The Wild Boar and the Fox
A Wild Boar was sharpening his tusks busily against the stump of a tree, when a Fox happened by. Now the Fox was always looking for a chance to make fun of his neighbors. So he made a great show of looking anxiously about, as if in fear of some hidden enemy. But the Boar kept right on with his work.
"Why are you doing that?" asked the Fox at last with a grin. "There isn't any danger that I can see."
"True enough," replied the Boar, "but when danger does come there will not be time for such work as this. My weapons will have to be ready for use then, or I shall suffer for it."
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Si vis pacem, para bellum
The man was focused. He was sharpening his blades that he kept for self defense. His world was fair and justice always prevailed but he made a habit of carrying out this task with a regular frequency. With some water and a stone he would sharpen two different blades; one a knife which he carried regularly and the other a larger sword which he kept in his home. His neighbor however was foolish and enjoyed any chance he had to poke fun at anyone he found to be a suitable target to his quips and jests.
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The neighbor approached the man and began to appear anxious and fearful. He made motions of trying to hide and look far away in an attempt to find some approaching enemy that may be nearby. The man, not oblivious to the neighbors joke, continued to sharpen his weapons until he was satisfied.
The neighbor asked “Why do you sharpen those blades so often? What enemy is approaching? Are you that paranoid?”. Each question followed by a grin and snicker. “Nothing will ever happen that you would need those things!”
The man replied “You know what? Maybe you’re right. Have you ever heard the phrase ‘si vis pacem, para bellum’?”
The neighbor looked at the man with a more puzzled expression.
“If you want peace, prepare for war” the man said, looking his neighbor square in the eyes.
”Hopefully nothing ever warrants the use of either of these blades but if danger ever does come, I will at least be prepared. If my weapons aren’t ready when that time comes, how useful will they be to protect myself or my family? I will surely suffer if I am not prepared.”
Authors Note: I like this story and adapted it to perhaps a more humanistic point of view instead of coming from animals.
Bibliography: "The Wild Boar and the Fox" by Milo Winter, from Æsop for Children (2006). Web Source: Project Gutenburg
Very nice storytelling, Tyler! Now I think I understand why some countries spent so many funds on military. They may not want a war, but they want some power of deterrent force, so countries would not begin a war when they think about return and cost of a war. Another understanding is we should prepare for unknown future, so we can cop disaster more easily if disaster really comes.
ReplyDeleteIn your writing you did an excellent job balancing efforts. You not only conveyed the same themes as the original story, but you also added new details and made it your own! I think your descriptions of both characters were spot on. I picture the protagonist being strong and protective and the antagonist being slimy and rude. I was able to come to these conclusions by simply reading the dialogue between them, so that means you did a great job developing the direct speech and thought in your writing. Even though it would have strayed from the original story, it might have been cool to expand the story to show the protagonist needing the weapons in the end. Maybe an intruder comes to their town and the protagonist protects his family, and the neighbor gets robbed. I look forward to reading more of your writing throughout this course. Keep up the good work!
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