The Fable of the Snake

[LWolf]

Since GD has become a place to share fables for enlightenment, I thought I'd share one of my favorites. I first heard this fable about 25 years ago, in a story-telling class I was taking. There are many versions, told by many different people. I'll share just one; one similar to the version I first learned:

Many years ago, to become men, boys would leave the tribe and venture off to learn from the world in solitude. One such boy hiked through a valley and and saw a mountain ahead. "I'll test myself against that mountain," he thought. And so he began to climb.

When he reached the top, he could see forever in every direction. "I have conquered the mountain," he thought with pride. "The whole world bows before me." Something rustled at his feet. He looked down, and saw a rattlesnake.

The snake spoke: "I'm dying. It's too cold for snakes here on the top of the mountain, and there is no food left. Please, put me under your shirt and carry me down the mountain."

The boy shook his head and said, "I know you, snake. If I were to pick you up, you'd bite me, and I'd die. I know better than to pick up a rattlesnake."

The snake protested, "But not if you save me! If you don't pick me up, I'll die. If you'll carry me down the mountain so that I can live, I'll promise not to bite you."

The boy resisted, but this was quite a beautiful and crafty snake. Eventually, the snake persuaded the boy. He picked up the snake, coiled it under his shirt, and carried it down to the valley below. As he laid it gently on the ground, the snake suddenly coiled and struck, biting him on the hand.

"But you PROMISED!" cried the boy. "You promised you would not bite."

"You knew what I was when you picked me up," replied the snake, and he slithered away, leaving the boy to die.

[theoldman]

1. It's a great story but Republicans are not like the snake.

They let you know that they are going to bite you even before you pick them up.

[blindpig]

2. Not the target of the OP, I think.

k&r

[LWolf]

13. I didn't link this fable to politics, although you can

certainly find political metaphor if you look for it.

In that case, the snake wouldn't represent Republicans, although it might seem that way with all the "reaching out" to them that's been done in the last 18 months.

[Obamanaut]

23. Perhaps there is a fable about weasels. We have weasels in congress, we

recognize them and people say they should be replaced.

We go through an election cycle, and some of the weasels are replaced - not many, but some. "We should be proud of ourselves," we say, "for replacing some of the weasels."

Something happens when the replacements drink the water from the congressional water coolers.

They become weasels, and we suffer again until the next election cycle.

Repeat.

[LWolf]

24. There might be one out there

that would illustrate that phenomenon.

[Touchdown]

36. It's a metaphor for being too trusting.

Mated with another fable... The village chief: "But you swore you would never cry wolf again!" Boy: "I couldn't help it! It's fun!"

Falling in love with an alcoholic.
Befriending a known con man.
Giving money to your habitually unemployed, pothead cousin.
Giving a lonely woman a little too much comfort when your gay.

And as others have pointed out, politics as well.

[StarryNite]

3. Al Wilson!

This is very similar to the old Al Wilson song, "The Snake"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xd82HxYyHZg

[LWolf]

14. There are so many different versions,

from so many different peoples, that I don't know where it originated. I'm sure Al Wilson heard some version; it's older than he.

I hadn't heard his version, though. Thanks! :hi:

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

4. I know the same story as the fable The Scorpion and the Frog

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Scorpion_and_the_Frog

and I'm one of the people who commonly misattributes it to Aesop, lol!

I always thought that you could learn everything you wanted to know about human nature with 2 books:

Aesops Fables and a collected William Shakespeare.

[LWolf]

16. Stories passed down and around

in the oral tradition appear in many different places and forms. I've heard the Scorpion and the Frog, as well.

I'm a lover of story-telling and oral traditions, as well as books. Shakespeare and Aesop are two that should be on everyone's shelves. :hi:

[Greyhound]

20. GMTA.

:rofl:
:thumbsup:

[Greyhound]

5. I think that the fable of the frog & the scorpion is more apropos.

Same idea, but in the end they both die.
:kick: & R

[LWolf]

17. Either version works for me.

:hi:

[AnArmyVeteran]

18. I first heard the scorpion tale told by 'Pete' on the McGuyver show

I thought it was cool at the end where the scorpion said he bit the frog because 'it was his nature'. That story can definitely apply to a lot of conservative extremists. It's their nature to not want to help others.

[Greyhound]

21. I think in this context, that this is more more about the base and the corporatists within the party

than about the D/R thing.

The scorpion needs the frog to cross the river, but the frog doesn't need the scorpion at all, so the frog is foolish to ally with the scorpion and in the end they both drown as result.

[lunatica]

6. So what's the moral of the story?

It seems to be quite mixed. Is it to never trust a snake? Is it to not act in compassion? Is it to strike first or to let the snake die because of knowing what it is? If the boy had chosen to leave the snake to die would that make him any better than the snake? Did the snake know what the boy would do and did this make the snake smarter?

Really. I'm asking seriously. What's the moral of the story. To never do anything to help others? That compassion is wrong or that the boy deserved to die because he helped a snake live?

[Merlot]

7. You make some good points.

If the boy leaves the snake to die, will it be on his conscience?

[meow2u3]

9. People will act according to their nature

no matter what they promise. I took the moral of the story as a warning for us to be on guard for sociopaths in our world and not fall for empty promises and lies, no matter how convincing they may be at the moment.

[Dyedinthewoolliberal]

11. Who can tell really?

A snake bites when it feels threatened. The fable makes it seem that he bites out of spite. I take from these kinds of stories to be careful when making decisions because some people will out and out lie and rub your nose in it when you call them on the lie...........

[LWolf]

19. My point in offering this fable

is not to give you a moral, but to allow you an opportunity to reflect, connect, and construct a moral on your own. It's a good question, though, because I see that some interesting possibilities have already been posted for you.

[lunatica]

26. Perhaps it is to know your opponents but to always act with caution

It's a nice seesaw balance. Do what you feel you must but expect the worst and take due precautions.

[LWolf]

27. Perhaps! nt

[MineralMan]

8. Similar to the frog and scorpion fable.

And a good one, too.

[Name removed]

10. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[underpants]

15. butthurt fox

:rofl:

[MineralMan]

12. I stopped back in to return the favor.

[InvisibleTouch]

22. Bah. More undeserved bad press for the poor snake.

I know it's an allegory and all, but I hate fables like this that cast snakes in a bad light. They're no more malevolent than any other species, and far more benign than some. (Same goes for the scorpion, btw.)

[LWolf]

25. Having lived in the desert, with scorpions and snakes,

most of my life, I've learned to live peacefully with them. I don't really like them in my house, though.

A funny example:

20 years ago or so, my family had been visiting other family 1,000 miles away. That's a long drive. We usually did it non-stop, at night so that the kids would sleep, taking turns at the wheel.

In this case, we arrived home after a week away at about 2:00 in the morning. It had been a long, long, trip, and I just couldn't wait. As soon as we got parked, I raced into the house to the restroom. I had no sooner rested my backside on the seat when I noticed, at my feet, a very large scorpion. It was summer. I was barefoot.

So I yelled, and my then-husband had to race into the restroom and corral the scorpion, while I sat on my commode with my clothing around my ankles and my ankles in the air.

Less funny examples:

I worked for a school district that was growing faster than they could build schools. Schools were housed in trailers (whole portable schools) and rented facilities while waiting for funds for construction. One school I worked at was housed in an old agricultural facility. Three cafeteria-sized buildings and a bunch of portables. It happened to be a favored territory of the local Mojave Green snake...most poisonous rattlesnake, and quite aggressive. They were every where, in and out of the buildings. So the district sent a crew of groundskeepers to do snake removal every morning before staff & students were allowed on the grounds. That kept the numbers down, but I still opened the cafeteria door one day to take students in, to be met with a coiled, rattling Mojave Green inches away.

My place now...when I bought it, my (adult) son stayed here after escrow closed, while I was finishing up business in a different town. One early morning he made his way sleepily through the living room on his way to the kitchen, only to confront a large, agitated snake in the doorway between the two. It struck at him, and he raised his boot to block the strike...except that he had just stumbled out of bed, and had not yet put on his boots. The snake nailed his foot. Thankfully, it was a gopher snake, not a rattlesnake.

I can live peacefully with scorpions and snakes in the habitat by using caution and common sense. I really don't want them in my house, though.

[InvisibleTouch]

35. I have both in my house, but...

...they are pets, and are not "on the loose." I agree that there are some species you wouldn't want to be surprised by, though.

[Warren DeMontague]

28. Excellent parable. It's sort of like voting for Ralph Nader.

But, people do stupid things over and over again. Human condition. :shrug:

[LWolf]

29. Everybody has a connection to make.

I wouldn't have made that one, since I've never voted for Nader, and the 2000 debacle can be laid at the door of election fraud and Supreme Court selection, but I'm glad it works for you.

And yes, it does seem to be a human condition, to repeatedly do what hasn't worked in the past.

[Warren DeMontague]

30. Or, sort of like logging on to a website with "democratic" in the URL, and being shocked!!!

that there is still support for a Democratic President, and the party in general.

Kinda.

[LWolf]

31. Yes.

Very similar to logging on to a forum that bills itself as a "left wing" discussion group, to find "left wing" discussions locked when they conflict with the dual partisan identity.

[Warren DeMontague]

32. To be sure, "left wing" is one of those labels that varies in interpretation.

I'd imagine that if one's gold standard of what constitutes "left wing" beliefs is immediate and total withdrawl from Afghanistan, or a demand that Israel cease to exist, or the complete outlawing of cheesecake-filled pancakes... one is going to be disappointed that those policies are not being widely implemented in Washington or advanced by the Democratic Party.

[LWolf]

33. I don't think the boy really cared about Israel's existence, or

cheese-filled pancakes.

He just trusted a snake to keep his word.

[Warren DeMontague]

34. I think the boy is all over the map, honestly.

the one consistent theme is that he's mad-mad-MAD!

[depakid]

37. Well, someone had to be a bonehead and miss the point entirely

:eyes:

In order to take a gratuitous swipe at Nader.