The Wolf Who Confessed
Once upon a time, in a deep forest where cool waters flowed and majestic oaks cast their shade, there lived the animals. When the winter season came to the door, the cruel ruler of the forest, the old wolf, suddenly turned into a judge devoted to his religion. This deceitful creature, who wished to hide his hunger and his cunning, had declared himself an impartial judge of conscience. He announced that he would call all the residents of the forest before him so that they might be cleansed of their sins, and that he would forgive them all. The cunning fox and the gentle donkey obeyed this strange invitation and came side by side at the twilight entrance of the cave. The wolf, who stood with majesty before the cave, first asked the cunning fox to examine his conscience.
The fox bowed his head with reverence and said that he had only pilfered the rooster of a poulterer, but that he had done this out of hunger. The wolf was fooled by the sweet words of the fox and by the defence he had made with intelligence, and announced that he forgave him at once. When the turn came to the innocent and gentle donkey, the poor animal lowered his head with shame. The donkey confessed that, while he was walking tired and worn out, he had eaten a tuft of straw fibre that had spilled from the saddlebag of a merchant. "I know, that straw was not my right, but I gave in to my greed and chewed a single bite," he said with a trembling voice. When the wolf heard this guileless confession, he suddenly sat up in anger and a wild glitter appeared in his eyes.
"You have not only stolen the goods of another, at the same time you have also gone against a sacred commandment!" he roared. The fox too saw this fury of the wolf as an opportunity and at once joined the talk in order to ingratiate himself with his powerful master. The wolf and the fox, who formed a partnership of profit, decided that the poor donkey had committed an unforgivable crime. The innocent donkey, who had no strength to defend himself, became the first victim of this court plotted with cunning. The two cunning hunters hid behind the mask of justice and made the wretched animal the tool of their feast. The other animals in the forest understood with pain that the rules put down by the strong served only to crush the weak. Beside those who hand out false justice, even the innocence of the weak turns into the greatest crime. As an old proverb reminds us, the mercy of the wolf is the death of the lamb.