چوپان و گوسفند وحشی

The Shepherd and the Wild Sheep

Once there was a shepherd. Every night he gathered and counted his sheep. He made sure never to overlook any of them. One night, he saw some wild sheep had joined his herd. He hoped to acquire the newcomers.

It snowed that night. In the morning, the shepherd couldn’t take his sheep out of his lodge. Instead, he had to feed them inside. He gave a small amount of wheat to his own sheep. But he gave more of the food to the wild sheep. He thought the extra wheat would discourage them from leaving.

It snowed for several days. During that time, the shepherd’s sheep ate very little. The wild sheep, however, ate very well.

At last, the snow melted, and they ventured outdoors. As soon as he opened the door of his hut, the wild sheep started to run away.

“Wait! This is how you repay me? After I treated you so kindly, why do you run away?” the shepherd asked. His voice was full of hatred.

The wild sheep stopped and turned toward the shepherd.

“We’re leaving because you fed us better than your own sheep,” one of the wild sheep replied. “ You tried to deceive us with your ridiculous plan. Yesterday you treated us kindly, but tomorrow you might be different. If more wild sheep joined your herd, you would treat us as inferior sheep.”

As the wild sheep ran away, the shepherd understood his offense. He knew this awkward situation was his own fault. He had not been a satisfactory caretaker. He was a fake friend to the wild sheep. Because of this, he had neglected his own herd.