Thinking Out Loud ~ Listen to the Voice of Wisdom

Today’s Thinking Out Loud reflection is on Aesop’s Fable, The Wolf and the Sheep. Aesop’s Fables is available for free download here.

The Fable

“A Wolf was worried and badly bitten by dogs, and lay a long time

for dead. By and by he began to revive, and, feeling very hungry,

called out to a passing Sheep and said, “Would you kindly bring me

some water from the stream close by? I can manage about meat, if

only I could get something to drink.” But this Sheep was no fool.

“I can quite understand”, said he, “that if I brought you the

water, you would have no difficulty about the meat.”

Note: Most people I know have been taken in by the cunning words of someone who was not as kind as they purported to be. It hurts when we discover that someone we trusted, betrayed us. It’s happened to me. I tend to trust. My wife was more careful. I recall two specific incidence where she told me not to trust someone. I asked her why. She’d simply say, ‘His eyes don’t match his smile.’ She was right. I didn’t take her advice the first time and carry the scars. The second time I listened, and it made all the difference. You may have to work with folks whom you can’t trust, but keep your guard up, they’re very good at deception.

Thinking Out Loud ~ Be Wise, Listen and Evaluate

Today’s Thinking Out Loud reflection is on Aesop’s Fable, The Wolf and the Lamb. Aesop’s Fables is available for free download here.

The Fable

“A Wolf came upon a Lamb straying from the flock, and felt some

compunction about taking the life of so helpless a creature without

some plausible excuse; so he cast about for a grievance and said at

last, “Last year, sirrah, you grossly insulted me.” “That is

impossible, sir,” bleated the Lamb, “for I wasn’t born then.”

“Well,” retorted the Wolf, “you feed in my pastures.” “That cannot

be,” replied the Lamb, “for I have never yet tasted grass.” “You

drink from my spring, then,” continued the Wolf. “Indeed, sir,”

said the poor Lamb, “I have never yet drunk anything but my

mother’s milk.” “Well, anyhow,” said the Wolf, “I’m not going

without my dinner”: and he sprang upon the Lamb and devoured it

without more ado.”

 

.Note: I’ve heard this fable told another way, a scorpion asks a frog to carry him across a river. The frog refused telling the scorpion, that he didn’t want the scorpion to bite him. The scorpion swore an oath that he would not bite the frog. The frog agreed to transport the scorpion. When they reached the other side of the river, the scorpion bit the frog. The frog gasped, ‘But you swore an oath.’ ‘Ha, said the scorpion, I only can be what I am, a scorpion.’ Both tales caution us to be wary of those who will try to dupe us to accomplish get their way. A rule of thumb to remember, “The best predictor of future performance is past performance.”

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