THE SHEPHERD AND THE GOATS

(In my work for Rachel’s Challenge, I have been rewriting and updating over 50 of Aesop’s 500 Fables for teachers to use in their classrooms. The legend of Aesop is that he was a slave from Ethopia and brought to Greece around 600 BC. He was a dwarf, very ugly, and teased unmercifully; but by his wisdom through stories gained the ear of Greek nobility. His stories have become so deeply engrained in Western Culture, many do not know their source. Nevertheless, Aesop was a treasure from God for humanity. Here is a sample of one story with two updates for modern readers.)

A shepherd was herding his sheep back to their pen when he found some wild goats mingled among them. He shut them up together hoping to keep the wild goats. The next day it snowed and the sheep could not go out to pasture. So the shepherd fed the sheep in the pen. He gave more grain to the wild goats than his own sheep, hoping to entice them to stay with the herd. The next day the shepherd took them all to the pasture and the wild goats ran away into the mountains. The shepherd scolded the wild sheep for their ingratitude when he had treated them better than his own during the storm. One of the wild goats turned around and said, “That is the reason we are leaving your herd, because you treated us better than your own. It was plain to us that if we stayed with you and others came, you would treat us the same.”

Moral: You can’t sacrifice old, faithful friends to get new ones. Treat everyone with respect and don’t show favoritism.

Update #1.
(This is a true story.) Two restaurants were built on either side of the freeway. One was a Nickerson Farms which catered to passing travelers. The other was Johnson’s Corners that catered to both travelers and local neighbors. As the years went by the Nickerson Farms went out of business. Weeds grew up in the cracks of the parking lot and the building was boarded up and useless. Meanwhile, Johnson’s Corners was a thriving business and added a motel and RV park. The owner of Johnson’s Corners, a man named Clayton, was asked why his business was successful and Nickerson Farms failed. He said, “You have to take care of the local people first. They are the ones who come every week to eat and get gas. The passing travelers may only come one time and never come this way again. Nickerson Farms did not take care of the locals.”

Moral: You can’t neglect old, faithful friends to get new ones.

Update #2:
The owner of a clothing store hired employees to take care of his customers. They did a good job and his business became more successful. He expanded his store and needed more workers. He ran an ad in a local paper to attract new applicants. He promised a higher salary than the older employees. The new applicants came and worked for a while, but resigned in a few months. He asked them why they didn’t stay and they said, “We saw how unfairly you treated your faithful employees to hire us and feared that someday you would treat us the same as you did them.”

Moral: You can’t mistreat faithful workers to impress new ones.

Remember: Faithful old friends who have been tested in hard times are very valuable to us. Do not dismiss them for the “new and improved” or you will lose both. Why not write a letter of appreciation to an old friend today. It will mean a lot to both of you.