Essay: Aesop's Fables (Jacobs)

While reading through Aesop's Fables by Jacobs, I ended up sympathizing with the fox.  He always tried to get his way or out-smart someone, but the joke was usually on him.  For example, he invited the stork over for dinner one evening and served soup, which the stork could not eat, of course.  The stork then had the fox over for dinner and served the food in a jar with a narrow opening.  The fox could not reach the food because his a snout was too large.  More foxes tried and sometimes succeeded to trick other animals throughout the fables.  He was very pretentious and did not care too much about making or keeping friends.

The character of the wolf appeared alone in the fables.  He was usually hungry and willing to break any morality that he possessed to devour his next meal.  This personality reminds me of the people who are mean only because they have a reputation of being so.  I went to high school with a fellow who fit this description.  He made fun of the drama kids, and the smart kids, and basically everyone who he wasn't talking to at the moment.  I dated him, of course.  When confronted with the error in his personality, he simply stated that he didn't actually think anything less of those people.  He was just acting the way he had always acted.  I feel like the wolf was in the same situation.  If he took the time to get to know and fought the temptation to eat the other animals, maybe he would actually enjoy their company.  Maybe he would stop trying to trick stupid lambs into straying away from the herd.  Maybe the wolf species would have evolved into, oh I don't know, a dog? But at the end of the day, a wolf is still a wolf, and sheep (the nerdy kids) are still sheep.  I'm in the latter group, by the way.

Rereading this blog, it's obvious that I cheer for the bad guy, the one I always hope will change.  Maybe one day...

Wolf in sheep's clothing. Photo from Flickr.