Zeke has never understood why Li’l Wolf loves to read so much or why he would willingly spend so many hours in a library of all places. (The longest he ever spent in one was about thirty seconds before they kicked him out.) While he did read Li'l Wolf the occasional bedtime story back in the day, he often veered off course and made it up as he went along, always having the villain (especially if they were a wolf) triumph in the end.
The idea of reading as a hobby, however, has never appealed to him and he could list off a thousand other things that he’d rather do. He’s ranted about this several times to a deadpan Walter who would brush him off and remind him there were worse things his son could’ve been into.
A typical conversation would go a little somethin’ like this:
"I just don’t want him turnin’ into some kinda egghead!"
"As opposed to a meathead?"
"BETTER THAT THAN AN EGGHEAD!"
"Oh, quit kvetchin’, Zeke! Ya know, lots o' other parents would be thrilled by this! Just a pup an' already readin' Steinbeck!"
"Grumble grumble he oughta be out catchin’ pigs, that’s what I’d be doin’ at his age..."
"Ughhh, give it a rest, will ya?"
Needless to say, Walter is immensely supportive of Li’l Wolf’s love of reading. He's amazed at how advanced he is at his age and how many books he can finish in just a week. This even inspired the old wolf to go through his own books and bring some to the pup that might spark his interest or at least get a laugh out of him. Among them were various mysteries from the thirties and forties, the occasional cheesy sci-fi novel from the fifties, and plenty of non-fiction focused on the history of radio and film.
Walter hadn’t picked up some of those books in decades and he found himself flipping through them again, much to Zeke’s confusion and annoyance. It was only out of bored curiosity that he asked Walter what he was reading one night--The Maltese Falcon--and begrudgingly listened to him finish the chapter. And another. And another. After a while, Walter asked Li'l Wolf to take over as the narrator and with some team effort, they finished the book within a few days and even Zeke had to admit, it wasn't as dull as he thought it was gonna be.
Spoilers: They wound up watching the movie too. Can't go wrong with a classic.
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