Fables and Their Meaning
“The Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing” The fable “The Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing” is a famous fable credited to Aesop. It is a story about a wolf who wants to feast on some sheep. In order to get to the sheep, he dressed in sheep skin and tricks the lamb to follow him off to the side. The lamb follows and the wolf feasts. This fable shows great examples of the moral, appearances are deceptive. The moral, appearances are deceptive, applies to life in the technology age in many ways. In the technology age of today, it is fairly easy to pretend to be something, or someone, you are not. Some people think that faking an appearance will benefit them; however, it can also have negative consequences. For example, the moral appearances are deceptive is perfectly proven in the cases of pedophiles on the internet. All around the country men and women pretend to be someone they are not in order to seduce young children into sexual encounters. Since we have the stereotype that all young children are naïve, we know they will act on this attention from cyber friends. This is a case where the consequences of this specific moral are negative. Also, the moral of this fable is used in a way to harm others it is not how the writer in which it is credited to, Aesop wanted the moral to be perceived. Many people also use fake identities, or appearances, in real life situations as well. For example, it has been perceived in the real world then women lie about certain aspect of their personal being in order to impress a man they are attracted to. These lies consist of, but are not limited to, age, weight, height, personal interests, etc. This is a classic example of one’s appearance being deceptive. In this case an innocent person may not be harmed. Although, there is a chance that turmoil may occur between the individuals involved, this example is more low risk than deceiving children for sex. One last example of the moral appearances are deceptive being applied to life is when an
Cited: Aesop. “The Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing.” Aesop’s Fables. 29 January 2012. http://aesopfables.com/cgi/aesop1.cgi?4&TheWolfinSheepsClothing2>.