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The Traveler and the Wolf
Jan. 3rd, 2022 11:42 amOnce upon a time, a traveler was walking a path in the wilderness when he heard, faintly, a cry for help. Following the sound, he found a wolf in a pit. "Please help me," the wolf said, "I fell into this pit and can't get out, and I'm terribly hungry and terribly frightened!" The traveler was a kindly man, so he found a log nearby and pushed it into the hole so that one end was at the bottom and the other was sticking out the top, like a ramp. The wolf climbed out, bared his fangs, and pounced on the man.
"Hey, what are you doing? I just saved your life!" the man said.
"But I'm safe now, and I'm hungry," the wolf replied.
"But that's not fair!" the man said. "You should always repay kindness with kindness."
"That's not how the world works," the wolf replied. "Only the strong survive, and if that requires repaying kindness with harm, so be it!"
"No, no, that's not right at all," the man said. "Look, we need a second opinion to settle this. I'll make a deal with you: let's ask around, and if most agree with me, you will let me go; but if they agree with you, then you may eat me." The wolf was a little bewildered by hunger and by the man's persistence, so it agreed.
Near to the road was a great pine tree. "Excuse me," it said, "but I couldn't help but overhear your discussion. The man is right: kindness is repaid with kindness. Look in my branches: do you see all the birds here? I let them live under my shelter, and as thanks for this they spread my seeds far and wide. I have many children in the woods around here. Wolf, you should let the man go free."
Soon, an ox came to graze nearby, and they asked him for his opinion on the matter. "The wolf is right: the world is unfair," the ox said. "I have worked long and well for my master, but when I become too old to work anymore, he will kill and eat me. Is that a fitting payment for all my hard work? Wolf, you should eat the man and be done with it."
Finally, a squirrel ran by. The man and the wolf called to the squirrel and explained their situation and asked her for her advice. "Wait, wait, wait, let me get this straight," she said. "The man was in the hole and the log pushed the wolf in?" The man and the wolf told their story again and the squirrel said, "Oh, so the log was in the hole and the wolf pushed the man in?" And again the man and the wolf explained what happened. "Oh, it's no good," the squirrel said, "Can you just show me where you were?" And the exasperated wolf jumped back in the pit and the man went over to the road. "But wait," the squirrel said, "There's a log there, why didn't the wolf just climb out?" And the man and the wolf explained that the log wasn't there originally, and working together they pushed and pulled the log back out of the hole. "Oh, I see, I get it now," said the squirrel, and as she scampered away, she said to the man, "I think that the wolf is right, and that you should be more careful who you help!"
"Ha! See?" said the wolf, "Now push that log back into the pit so I can eat you!" But the man had already left.
"Hey, what are you doing? I just saved your life!" the man said.
"But I'm safe now, and I'm hungry," the wolf replied.
"But that's not fair!" the man said. "You should always repay kindness with kindness."
"That's not how the world works," the wolf replied. "Only the strong survive, and if that requires repaying kindness with harm, so be it!"
"No, no, that's not right at all," the man said. "Look, we need a second opinion to settle this. I'll make a deal with you: let's ask around, and if most agree with me, you will let me go; but if they agree with you, then you may eat me." The wolf was a little bewildered by hunger and by the man's persistence, so it agreed.
Near to the road was a great pine tree. "Excuse me," it said, "but I couldn't help but overhear your discussion. The man is right: kindness is repaid with kindness. Look in my branches: do you see all the birds here? I let them live under my shelter, and as thanks for this they spread my seeds far and wide. I have many children in the woods around here. Wolf, you should let the man go free."
Soon, an ox came to graze nearby, and they asked him for his opinion on the matter. "The wolf is right: the world is unfair," the ox said. "I have worked long and well for my master, but when I become too old to work anymore, he will kill and eat me. Is that a fitting payment for all my hard work? Wolf, you should eat the man and be done with it."
Finally, a squirrel ran by. The man and the wolf called to the squirrel and explained their situation and asked her for her advice. "Wait, wait, wait, let me get this straight," she said. "The man was in the hole and the log pushed the wolf in?" The man and the wolf told their story again and the squirrel said, "Oh, so the log was in the hole and the wolf pushed the man in?" And again the man and the wolf explained what happened. "Oh, it's no good," the squirrel said, "Can you just show me where you were?" And the exasperated wolf jumped back in the pit and the man went over to the road. "But wait," the squirrel said, "There's a log there, why didn't the wolf just climb out?" And the man and the wolf explained that the log wasn't there originally, and working together they pushed and pulled the log back out of the hole. "Oh, I see, I get it now," said the squirrel, and as she scampered away, she said to the man, "I think that the wolf is right, and that you should be more careful who you help!"
"Ha! See?" said the wolf, "Now push that log back into the pit so I can eat you!" But the man had already left.