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Aesop's Fables · Chapter

The Sheep, the Wolf, and the Stag explained

A Stag asks a Sheep to lend him wheat with the Wolf as his surety, but the Sheep refuses, fearing that both would evade repayment due to their speed and the Wolf's habit of taking without paying.

What happens

A Stag asks a Sheep to lend him wheat with the Wolf as his surety, but the Sheep refuses, fearing that both would evade repayment due to their speed and the Wolf's habit of taking without paying.

Themes in this chapter

  • Cunning and Deception

    The Stag and Wolf attempt to deceive the Sheep into lending wheat, but the Sheep sees through their scheme.

  • Wisdom and Foolishness

    The Sheep wisely refuses the loan, recognizing the risk posed by the untrustworthy borrowers.

Characters to notice

  • The Sheep

    The cautious lender who refuses the request, citing the untrustworthiness of the Stag and the Wolf.

  • The Wolf

    Proposed as a surety but known for seizing what he wants and running off without paying.

  • The Stag

    The borrower who asks for wheat, relying on the Wolf as his guarantor.

Key passages

  • “The Wolf is in the habit of seizing what he wants and running off with it without paying, and you, too, can run much faster than I.”

    The Wolf often takes things by force and escapes without payment, and you are also swifter than me.

    The Sheep explains her reasoning for refusing the loan, highlighting the untrustworthiness of both the Wolf and the Stag.

  • “Two blacks do not make a white.”

    Two wrongs do not make a right.

    The moral of the fable, emphasizing that combining dishonesties does not create honesty.

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