NationStates Jolt Archive

Once upon a time a Wolf was lapping at a spring on a hillside, when, looking up, what should he see but a Lamb just beginning to drink a little lower down. "There's my supper," thought he, "if only I can find some excuse to seize it." Then he called out to the Lamb, "How dare you muddle the water from which I am drinking?"

"Nay, master, nay," said Lambikin; "if the water be muddy up there, I cannot be the cause of it, for it runs down from you to me."

"Well, then," said the Wolf, "why did you call me bad names this time last year?"

"That cannot be," said the Lamb; "I am only six months old."

"I don't care," snarled the Wolf; "if it was not you it was your father;" and with that he rushed upon the poor little Lamb and ate her all up. But before she died she gasped out:

"Any excuse will serve a tyrant."



At a country fair there was a Buffoon who made all the people laugh by imitating the cries of various animals. He finished off by squeaking so like a pig that the spectators thought that he had a porker concealed about him. But a Countryman who stood by said: "Call that a pig s squeak! Nothing like it. You give me till tomorrow and I will show you what it's like." The audience laughed, but next day, sure enough, the Countryman appeared on the stage, and putting his head down squealed so hideously that the spectators hissed and threw stones at him to make him stop. "You fools!" he cried, "see what you have been hissing," and held up a little pig whose ear he had been pinching to make him utter the squeals.

Men often applaud an imitation and hiss the real thing.




What can you guys get from these fables? I happen to like them but want some other thoughts on them.

any thoughts?

If I were the lamb I would have run away, rather than waste my last breath making political quips.

any thoughts?

Well, they seem to be summed up fairly well with the final sentences. Other than that, I really have no thoughts that are not smart alec responses, such as, 'Lamb chops & bacon taste good'. :p

Well, they seem to be summed up fairly well with the final sentences. Other than that, I really have no thoughts that are not smart alec responses, such as, 'Lamb chops & bacon taste good'. :p

Did you even like the fables? Do you know who wrote them?

Did you even like the fables? Do you know who wrote them?

1. Not especially; then again, I have'nt really been into fables for a long time (really never got into them, come to think of it).

2. I don't know who wrote them; if I were taking a guess, I would say the bros. Grimm, although they don't seem quite bloody enough.

1. Not especially; then again, I have'nt really been into fables for a long time (really never got into them, come to think of it).

2. I don't know who wrote them; if I were taking a guess, I would say the bros. Grimm, although they don't seem quite bloody enough.


Aesop wrote them, litte earlier than Grim.

Did you even like the fables? Do you know who wrote them?

The first one definatly sounds like Aesop. The second one is a bit too modern to be him.

The first one definatly sounds like Aesop. The second one is a bit too modern to be him.


The second one was him.

http://www.online-literature.com/aesop/aesops-fables/80/

Once upon a time a Wolf was lapping at a spring on a hillside, when, looking up, what should he see but a Lamb just beginning to drink a little lower down.

"There's my supper," thought he, "if only I can find some excuse to seize it." Then he called out to the Lamb, "How dare you muddle the water from which I am drinking?"

"Nay, master, nay," said Lambikin; "if the water be muddy up there, I cannot be the cause of it, for it runs down from you to me."

"Well, then," said the Wolf, "why did you call me bad names this time last year?"

"That cannot be," said the Lamb; "I am only six months old."

"I don't care," snarled the Wolf; "if it was not you it was your father;" and with that he rushed upon the poor little Lamb and ate her all up. But before she died she gasped out:

"Any excuse will serve a tyrant."
Hmm... 'Water that runs down from you to me' is also mentioned in the Bible, so by analogy this story could be considered as an extrapolation of the parable in John 4.

13 Jesus answered, "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life."

To which the Samaritan woman replies, "Sir, give me this water so that I won't get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water." The Samaritan woman is humbly asking to be taught by Jesus, to become a lamb in his flock.

The Lambikin parable demonstrates what happens when the lamb encounters a predator (a heartless, godless person). The lamb is humble, referring to others as her "master." She is innocent, and vulnerable and so she gets eaten. But it's not about her --the lesson isn't about her.

If we take the second parable as an extended analogy of the first, then the wolf who drinks of the water does so out of pretence, without any real need to quench his thirst for knowledge. This is the person who calls themselves religious and a Christian but are just going through the motions for the sake of having a place in society where they can fulfill their real hunger, feeding on the lambs. Any lie or excuse is as meaningless and useful to them as the truth.

Note the lamb's death is not considered tragic (at least not too tragic for children to hear at bedtime): to those who understand the analogy, she has the promise of eternal life.

What can you guys get from these fables? I happen to like them but want some other thoughts on them.
did you make them up?

Once upon a time a Wolf was lapping at a spring on a hillside, when, looking up, what should he see but a Lamb just beginning to drink a little lower down. "There's my supper," thought he, "if only I can find some excuse to seize it." Then he called out to the Lamb, "How dare you muddle the water from which I am drinking?"

"Nay, master, nay," said Lambikin; "if the water be muddy up there, I cannot be the cause of it, for it runs down from you to me."

"Well, then," said the Wolf, "why did you call me bad names this time last year?"

"That cannot be," said the Lamb; "I am only six months old."

"I don't care," snarled the Wolf; "if it was not you it was your father;" and with that he rushed upon the poor little Lamb and ate her all up. But before she died she gasped out:

"Any excuse will serve a tyrant."this one, I would say, "Any excuse will serve an evil deed."

What can you guys get from these fables? I happen to like them but want some other thoughts on them.

#1: "Seize the day."
#2 is Rule #8: "There's no accounting for taste in this universe."

Why would a wolf need an excuse to eat something? :p

Why would a wolf need an excuse to eat something? :p
Because it's not really a wolf. ;)

Hmm... 'Water that runs down from you to me' is also mentioned in the Bible, so by analogy this story could be considered as an extrapolation of the parable in John 4.

13 Jesus answered, "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life."

To which the Samaritan woman replies, "Sir, give me this water so that I won't get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water." The Samaritan woman is humbly asking to be taught by Jesus, to become a lamb in his flock.

The Lambikin parable demonstrates what happens when the lamb encounters a predator (a heartless, godless person). The lamb is humble, referring to others as her "master." She is innocent, and vulnerable and so she gets eaten. But it's not about her --the lesson isn't about her.

If we take the second parable as an extended analogy of the first, then the wolf who drinks of the water does so out of pretence, without any real need to quench his thirst for knowledge. This is the person who calls themselves religious and a Christian but are just going through the motions for the sake of having a place in society where they can fulfill their real hunger, feeding on the lambs. Any lie or excuse is as meaningless and useful to them as the truth.

Note the lamb's death is not considered tragic (at least not too tragic for children to hear at bedtime): to those who understand the analogy, she has the promise of eternal life.

Hmm??

Given that these are Aesop's fables, and as such predate Christianity, I find it more than a little difficult to view them as retellings of Biblical fables. They may, however be derived from the same folk wisdom as the biblical stories were, and as such have some indirect connection (Cousins if you will).

There is no promise of eternal life involved in either story. The lamb's death is not tragic as a) it is a natural consequence of a lamb being in close proximity to a wolf and b) its death was not random and unnecessary in the sense that it provided needed food for the wolf.

Additionally the wolf is drinking in the first fable to start with, and does not just pretend to drink to provide an excuse. If you wish to extend the wolf persona into the second one, which I see no justification for doing but will go along with it anyway, then the conclusion would be the opposite of the one that you draw. That there are people who follow their natural desires honestly and do not thus become part of the flock and are chastised by the majority for this. Those that are accepted are those that do not act honestly as themselves, but pay lip service to the requirements of society and become fake in the process.

Hmm??

Given that these are Aesop's fables, and as such predate Christianity, I find it more than a little difficult to view them as retellings of Biblical fables. They may, however be derived from the same folk wisdom as the biblical stories were, and as such have some indirect connection (Cousins if you will).

There is no promise of eternal life involved in either story. The lamb's death is not tragic as a) it is a natural consequence of a lamb being in close proximity to a wolf and b) its death was not random and unnecessary in the sense that it provided needed food for the wolf.

Additionally the wolf is drinking in the first fable to start with, and does not just pretend to drink to provide an excuse. If you wish to extend the wolf persona into the second one, which I see no justification for doing but will go along with it anyway, then the conclusion would be the opposite of the one that you draw. That there are people who follow their natural desires honestly and do not thus become part of the flock and are chastised by the majority for this. Those that are accepted are those that do not act honestly as themselves, but pay lip service to the requirements of society and become fake in the process.
The actual dating of the parables is beside the point. The point was, "What can you learn from this?" Regardless that there is no actual connection between the two parables, I can draw one that has significance for me (as you did, above).