What is the moral of this Fable ?

in #philosophy6 years ago (edited)



A few words before i begin,

I've heard tell that there are only about 10,000 active steemit bloggers; and after a year on and off steemit, i've finally started to befriend a few of them.
I'm going to resist the temptation to post their @ names, as so many people do; if i do that, i may leave someone out who is on the rise, or scare someone off, who was on the fence; Life is a tricky thing, people can be tricky too, but that doesn't mean we are inherently bad; i believe we are inherently good, we just get a little skewed from time to time....





Love and Understanding are basically the same thing.

So it stands up to reason, that the more We Understand each other, the better the World will Be...



knight sorrowful.jpg
Some of you know my Father has been ill for a while now, he died yesterday evening at 5:28 p.m. i felt like i needed to tell it, i'm not searching for sympathy, I'm not distraught, it was a long suffering he had to go through to get wherever Death takes you.. I'm grateful his suffering has ended.

He was a good man and a good Father, he Loved his children as any Father should, and taught us how to be tough, and to get back up again when you're knocked down; he wouldn't ever like to see a grown man cry, but i shed some tears for him anyway.. He will be missed dearly; i will always tell my kids the many stories of him, and the many lessons he taught us, of his childhood (in a family of eight kids) in Italy during WWII ; he and his older brothers were given a single shot 22. rifle, and had to get whatever meat they could find on the mountain; they collected firewood for cooking and to barter with; they helped to guard, the neighbors hazel nut trees by serving as night watchmen, and they were allowed to glean the orchard after the harvest; and many many others stories; he lived a full Life, rich in experience.
When he was 26 he traveled to America and met my Grandfather, and through him my Mother, on his return trip they were married; it was an arranged marriage (back then that was common), where both parties happily agreed to the union, my mother was 16..




I know he is looking after us from that other place, beyond the veil...
Pappa this one's for you..




Alright, now for the Fable, this is an Ancient Indian Folk tale, a retelling of...



The Donkey, the Dog, and the Thief




Once not so very long ago there was a Donkey and a Dog who shared the same small barn; late one night after their master had gone to sleep, and all the lights went out, a thief came silently up to the house. The Barn door having been left open, the donkey could easily see the silhouette of the thief approaching in the moonlight..

"Quick", he said to the dog, "sound off with your worst bark to scare the thief away!"



The dog growled low, and slunk quietly towards the barn door, to see if what the donkey said was true. He took one look outside and quickly slunk back into the shadows




"My friend," said the donkey, "did you not see the thief approaching, he is almost to the front porch!"



The dog glared back angrily, but made no sound.



"Why do you not bark?" said the donkey excitedly..




"I have protected my master's property for many years, and now he neglects to feed me for my trouble, i am forced to beg for scraps from his table, and i am more and more often met with a swift kick, as of late, it is dangerous for me to even be in the house with him."



"Fool! cried the donkey, this is not time for listing your complaints, this is time for action! Do your duty and sound off!"



"No." Growled the dog, "As the master has neglected me, so shall i now neglect him. What do you know of it donkey; you plow his fields for him when he is sober, you have never spent as much time with him as i, nor known any of his dealings outside of the plow; you whom he has never failed to reward, have no right to tell me of my duty!"



"Wicked creature!" cried the donkey, "You betray the master when you are needed most! The master could even be killed as a result of your treachery!"

With that the donkey began to bray loud and harsh as only a donkey can do, so that even as the thief began to pick the lock to the front door, he heard the terrible racket, and quickly fled the scene, while at the same time the dog slipped out the back door of the barn;

The Master of the house was abruptly awoken from his slumber and came outside only to find that nothing was amiss; he set out for the barn to find the subject of his wrath, and seizing the first farm implement he could find, which happened to be a shovel, he tragically beat the donkey to within an inch of his life...



Now, since you've taken the time to read the Fable all the way through, can you tell me, what moral do you find in the story?

If i gave you my version, it would have to be an essay, because i would have to figure it out as i write...

Which i may do, but that would be the afterthought post, if i get some comments.

What's your take on the moral of the Ancient Fable "the Donkey the Dog and the Thief".


The last Fable "The Tiger raised by Goats" can be found here
https://steemit.com/fiction/@primal-buddhist/the-tiger-raised-by-goats-a-retelling-in-three-parts-part-1
and the follow up / afterthoughts
https://steemit.com/fiction/@primal-buddhist/the-tiger-raised-by-goats-after-thoughts-aftermath-and-happily-ever-after

Thanks for stopping by:

Your 2¢ is always appreciated... Which ever way you want to read that.. ; )

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Firstly, my sincere condolences for your lost.
Secondly, I enjoyed the parable. The moral of the story... there are multi-angle, multi-fold. I am going to cop out and say, "Ah! That's life." :-)

Thank you very much, @quotes-haven; i like quotes to... because some sayings are worth remembering, and passing along..


Your response is Greatly appreciated, you see from my point of view, you didn't cop out at all... Not one bit in fact!
Your response is perfectly legitimate, you perhaps see how things might have easily gone a different way for the donkey, say for instance the thief made it into the house before the donkey brayed, the master may have rewarded him, and beat the dog for not sounding off.. Many, many ways it "might" have gone, but as you say, "That's Life!" ... Excellent response!
i'll do an After thoughts in a day or 2 and post your response there, along with everyone else's and we can have a discussion ..
Thanks again come back anytime, quick quote for you..

“Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened.”
― Dr. Seuss

@primal-buddhist I am happy to hear that you like quotes too. I have been a collector of quotes since I was in primary school. I think much of my Life education comes from quotes.
You read my mind! regarding my response to your parable.
Should the dog have barked... should the donkey have brayed... Should they have kept quiet... Each action or non-action will bring about a different outcome. And that is Life! And we know that in life, sometimes shit happens.
By the way, I love, and collect parables too. I was posting them, but cheetah keeps telling me it found similar content elsewhere, so I dropped them all together. I don't have your eloquence in writing, which is why most of my posts are just quotes.
Thanks for the quote by Dr. Seuss. That's one of my favourite quotes. :-)

There certainly is a condensation of Wisdom in the famous quotes of our predecessors..

There are three facets maybe more, to this tale... thanks for thinking of me..

I'm sorry to hear about your father, at least he is in peace far from pain.

I'll write you more, soon enough.

Thanks friend.. i do believe Our Loved ones watch over us from the other side..



I'm wasn't sure if you'd enjoy this kind of thing; the last one turned out to be really insightful. I do know that you tend to give a lot of thought to your reasoning.. Indeed there are many facets to this tale, many ways to approach it. Look forward to your response..

Greet him with the rising sun and when it parts.

Big hug, and I mean bear hug, of comfort and support to you and your family! He sounds like a man I would have really liked and would have had a great time having a beer with my Dad and hanging out with my family.

Now onto our exercise. Oh! I have to chew on this one. No good dead goes unpunished for sure this time.

Thanks SqB, he was a character for sure and he had a thick Italian accent, he could hang out with anybody as long as they had a sense of humor..
Making the family some Ham n Cabbage n carrots, cold n wet out, but the wood stove's going, Life goes on.

Look forward to your moral to the story; i want to go last.. ; )
p.s. what if the "master" was the gov? More to chew, chew it well.. LoL

I was thinking along those lines. The Master is an Authority figure so I'm taking the message is about Authority route. OOO I got it!!!! Blind unquestioned devotion to authority can lead to your demise. Rather than dismiss someone's opposing point of view and even trying to correct them. Listen, check it out and then come to your own conclusion. They might have an important and valid point. Also, their motive might not be what you assume.

i'll tell you what, i really enjoy how everyone's message is just a bit different every-time! Thanks, some really good points for the After thoughts coming in... Woooo Woooo chuga chuga...

Sorry for your loss. The part about the .22 reminded me of my grandpa who also was given one bullet and he either needed to bring something home to eat or that bullet.

The moral to me is how easy it is to blind oneself to the character of others. Despite seeing the "master" and his ways with others, the donkey was to sure that he was immune to the temper. His loyalty to the master was built upon an illusion.

Thanks man, and thanks again for bringing your moral to the story.
Whatever the master started off being he was a definitely a tyrant in the end.

howdy sir primal-buddhist! wow, so sorry to hear about your father but I'm glad a good man like that isn't suffering anymore. He served in the Italian army and came over here after the war?

The moral, I don't know if there is a moral, for me there certainly isn't a clear one but I sure like all the comments! These people are great!

The closes thing I would state as being the moral is similar to quotes-haven, that these kinds of tragic misunderstandings happen in life.
So now we get to hear what the moral is to you?

Thanks for your kind words friend..
He didn't serve in the army he was just a boy, but it was a very difficult time for the Italian people, at times food was scarce..

I'll do the afterthoughts post today or tomorrow, and i will certainly put my spin on it.. i'm hoping to get a few more points of view ..
Hope you're having a good day in the Great state of Texas..

howdy again sir primal-buddhist! Well your father was a great man and this country is better for him being here. I know it was a very harsh time in Europe during the war, so much devastation and suffering but I'm glad they made it over here.

Me too, I'm glad i was born here, as messed up as it is, America was founded on sound principles worth fighting for..

yes sir, absolutely! thank you.

You were truly blessed and in an elite group to have had such a wonderful father and be able to treasure the wonderful memories. I am happy for you not everyone is as fortunate. The moral of the fable for me is "no good deed goes unpunished."

Thank you Mary for your kind words..
and thanks for your take on the Fable it will be added to the soup!!

Having read your later post on this fable, I understand the context of the fable, yet it seems that most of the responses seem to focus on the donkey only. It seems that the fable illustrates the inevitable consequence of all individuals failing to fulfill their duties and obligations inherent in their station in life. The most important failure of duty lies with the master, as his obvious dissolute behaviors resulted in the discontent of his dog and overreach of his donkey.

Loyalty is two-way obligation: the duty of the subordinate in rendering service towards his master and the obligation of the master in granting privileges towards his subordinate. By this relational debt, societies are bound. When the unworthy master neglected his obligations towards his subordinates in the fable, the entire social system collapsed upon itself, as the dog deserted his station and the donkey reached beyond his station. The moral of the fable is akin to the vulgar sentiment: shit rolls downhill, or as Frank Herbert wrote more eloquently: rot at the core spreads outwards.

Applause (literally) "Bravo!"
Unexpected insight is the Best..
Since you posted here we would like to add your response to the soup, and let it simmer some more; no telling who might drop by and add a little spice or some other goodness.