The Wolf and the Shepherds
Once upon a time, at the edge of an old forest where cool waters flowed, lived a cunning wolf. All day long, this wolf watched the valley from high hills and looked at the villagers' flocks with a sigh. In the green meadows of the valley, lived cheerful and merciful shepherds protecting the flock. When evening came, the shepherds lit a large fire, sang folk songs together and filled their bellies. The wolf hid behind the bushes and watched their warm table with great envy. On a cold autumn evening, a dark gloom and a sharp wind covered the forest.
Getting very hungry, the wolf decided to approach the shepherds' tent with quiet steps. Looking inside through the tent window, he encountered an astonishing sight he could not believe his eyes. The shepherds had slaughtered a fat sheep they guarded like the apple of their eye during the day and were eating it with relish. The men gathered around the table were laughing as they cheerfully shared the delicious meat. Seeing this situation, the wolf shook his head in astonishment and stepped forward angrily from among the bushes. Calling out to the shepherd in deep amazement, he shouted, "I can't believe what you're doing, my friend!"
The wolf continued his words with a reproachful tone of voice: "If I ate the same sheep, you would rouse the whole village and hunt me down immediately!" "So why don't you feel any guilt at all when eating an animal from your own flock?" At this reaction of the wolf, the old shepherd slowly put down the meat in his hand onto his plate. Looking at the wolf in surprise, the young shepherds paused at first, then fell into a deep silence.
The old shepherd replied in a calm voice, "We are sharing the product of our own labor." However, the cunning wolf had already understood this contradiction and hypocrisy in humans. Knowing he was right, the wolf silently returned to the depths of the forest and vanished among the astonished gazes of the shepherds. People easily defend behaviors they deem guilty in others when their own interests are at stake. Practice what you preach.