The man had been walking through the forest for several hours. He just wanted to walk along familiar paths, breathe fresh air. Everything was peaceful — until he heard branches crack behind him.
He turned around and froze: a pack of wolves emerged from behind the trees. There were many — no fewer than eight. At first the man thought it was just a random encounter, but when the wolves started slowly approaching, there was no doubt — they were preparing to attack.
The man rushed to the nearest tree, threw off his backpack, and grabbing the branches, began climbing up. His heart was pounding, his breath was uneven, his palms were slipping down the bark.
The wolves surrounded the tree, baring their teeth and growling. One of them stood on its hind legs and suddenly grabbed his boot with its teeth, pulling down. Others circled the tree, surrounding him, never taking their yellow eyes off him.
And suddenly — from deep within the forest came a sound that made his blood freeze.
A heavy growl, low, powerful, as if the earth itself had spoken.
The wolves stopped abruptly, turning their heads in alarm.
Among the trees appeared a huge shadow. A moment later a bear stepped into the clearing. He stopped a few steps away, staring directly at the wolves, and growled so loudly that the leaves on the branches trembled.
The wolves, terrified, tucked their tails and one after another darted away, disappearing into the forest thicket.
The bear stood for a few more seconds, then lifted his head and looked up — straight at the man.
The old man froze, unable even to breathe. He thought that escaping the wolves only meant he would now be torn apart by a bear. But the beast didn’t move. He simply turned around and, stepping heavily, slowly walked back into the forest.
The old man couldn’t climb down for a long time. He survived one group of predators — only because another happened to be nearby. And he still couldn’t understand: was it a miracle, a coincidence… or was someone truly protecting him in that forest?