Note: I had to slow down on these La Fontaine's fables, because on December 28th, I got COVID, for the first time. It knocked me down for about a week, mostly with a fever. I have now recovered, and I will try to post again one fable each day.
The Wolf turned Shepherd
In this fable, the wolf tries to fake it, but he never makes it.
In most of La Fontaine's fables, the animals seem to be almost humans: they talk and behave like men or women. In this one, this is the opposite: the wolf wants to look like a man; unfortunately for him, he tried too hard and could not survive: he took too many risks.
Le Loup devenu Berger
Un loup qui commençait d’avoir petite part
Aux brebis de son voisinage,
Crut qu’il fallait s’aider de la peau du renard,
Et faire un nouveau personnage
Il s’habille en berger, endosse un hoqueton,
Fait sa houlette d’un bâton,
Sans oublier la cornemuse.
Pour pousser jusqu’au bout la ruse,
Il aurait volontiers écrit sur son chapeau :
« C’est moi qui suis Guillot,
berger de ce troupeau. »
Sa personne étant ainsi faite,
Et ses pieds de devant posés sur sa houlette,
Guillot le sycophante1 approche doucement.
Guillot, le vrai Guillot, étendu sur l’herbette,
Dormait alors profondément ;
Son chien dormait aussi,
comme aussi sa musette :
La plupart des brebis dormaient pareillement.
L’hypocrite les laissa faire ;
Et, pour pouvoir mener vers son fort les brebis,
Il voulut ajouter la parole aux habits,
Chose qu’il croyait nécessaire ;
Mais cela gâta son affaire :
Il ne put du pasteur contrefaire la voix.
Le ton dont il parla fit retentir les bois,
Et découvrit tout le mystère.
Chacun se réveille à ce son,
Les brebis, le chien, le garçon.
Le pauvre loup, dans cet esclandre,
Empêché par son hoqueton,
Ne put ni fuir ni se défendre.
Toujours par quelque endroit
fourbes se laissent prendre
Quiconque est loup agisse en loup ;
C’est le plus certain de beaucoup.
1: Trompeur.
The Wolf turned Shepherd
A wolf who was beginning to get a smaller share
From the sheep of his neighborhood,
Thought he had to resort to trickery,
And to become a new character.
He dresses as a shepherd, puts on a jacket,
Makes his crook with a stick,
Without forgetting the bagpipes.
To push the ruse to the end,
He would gladly have written on his hat:
“I am Guillot,
shepherd of this flock. »
His person being thus made,
And his front feet resting on his crook,
Guillot the sycophant1 approaches slowly.
Guillot, the real Guillot, lying on the grass,
Was then sleeping soundly;
His dog also slept,
as did his assistant:
Most of the sheep slept the same way.
The hypocrite let them sleep;
And, to be able to lead the sheep to his fort,
He wanted to add the word to the clothes,
Something he thought necessary;
But this spoiled his business:
He couldn't fake the pastor's voice.
The tone he spoke made the woods resound,
And uncovered the mystery.
Everyone wakes up to this sound,
The sheep, the dog, the boy.
The poor wolf, in this scene,
Hindered by his jacket,
Could neither flee nor defend himself.
Always by some way,
tricksters get caught
Whoever is a wolf should act like a wolf;
This is the most certain of many.
1: Deceiver.
First Fable: The Circada and the Ant
Previous fable: The Lion and the Donkey Hunting
Next fable: The Fox and the Billy Goat
I want to be Caliph instead of the Caliph
"Je veux être calife à la place du calife" is an expression used multiple times by the vizir Isnogoud in the French-Belgian comics Isnogoud.
The vizir never succeeds in all his attempts to become the Caliph.
Here, the wolf wants to be the shepherd, that is the boss. Like the vizir Isnogoud, he does not succeed, but unlike the vizir, he will not be able to try again.
Do not take too many risks
If you want to replace the boss, you better learn the necessary skill to assume the role.
If you take some risks, make sure that you will not be ruined in your attempt to reach the goal.
You do not get authority only from external signs of authority, such as the clothes, the tools (the hook of the shepherd), or the title (I am Guillot, shepherd of this flock). You need to have the skills and to get the confidence of the members of the team.
Whenever you are making some investment, such as shares, bonds or cryptos, you have to make sure that you will not be ruined because you took too many risks, or you did not protect yourself. For example, leaving your cryptos on some non-decentralized exchange (like I did in 2014 with 120 Bitcoins on MtGox) is a risk you should not take.
-- Vincent Celier