11. THE WOLF AND THE LAMB
Storytelling is as old as man. It has been one of the greatest sources of preaching moral values because every story is written with some moral purpose. All the prophets, the saints, religious scholars and teachers have been adopting it as a source of preaching any kind of morality. If one follows the lesson preached in the story, one can avoid many perils and problems. The story “The Wolf and the Lamb” also gives us a sublime moral lesson.
Once, a hungry wolf was drinking water at a stream. Suddenly, he found a lamb drinking water. He considered the lamb a tasty prey. He called the lamb and asked him why he was making the water muddy. The lamb replied that he could not make the water muddy because the water was flowing from where the wolf was standing at the stream. Then the wolf made another excuse. The wolf asked the lamb why he had abused him last year. The lamb replied that he had not been born last year. The wolf said, “It must be your mother.” Saying this, he jumped at him. He caught the lamb by the neck and killed him instantly. Then he sat down to eat him up. In this way, the cunning wolf filled his stomach. The story teaches us that the strong have so many excuses to crush the weak. It is true to say: “Might is right.”
Moral:
1. Might is right.
2. The tyrants need no excuse.
3. Any excuse will serve a wicked nation.
IMPORTANT POINTS TO BE KEPT IN MIND:
- Never use the moral lesson as the title of the story. The title must be pure title. It should be “A Wolf and a Lamb” or “The Wolf and the Lamb.” Whatever the title you have read, follow that specific title.
- Most of the moral stories have more than one moral lesson. Sometimes, the students try to write more than one moral lesson. In doing so, they make mistakes. I would advise them to write the specific moral lesson in which they have been asked to write a story.