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The Wolf & The Crane - Summary and Analysis | Aesop Fables

Summary

a square image saying Aesop Fables on the top right corner and "The wolf and the crane" in the middle of it. There is the sketch of a wolf's head showing his teeth on the bottom left and a crane standing on the bottom right
A wolf is found with a bone stuck on his throat. He can’t get it out and so he tries to find an animal to help him get rid of the obstacle that stops him from eating and is even threatening to his life. At last he manages to persuade a crane to help him with the promise of a reward afterwards. But after the task is done and the crane has put his long bill into the wolf’s throat and took the bone out the wolf snaps atthe crane when the latter asks for his payment. The wolf tells him that getting away with his life is payment enough for him as “You can go about boasting that you once put your head into a wolf’s mouth and didn’t get bitten off”.

The Fable


Analysis

The moral lesson of this fable is: “Be thankful to escape unharmed when you do business with a scoundrel”.

Is this a fable talking about ingratitude? Yes, from one perspective that is what this fable is talking about. Aesop is using the animals, again, to show an important truth. That oftentimes people that want to do well in the world earn ingratitude from the ones they helped. An act of kindness is not always reciprocated. In this case of course the crane didn’t help the wolf out of the kindness of his heart, but because he yearned for a reward.  Of course he should have received the fee that was promised to him. But I believe the fable wants more to highlight the fact that people, especially when found in desperate circumstances, can promise things that they are not prepared to give.  That people in power when found in a difficult situation might treat others differently or even kindly, but when they’re in power again and they no longer need any help they return to their previous harsh and cruel ways. 

On the other hand, from the wolf’s point of view the crane took his reward. That was that he escaped with his life in the first place and secondly that he could proudly repeat this story to others and gain admiration from them. 

But this fable is also meant to give a lesson to those who believe that they will be rewarded for a job well done when they do business with the person that they know is a scoundrel to begin with. Those people might be convinced, as the crane was, by solemn promises. But they shouldn’t. People ought to consider what favors they grant and to whom before they grant them. They should expect no gratitude and no change in the behaviour of dishonorable people.

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