Wolves and Cranes and Goats and Wolves...oh my. 2-11-16 Aesop's Fables

Aesop wrote lots about wolves.  Wolves were certainly a creature that Greeks knew well, and it carried over to Roman tellings as well.

Of course as we've discussed before, no animals would ever be as base and foolish as these characters...they're really all about people.

"The Wolf and the Crane"

A Wolf one day after a kill and feast, found himself with a bone lodged in his throat that would not dislodge.  Admiring the long slender beak and neck of a Crane, he offered said bird a huge sum of money as a reward if he would just reach down in his gullet and remove the source of his discomfort.  The Crane worked carefully and expertly, reaching his beak down the Wolf's throat and removed the bone.  When he asked for his reward, the Wolf simply scoffed.  "Your reward is that you were allowed to reach your head into a Wolf's mouth and safely withdraw it harm free.  This is an honor and you should be happy with that.".

MORAL:

"n serving the wicked, expect no reward and be thankful if you escape injury for your pains."

or

"Gratitude and Greed Go Not Together."

"The Wolf and the Goat"

A Goat was grazing happily high on a bluff and safe from danger, when he was spied by a hungry Wolf in the meadow below.  "Come down below, friend Goat.  The grass down here in the meadow is twice as sweet as the grass on that dangerous ridge.", called the Wolf.  The Goat seeing through the Wolf's ruse called back, "It's not for the grass that you call me down Wolf, but for your own hunger."

MORAL:

Beware of Friends with An Ulterior Motive."

Talk to you soon.