In the streets and on the avenue
          They are dancing, they are dancing
On the bridge and in the plaza
          They are dancing to and fro’
“The beast is dead. They’ve killed the beast.
          Hallelujah, hallelujah!
Fear no more; the beast is dead.
          Let us rejoice and dance.”
“No longer shall we fear the night.
          We are safe now; we are safe now.
Our cattle and our goats are safe now.
          They have killed the beast.”
Alone and on the edge of town, though
          A young man waited, a young man waited
He had seen the wolves beyond
          The young man waited all alone.
In the town hall the council’d counseled
          Great orations, long debates
“Shall we slay this threat’ning beast
          Or shall we let it be?”
Townfolk talked and spoke of horror
          Slaughtered calves and slaughtered lambs
Some had claimed that wolves had feasted
          Though most voices blamed the beast.
Some had pondered, others wondered
          “Where are the wolves? What’s happened to the wolves?”
“Just be glad,” the mayor chanted,
          “Just the beast for now.”
“Save the calves and save the lambs!”
          They had shouted, they had shouted
But none had died within her lifetime
          One small child replied.
“Blame the beast for what?” she asked.
          She was silenced, they were silenced
Even wolves are frightened by it
          Some had whispered to themselves.
To the hills and to the valleys
          Armed with shotguns, armed with rifles
To the forests, hills and valleys
          Armed with vengeance, “Kill the beast!”
In the streets and on the avenue
          They are dancing, they are dancing
On the bridge and in the plaza
          They are dancing to and fro’
“The beast is dead. They’ve killed the beast.
          Hallelujah, hallelujah.”
But late that night when darkness fell
          The howling wolves were heard once more . . .