"Don‘t be afraid," Johnny said. He took a pack from his shoulders, drew out some cloth strips, and bandaged the wolf’s leg. When he was through, the wolf licked Johnny‘s wrist.

It took several days for the wolf’s leg to heal. Johnny Appleseed stayed with the animal and took care of it. He fed the wolf and brought it water in his metal hat. When the wolf was well, Johnny started off on his travels again, his seed packs swinging in time with his step.

He had walked only about a hundred feet when he heard something padding along behind him. It was the black wolf.

From then on, wherever Johnny went, the wolf followed. At night, they slept together under the stars, or huddled in a cave together, out of the rain. By day, they went from cabin to cabin, and some say the wolf would dig the holes with his paws for Johnny‘s apple seeds.

Johnny began to carry other things beside seeds. He put small gifts into the bags swinging from his shoulders — dolls he had whittled out of wood, pieces of bright cloth or ribbons, pretty speckled stones he had found, or berries to put on a string for a necklace. He gave most of these things to the settlers’ children.

Johnny's eyes stayed as bright as ever, even though his dark hair began to turn gray. The black wolf that traveled with him grew old like Johnny, and the wolf’s eyes grew dim. The wolf trotted close at Johnny‘s heels, for that was the only way it could keep on the path. People say that, because Johnny loved all wild creatures so much, the wolf learned to love them too. Rabbits would come and drink from the same pool where the wolf drank. Birds would ride on Brother Wolf’s shoulder. Even the settlers, who distrusted wolves, learned to like Johnny‘s wolf.