Fable of Aesop
Nivedita Yohana
Wijsheidsweb, 2018-12
Once, a little lamb was grazing on a meadow, along with a flock of sheep. Being very mischievous, the little lamb wandered some distance away from the sheep. It began to enjoy the fresh and delicious grass that it found there. It had come a long way from its group, but was unaware of that.
The lamb was also unaware of another fact: a wolf was closely following it!
When the lamb realized that it had lost its way and was far away from the flock, it decided to return and join them. However, the lamb was stunned to see a hungry and cunning wolf standing behind it.
The lamb realized that there was no option except to surrender itself to the wolf.
The lamb asked the wolf,
“Are you going to eat me?”
The wolf said,
“Yes, at any cost!”
The lamb said again,
“But can you please wait for some more time? I have eaten a lot of grass now and my stomach is filled with grass. If you eat me now, you will feel as though you are eating grass! So please wait until the grass is digested.”
The wolf agreed,
“Oh yes, I will wait. You are here before me and I can wait for some more time!”
The lamb thanked the wolf.
After some time, the wolf got ready to kill lamb, but the lamb stopped him again.
“Dear wolf, please wait for some more time. The grass is yet to be digested. If you eat me now, you will see a lot of grass in my stomach! Let me dance and then it will be digested easily.”
The wolf agreed.
The little lamb danced crazily for a while, and then suddenly stopped.
The wolf enquired what had happened.
The lamb said,
“I cannot dance properly because there is no music. You see this bell around my neck? Can you untie this bell and ring it loudly? Then I can dance fast and the grass in my stomach also will get digested fast.”
The wolf, overcome with the desire to eat the lamb, was ready to do anything. He removed the bell tied to the lamb’s neck and rang it with all his might.
Meanwhile, the shepherd was searching for the little lamb and heard the bell ringing. He saw the wolf and the lamb. He ran towards the wolf with a stick. Seeing the shepherd with a stick, the wolf ran away, and the lamb was saved!
Moral of the story: Physical strength is not sufficient. Sometimes, weaker people with smart minds can overcome the physically stronger ones!
Questions to ponder over:
- The little lamb should not have wandered away from the others, to begin with. Do you agree?
- How did the lamb react when it saw the wolf? Did it panic? Did it remain calm even under pressure?
- What would have happened if lamb had panicked and got anxious in front of the wolf?
- When was the last time you were scared? How did you overcome it?
[1] Source: The Wolf and the Lamb
