Misadventures in the Land of Fables #29

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Well well well. I thought I knew the story of ‘The Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing’ but it seems I didn’t. Not exactly. There are, or were, three quite different versions in circulation.

This may be because it is one of those fables incorrectly attributed to Aesop. The earliest example dates from the 12th century in a work by Greek rhetorician Nikephoros Basilakis, but it is argued the fable has its source in the ‘Gospel of Matthew’ and the Sermon on the Mount where Jesus produces this metaphor: “Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.” [Matthew 7:15]

Which came first the fable or the idiom?

THREE AND A HALF VERSIONS

The versions are as follows:

A wolf disguises itself in the skin of a sheep, the dead sheep’s lamb follows the scent and becomes the first of many easy meals for the wolf.  [Jacobs]

A wolf disguises itself in the skin of a sheep, joins the flock and makes is way into the fold, but before it can begin its slaughter the shepherd returns to kill a sheep for his dinner, the one he selects is the wolf. (It is not known whether wolf was served on the menu that night.)  [Townsend, Gibbs]

A wolf disguises itself in the skin of a sheep, approaches the fold and invites another sheep to go wandering to the next land, the sheep replies that it would go if its companion were a wolf, to keep it safe from harm, the wolf reveals itself thinking this will clinch the deal, but the sheep declines.  [Golding]

TWISTS, REVERALS, COMEUPPANCES

The last of these, from Arthur Golding’s A Moral Fabletalk, is a curiosity. It violates the stereotypes. Roles are reversed. The sheep outwits the wolf. Its trick seems to play on its own reputation for stupidity—it says it would go wandering with a wolf—and the wolf’s mistake is to believe it.

The others differ in their outcome. The villain gets its comeuppance or gets away with it. One is simple warning: there are deceivers, beware! The other goes further and suggests the deceiver may find itself in trouble. It’s more satisfying both narratively and morally, the visitation of karma has an abiding appeal and there’s a kind of righteous comic value in a deception backfiring.

In a version by Laurentius Abstemius (in late C15th), the comeuppance is served straight. The wolf is discovered and the shepherd hangs its body from a tree. As a narrative, this is much less interesting, but the gruesome image proved popular with classical illustrators.

I prefer the irony of the disguise proving too good and the well-executed plan failing to consider the range of eventualities—such as that the sheep may also be victim of its keepers. Most of all, I am fascinated by the deception. Why bother? Why take the risk? Why not attack with the force of numbers? Or simply wait patiently for an opportunity, for the lamb that strays momentarily beyond the flock?

I suspect the deception is an end in itself. An exhibition of skill and cunning. A proof of dominance. The conman relishes the con.

You may read it here: ‘A Wolf In Sheep’s Clothing‘