Once upon a time, in a kingdom far, far away, there was a small village that was always in need of protection. The villagers were afraid of the big, bad wolf who lived in the nearby forest and was always causing trouble.

One day, the king of the village had an idea. He would build a strong fort to protect his people from the wolf. He gathered all the villagers and they worked together to build a magnificent fort. They built a tall watchtower, a strong palisade, and a solid redoubt. They even added a tower with a turret on top, so that they could keep a watchful eye on the forest.

The wolf was not happy about the fort being built. He knew that he wouldn't be able to cause trouble anymore. So, he came up with a plan of his own. He gathered all his friends from the forest and they decided to attack the fort.

The villagers were prepared for the attack. They stationed themselves at the watchtower and kept a lookout for the wolf and his friends. When the wolf and his friends finally arrived, they were met with a surprise. The villagers had built a ravelin and a stockade around the fort, making it almost impossible to break in.

The wolf and his friends tried their best to break through the fort, but they just couldn't get in. They were getting tired and frustrated. Just then, one of the villagers shouted out from the watchtower, "You'll never get in, we have the strongest fort in the land!"

Hearing this, the wolf started to laugh. He said, "You may have built a strong fort, but you forget one thing, the door!" And with that, the wolf and his friends simply walked through the door of the fort and started to cause trouble.

The villagers were shocked and couldn't believe what had just happened. They had forgotten to lock the door! They quickly ran to the wolf and his friends, chased them out of the fort, and locked the door behind them.

From that day on, the villagers were careful to always lock the door of their fort. And the wolf never came back to cause trouble again.

The end.

Reflections

1. What did the villagers do to protect themselves from the big, bad wolf?
2. Why did the wolf and his friends try to break into the fort?
3. How did the villagers forget to lock the door of the fort?
4. What happened when the wolf and his friends finally got into the fort?
5. How did the villagers make sure the wolf never caused trouble again?
6. What can you learn from this story about being prepared and paying attention to details?
7. Can you think of a different ending to the story?
8. If you were in the story, what would you have done differently?