wolf would hunt, he would give a part of his exploit to the kid.  The kid managed to survive the life in the forest with the help of the wolves. During the winter times the wolves would create a small pit and cover it with the leaves of the trees.  As time passes by, the boy adopted the way of living of the wolves, he was able to run using his hind feet and could make giant leaps.  The people who discovered him took him to the castle; it seems to be scared in the presence of human.  Not long before they discovered him, the wolf child died.

It is believed that the wolf child of Hesse was able to communicate with the wolves that he grew up with.

The record on the Chronicle of the Benedictine Monastery of St. Peter of Efurt says:

“Quidam puer in partibus Hassie est deprehensus. Hic, sicut postea cognitum est, et sicut ipse retulit, cum trium esset annorum, a lupis est captus et mirabiliter educatus. Nam, quamcumque predam lupi pro cibo rapuerant, semper meliorem partem sumentes at arbori circumcucientes ipsi ad vorandum tribuebant. Tempore vero hiemis et frigoris foveam facientes, folia arborum et alias herbas imponentes, puerum superponebant, et se circumponentes, sic eum a frigore defendebant; ipsum eciam manibus et pedibus repere cogebant et secum currere tamdiu, quod ex use eorum velocitatem imitabatur et saltus maximos faciebat. Hic deprehensus lignis circumligatis erectus ire ad humanam similitudinem cogebatur. Idem vero puer sepius dicebat se multo carius cum lupis, si in se esset, quam cum hominibus diligere conversari. Hic puer in curiam Heinrici principis Hassie pro spectaculo est allatus.”