Of Sheep and Wolves: an allegory

Once there was a peaceful little valley. The valley was nestled between two ridges on which grew tall stands of spruce, pine and aspen. Rushing along the bottom of the valley was a cold, clear, noisy little creek filled with lively fish. Between the noisy creek and the green ridges were broad meadows filled with lush grass, beautiful wildflowers, and a small herd of peaceful, timid sheep.

The sheep had called the meadows of the valley home for more years than any could remember. Generations of their kind had lived there in peace and harmony. Indeed, the gentle, trusting sheep had never known an enemy. They considered all of Nature’s creatures to be their friends.

One day, a family of wolves wandered into the peaceful little valley. They were led by a grizzled old male named Moses who loved more than anything to gaze at the reflection of his white mane in the creek and make long, rambling speeches about revelations he had received from the Great Spirit, who seemed to speak only to him.

Upon seeing the peaceful little valley, Moses exclaimed, “I have spoken to the Great Spirit and He wants us to inhabit this valley and make it our own!”

Knowing nothing of wolves or their ways, the trusting sheep approached Moses and greeted him and his family. “Welcome to our peaceful little valley,” said the sheep. “Please let us know if there is anything we can do to make your visit more comfortable.”

“Oh, we’re not visiting,” replied Moses grinning broadly and running his tongue across his long, white teeth. “We have decided to make this valley our home, and all of you will be our delicio . . . er . . . our delightful neighbors!”

“Then welcome neighbors,” said the sheep, “and please help yourself to our grass as there is more than enough for all.”

“Oh, we do not eat grass,” said Moses with a toothy smile. “We eat, um . . . fish. Yes, that’s it, we eat fish from the creek, but only at night so as not to disturb your rest. We want to be good neighbors, after all.”

That sounded fine to the sheep who returned to contentedly munching their grass and softly baaing and bleating to each other.

Sometime later, another pack of wolves found their way into the peaceful valley. This pack was led by a large male named Outlaw who grinned incessantly and was known to never miss a meal.

Moses welcomed Outlaw and his pack saying, “You and your pack are welcome here. There are more than enough sheep to keep both our families fat.”

That made Outlaw very happy, and he danced a little jig and licked his lips saying, “Oh, I can taste them now!”

Soon after a third family of wolves wandered into the valley led by a stern male named Rebel. Unlike Moses and Outlaw who enjoyed eating sheep, Rebel simply saw it as the way of the world.

“We are wolves and they are sheep,” said Rebel matter-of-factly. “Wolves eat sheep and that’s just the way the world works. If the Great Spirit had wanted it different He would have made it different.”

Moses and Outlaw heartily agreed. They welcomed the newcomer and Moses exclaimed, “together we will rule this valley!” Secretly, however, they each began to worry there might not be enough sheep for their growing families.

As the years passed, the wolves grew sleek and fat adding new members each year. The sheep, however, steadily dwindled in number.

One day, a wise old ram named Shep said to Moses, “I can’t understand it, although the meadows are full of green grass, we continue to lose members of our flock. For some reason, they seem to just up and leave without a bleat or a baa of explanation.”

Moses’ yellow eyes narrowed for a moment, then he smiled broadly, slapped Shep on the back and replied “Oh, I wouldn’t worry about it. They are probably just visiting friends in nearby valleys. I’m sure they will return some day.”

“I don’t know,” worried Shep. “I have spoken to members of the Council and I plan to bring the matter up for discussion at our next meeting.” But the following day, Shep was gone, too.

The Council had governed the valley since time immemorial. It consisted of wise old rams and ewes who tried to make decisions in the best interests of all who lived in the valley, be they sheep or other. At their next meeting, the rams and ewes of the Council tried to discuss the problem Shep had raised. But without his strong leadership they fell to aimless baaing and bleating and eventually decided to table the matter.

All the while, the wolves were getting fatter, the sheep were becoming fewer, and no one noticed that the lively fish in the noisy little creek were as numerous as ever.

Then one morning, Moses, Outlaw and Rebel awoke to discover there were no sheep left in the peaceful little valley.

“Our food supply is gone!” cried Moses.

“Yes, it appears we will have to relocate our packs to another valley,” said Rebel.

“Oh, I think there is still plenty of food for my family,” grinned Outlaw as he hungrily eyed the fat cubs of Moses and Rebel.

In an instant, the three packs fell upon each other with tooth and claw. Soon there were no wolves left.

Some years later, a wandering flock of sheep happened upon a peaceful little valley with broad meadows of green grass and a noisy little creek full of lively fish.

“We will make this valley our home,” said the leader of the flock. “It will be a place where all are welcome to live in peace.”

And so it goes.

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