Better Hungry and Free
The fable
A hungry wolf met a well-fed house dog.
The dog told the wolf he could have the same life: food, shelter, comfort and safety.
The wolf was interested.
Then he noticed the mark on the dog’s neck.
The dog explained: “Perhaps you see the mark of the collar…”
The wolf replied: “What! A chain!”
That was the moment the wolf understood the trade.
The dog was fed, but he was owned.
The wolf chose the forest.
He chose hunger and freedom over comfort and captivity.
Or, as the moral is often written:
“Better starve free than be a fat slave.”
The author
The fable is attributed to Aesop.
Aesop was said to be a slave in ancient Greece.
A slave understood freedom so clearly that his lesson was still being taught to children thousands of years later.
The lesson
I am thankful I was taught this in school as a free person in a free country.
I was taught that freedom mattered.
That independence mattered.
That comfort is not worth a collar.
The question
What are children taught today?