The Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing
2 min readages 5 and uptalerie.com/en/tales/the-wolf-in-sheep-s-clothing
A hungry wolf pulls a sheepskin over himself, slips in among the flock at pasture, and is shut into the pen with the sheep at sunset. That night the shepherd wants mutton for his supper, takes his knife into the dark pen, reaches for the nearest woolly back, and kills the wolf before he has eaten a single sheep.
Once there was a wolf who longed to feast on a flock of sheep. But a wolf is easy to spot in an open field, and he knew it. So he made a plan. He would disguise himself, and then he could hunt among the sheep with no one ever the wiser.
He found a sheepskin and pulled it over himself, the woolly head over his own and the fleece hanging down his sides. One morning, while the flock was out at pasture, he slipped in among the sheep and kept his head low, nibbling at the grass like the rest.
The trick worked perfectly. All day the shepherd looked over his flock, and all day he saw nothing but sheep.
At sunset the shepherd drove the flock into the pen for the night. The wolf trotted in with the others, and the gate was shut behind them all.
But that very night, as it happened, the shepherd wanted mutton for his supper table. He took his knife, opened the pen, and stepped into the dark to fetch a sheep. He reached out for the nearest woolly back and took hold of it.
It was the wolf. In the dark the shepherd was sure he had caught a good fat sheep, and killed it with his knife on the spot, before the wolf had eaten even one of the flock.
Retold by Talerie from Aesop’s Fables: a new translation (opens in a new window)License: Public domainCopy this text, adapt it, use it however you like. A link back to Talerie is appreciated but never required.CC0 1.0 (opens in a new window)