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.