Thieves and Their Mothers - 5-2-16 - Aesop's Fables

Going through my sketchbook,  found one last Aesop Fable doodle I had done.  

Last meaning, for my first time running through them.  I don't think I'm finished with this yet.

This one was left aside because it's a harder one to take I think for some.  And one that I did because I think one of the interesting things about these fables, as they were written over the course of 1,000 years and edited, abridges and altered as years went by to fit whatever social morays were in place at the time, is that even the ones that seem a little out of place or harsh still hold a lot of truth.

"The Young Thief and His Mother"

One day a young thief was caught stealing some valuables from a wealthy family.  Upon investigation, it was learned that the lad had a long history of thievery (lots of "priors" as they say) and so was sentenced to imprisonment and death.  At the gallows he asked a last request to be able to speak to his dear Mother, and the request was granted.  He begged his Mother to please come close to him, for what he had to say he wanted to whisper in her ear.  His Mother obligingly leaned in so that her ear was within an inch of the doomed boys mouth, at which point the young thief pulled a Mike Tyson on her and clamped down with his teeth with all his might on her ear and ripped it from her head.  The attending priest asked the boy why he had done such a thing.  He replied that, "When I was a very small boy I would steal very petty things, quite small indeed, and when I would bring these trinkets home and offer them to my Mother as gifts she did not ever scold me.  She would instead laugh and say that they would not be missed and then covet those gifts.  As I grew older and more daring and at the encouragement of my dear sweet Mother, I stole larger and more valuable things until at last you see me before you.  I would not have become what I have become and landed here at death's door if it had not been for her and I wished to punish her.".  The priest looked at the poor bloody old woman and said, "He's right you know, the Lord hath said,...

MORAL:

"Train up a child in the way he should go; and when he is old he shall not depart therefrom."

Rough on poor Mom, but probably true.

Talk to you soon.