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Aesop's Fables, translated by Laura Gibbs (2002)

358. THE WOLVES AND THE HARVESTERS
Perry 676 (Romulus Ang. 45)

Two wolves crossed paths one day and began to talk about the fact that they were an object of universal hatred. People would even start yelling at them when they had no intention of doing anything wrong. One of the wolves then said to the other, 'It's all because they've never seen us do anything good! If the people saw us do them a favour even just once, then they would be more inclined to expect us to be good later on.' The second wolf asked, 'What good thing do you think we can do that will convince the people of our good behaviour?' The first wolf replied, 'Let's leave the woods and go into the fields where we can help the people gathering sheaves!' So the wolves came out of the woods and went into the fields and gathered the sheaves, just as they had planned. But as soon as the people saw the wolves in the field, they immediately chased them away, shouting and screaming. The wolves were surprised and said, 'What do they mean by shouting at us like that, when we are not doing any harm and only trying to help them?' The other wolf replied, 'Let's go back home and act as we did in the past. Whether we help the people or harass them, they are going to hate us just the same!'
Moral. The same is true of wicked people: when they do not get the reward and thanks they expect, they immediately put a stop to their good works.


Source: Aesop's Fables. A new translation by Laura Gibbs. Oxford University Press (World's Classics): Oxford, 2002.
NOTE: New cover, with new ISBN, published in 2008; contents of book unchanged.