The parable of the shepherd and the wolf. Parable of the Shepherd and the Sheep

In a clearing, among a huge forest, there lived a shepherd who had a large flock of sheep. Every day he ate one sheep from the herd. The sheep caused him a lot of trouble - they scattered through the forest, he had to spend a lot of time catching one sheep and gathering the others back into the herd. Of course, the sheep he was about to kill sensed this and began to desperately resist, and its cries frightened the others. And then the shepherd came up with this trick - he talked to each sheep alone, and suggested something to each one.

He said to one: “You are not a sheep, you are a person just like me. You have nothing to fear, because I only kill and eat sheep, but you are the only person in this herd and that means you are my best friend.”

The second he said: “Why are you running away from me like other sheep. You are a lioness and you have nothing to fear. I only kill sheep, and you are my friend.”

He inspired the third: “Listen, you are not a sheep, you are a wolf. The wolf I respect. I, as before, will continue to kill one sheep from the herd every day, but the she-wolf, my best friend, has nothing to fear.”

Thus, he talked to each of the sheep and convinced each of them that she was not a sheep, but a completely different animal, which was different from all the other sheep in the herd. After this conversation, the behavior of the sheep completely changed - they grazed completely calmly and never ran into the forest again. And when the shepherd killed another sheep, they thought: “Well, they killed another sheep, and I, the lion, the wolf, the man, the shepherd’s best friend, have nothing to fear.”
And even the sheep he killed stopped resisting.

He simply approached one of them and said: “Oh, my best friend, we haven’t talked for a long time. Let's go to my yard. I need to consult with you about the herd." And the sheep proudly followed the shepherd into the yard. And there he actually asked his best friend how things were going in the herd. The victim happily told him everything, and then the shepherd killed her. Since death occurred instantly, the sheep did not have time to understand anything.

The shepherd was very pleased - he raised the self-esteem of each of the sheep highly, as a result they stopped bothering themselves with thoughts of inevitable death, became less neurotic, enjoyed life and calmly nibbled grass, as a result of which their meat became much tastier. For many years, the shepherd easily managed a huge herd, and the most interesting thing is that the rest of the sheep began to help him - if some too smart sheep began to guess about the true state of things, then the rest of the sheep... well, that is, lions, people, wolves - The shepherd's best friends informed him of the strange behavior of this sheep, and the next day the shepherd ate it with pleasure.

A herd is a herd, no matter what you call those who are in it...

Once upon a time, a shepherd boy was tending sheep, and nearby woodcutters were working in the forest. The boy decided to play a trick on the adults and suddenly began shouting: “Wolves! Wolves! Help!". The woodcutters immediately rushed to his aid, leaving their work. But there was no wolf! The boy laughed - the prank was a success.
The next day the shepherd decided to repeat his joke and again began to loudly shout “Wolves!” and call for help. The woodcutters again abandoned their work and rushed to help. But again there was no wolf. The woodcutters scolded the boy and left. The shepherd boy was very pleased with his funny invention - not everyone manages to play such a prank on adults, and even twice in a row!
And then the wolves really came out into the clearing. There was a whole flock of them. One shepherd cannot cope! We must call for help! The boy began to shout: “Wolves! Wolves! Help,” but the woodcutters thought that he was deceiving them again and this time they did not come to the rescue. The wolves tore half the herd to pieces, and the shepherd boy himself barely survived.

Other articles in the literary diary:

• 20.09.2013. ***
• 09.09.2013. Parable of the Shepherd and the Wolf

The daily audience of the Proza.ru portal is about 100 thousand visitors, who in total view more than half a million pages according to the traffic counter, which is located to the right of this text. Each column contains two numbers: the number of views and the number of visitors.

How amazing it is to learn interesting facts that we did not know before. When we recognize them, we can take a fresh look at seemingly familiar passages in the Bible. The Bible compares us to sheep and Jesus to the Shepherd and Shepherd.

This image continues into the New Testament.

• Jesus is the Good Shepherd, ready to lay down His life for the sheep (Matthew 18:12; Luke 15:4).
• He pitied people who were like sheep without a shepherd (Matt. 9:36; Par. 6:34).
• His disciples are called “the little flock” (Luke 12:32).
• When He, the Shepherd, was struck, the sheep fled (Mark 14:27; Matt. 26:31).
• He is the Shepherd of the souls of men (1 Pet. 2:25) and the Shepherd of the sheep (Heb. 13:20).

Palestinian shepherd

The relationship between the sheep and the shepherd is also different in Palestine from relations in other countries. In many countries, sheep are raised mainly for meat, and in Palestine mainly for wool. Therefore, there the sheep spend many years with their shepherd, receiving names from him, which they respond to when he calls them.

These names are usually descriptive, corresponding to the type of animal name, such as: “Brown Leg”, “Black Ear”, etc.

In Palestine the shepherd leads the way and the sheep follow him. He walks ahead to see if the road along which he will lead the sheep is safe. Sometimes sheep need to be coaxed to go.

A traveler once saw a shepherd lead his flock across a stream. The sheep were stubborn, afraid to cross. Then he took one lamb in his arms and carried him to the other side. When the mother saw him on the other side, she willingly crossed there herself, followed by the whole herd.

It is absolutely true that the sheep know and understand the voice of the eastern shepherd, and that they will never respond to the voice of a stranger to them. W. M. Thomson, in his book The Land and the Book says: “The shepherd calls out loudly from time to time to remind the sheep or goats of his presence . They know him by his voice and follow him, but if a stranger calls, they become wary, look around anxiously, and if it happens again, they turn and run away, because they don’t know someone else’s voice

H. W. Morton tells of a scene he observed in a cave in Bethlehem. Two shepherds drove their flocks into a cave for the night. How could they then separate these two herds? One shepherd walked away and called in a voice that was familiar only to his sheep. Soon the whole herd ran out to him, because they knew his voice. They would not answer anyone else's call, because they knew only the call of their shepherd.

An eighteenth-century traveler tells how Palestinian sheep dance quickly or slowly to the peculiar sounds of their shepherd's shepherd's pipe.

INTERESTING FACT

The Jews did not understand the story of the Good Shepherd. And then Jesus spoke directly, without mincing words, about Himself. He began by saying, “I am the door of the sheep.” At that time there were two types of sheep pens in Palestine. In villages and towns there were common pens in which all herds spent the night. Such pens had strong doors, the key to which was held only by the gatekeeper.

When the sheep were far away on the hills in the warm season and did not return to villages and cities at night, they were collected in pens on the hillsides. These pens were open air and protected only by a wall with a hole in it through which the sheep could enter and exit. And there were no doors in it. At night, the shepherd himself lay across the entrance, and not a single sheep could get out except by stepping over it. In a very literal sense, the shepherd became the door.

1 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs inside, is a thief and a robber;
2 But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.
3 The doorkeeper opens to him, and the sheep obey his voice, and he calls his sheep by name and leads them out.
4 And when he has brought out his sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, because they know his voice.
5 But they do not follow a stranger, but run from him, because they do not know the voice of a stranger.
6 Jesus spoke this parable to them; but they did not understand what He was saying to them.
7 So again Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.”
8 All of them, no matter how many of them came before Me, are thieves and robbers; but the sheep did not listen to them.
9 I am the door: whoever enters through Me will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.
10 The thief comes only to steal, kill and destroy. I have come so that they may have life and have it more abundantly.
11 I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
12 But a hired hand, not a shepherd, whose sheep are not his own, sees the wolf coming, and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf plunders the sheep and scatters them.
13 But the hireling flees because he is a hireling, and neglects the sheep.
14 I am the good shepherd; and I know Mine, and Mine know Me.
15 As the Father knows Me, [so] I also know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.
16 I have other sheep which are not of this fold, and these I must bring, and they will hear My voice, and there will be one flock and one shepherd.
17 Therefore the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life in order to take it again.
(John 10:1-17)

This is what Jesus meant when he said, “I am the door of the sheep.” Through Him and Him alone, a person can go to God.

The Palestinian shepherd did his job differently from the shepherds in our time and in our country. And in order to get a complete picture of this image, we must look at this ancient shepherd and how he performed his ministry.

The image of the Shepherd is woven into the speech and images of the Bible. It cannot be otherwise. The main part of the territory of Judah was a mountain plateau, stretching from Bethel to Hebron 35 miles long and 14-17 miles wide. The soil was mostly hard and rocky. Judea was more suitable for cattle breeding than for agriculture, and therefore in its mountainous regions the image of a shepherd was common and familiar.

The life of the shepherds was extremely difficult. No flock grazed without the supervision of a shepherd and he was never free. Since there was not much grass, the sheep constantly moved from place to place and needed constant supervision.

The pastures were not surrounded by fences and the sheep could easily get lost. On both sides the plateau dropped steeply into the desert, and the sheep, having reached the edge, could easily slide down the cliff.

The shepherd's work was not only continuous, but also dangerous, because, in addition to everything, he had to protect the sheep from wild animals, especially wolves, as well as from thieves and bandits who were always ready to steal the sheep.

His equipment was very simple. He had a shepherd's bag made of animal skin in which he carried provisions: bread, dried fruit, olives and cheese. He always carried a sling with him.

Many men then considered the ability to "throw a stone from a sling" hair and not miss” (Judges 20:16).

The shepherd used the sling as a weapon of attack and defense and for another interesting thing. In those days there were no sheep dogs or special dogs to look after the flock, and therefore when the shepherd wanted to bring back a sheep that had run too far, he would put a stone in the sling and launch it so that it would fall right in front of the nose of the lost sheep as a sign that it was time to turn back. .

He had a staff - a short wooden club with a knob at the end, and often studded with nails. On the handle there was a hole for a belt on which the club hung at the shepherd's belt. With a rod, the shepherd protected himself and his flock from predatory animals and robbers.

He had a staff- a long shepherd's stick with a large hook at the upper end, with which he could catch and pull on his leg a sheep making an attempt to run away.

At the end of the day, when the sheep returned to the fold, the shepherd held his staff across the entrance low to the ground and each sheep had to pass under it (Ezek. 20:37; Lev. 27:32). And while the sheep passed under the rod, the shepherd quickly examined whether it had been injured during the day.

For a shepherd, risking his life for the sake of his sheep was quite natural and normal. Sometimes the shepherd had to do more than just risk his life. Sometimes he laid down his life for the flock when robbers or thieves attacked him.

The true shepherd was born for his service. As soon as he reached the required age, he was sent with the flock, and the sheep became his friends and companions. It was natural for him to think about them first and himself second.

The mercenary was a shepherd not by vocation, but for the sake of payment. He was hired for this job solely for the sake of material gain. When the wolves attacked, the mercenary forgot everything except saving his own life and ran away. Zechariah says that the sign of a false shepherd is that in times of danger he does not try to gather the scattered flock. The Church always faces double danger. She always suffers attacks from without and often suffers from poor leadership from within, from shepherds who see their calling as a career rather than serving their neighbors.

As a child, I heard a lot of fables and fairy tales. Many were very popular and widely known. For example, there is a well-known fable about a boy who cried “wolves!” wolves!”... You all heard it, I’m sure. Briefly, it is known as presented by L.N. Tolstoy:

L.N. Tolstoy. Fable "Liar".
The boy was guarding the sheep and, as if seeing a wolf, began to call: “Help, wolf! wolf!" The men came running and saw: it’s not true. As he did this two and three times, it happened that a wolf actually came running. The boy began to shout: “Here, here quickly, wolf!” The men thought that he was deceiving again as always - they did not listen to him. The wolf sees that there is nothing to be afraid of: he has slaughtered the entire herd in the open.

This fable has an international narrative that is present in the cultures of many nations. It is a little broader than in L.N. Tolstoy’s presentation:

Shepherd and wolves

The young shepherd, who tended the sheep of local peasants, became completely bored after spending the whole day watching rabbits and butterflies. He began to think about the animals that live in the forest surrounding the meadow, and remembered the stories of peasants about wolves that attacked sheep. And he shuddered. I wonder if the peasants will come to his aid, as they promised, in case of danger.He decided to check them out. “Wolves! Wolves! - he shouted.

His voice echoed from the hills. And immediately the peasants in the village grabbed shovels and pitchforks and rushed to help the shepherd. But, not finding the wolves, they returned to their daily routine.
The shepherd liked the attention he attracted to himself. And the next day, when he became bored again, he shouted again: “Wolves! Wolves! And this time the peasants rushed to run to him. When they discovered for the second time that there were no wolves, they scolded the shepherd before returning to the village.
On the third day, while the shepherd was sitting counting his sheep, wolves came out of the forest and crept up to the flock that the shepherd was tending. “Wolves! Wolves!” the shepherd shouted, but no one came to his aid. And the wolves dragged several lambs into the forest.
The shepherd rushed to the village. “Why didn’t you come when I called you?” - he shouted. "The wolves carried away the sheep."
But we didn’t believe you,” the peasants answered. “Now you will have to work in the fields to pay for the lost sheep.”.

But that's not all. I recently got to the bottom of a possible source, which goes back to the eighth century BC in Ancient China, which was then called the State of Zhou. This happened during the time of ruler Yu-wan. And recorded in official chronicles.

Yu turned out to be an immoral ruler seeking only pleasure. Having produced a son and heir by his eldest wife, Yu became infatuated with a harem woman and tried to replace the queen and crown prince with a concubine and her illegitimate son. His advisors rebelled against this, but Yu persisted, and eventually the advisors backed down. “The disaster had taken shape,” the great historian noted in despair, “and there was nothing we could do about it.”
This concubine, now queen, destroyed the royal family; not surprisingly, destruction was her main pleasure. She loved to hear how silk was torn, and therefore ordered huge pieces of expensive material to be brought to the palace so that they could be torn, entertaining her. Despite such an expensive occupation, she rarely smiled and never laughed.
Yu tried to think of a way to entertain her and decided that he would light all the signal lights for her and beat the alarm drums. This was a signal warning of a barbarian invasion; Having become agitated, the princes who lived nearby withdrew their armies and headed to the walls of the city. On arrival they found no barbarians. Their surprised faces were so comical that the concubine laughed out loud - perhaps for the first time.
But the barbarians also arrived, and quite quickly. Their lands were located to the north and west of the Zhou lands. They poured over the border and besieged the capital. In addition, the relatives of King Yu's first wife came with them, angry that she was pushed aside. External and internal threats combined in one onslaught that shook the dynasty.
King Yu ordered signal lights to be lit and drums to be beaten - but the feudal lords shrugged their shoulders and returned to their business. They didn't want to become fools a second time just to entertain the emperor's crush. In a battle with the barbarians, Yu was killed. The barbarians plundered the palace, captured the concubine and returned home*.

This is how the Western Zhou dynasty ended, and all because of the giggling... of a woman. And the shepherd has nothing to do with it.

• Based on materials from the book “History of the Ancient World” by Susan Weiss Bauer. From the Origins of Civilization to the Fall of Rome,” ch. 46.

The theme of this material is a parable about a wolf. This animal is found quite often in works of this genre, and today we will look at several classic examples of such instructive stories.

Conscience

The first creation that we should talk about is “The Parable of the Wolf and the Priest.” Let's start with the main character. From the first lines the parable introduces us to the wolf. He tore to pieces many sheep, and also plunged people into tears and confusion. One fine day he began to be tormented by remorse. He began to repent of his own life. The wolf decided to change and not kill sheep anymore. In order for everything to be according to the rules, the wolf went to the priest and asked him to hold a thanksgiving prayer. The church minister began the service, the main character, in turn, stood in a holy place and cried. The procession was long. Many sheep happened to be killed by the wolf, so the priest prayed with utmost seriousness, asking that the parishioner would change. Suddenly the penitent looked out the window and saw an amazing picture. The sheep were driven home. He then began to shift on his feet. The priest continued to pray, and there was no end in sight. At a certain point, the wolf could not stand it and asked the church minister to finish the sermon until the sheep were driven home, otherwise he would be left without dinner.

Indian

There is another interesting parable about a wolf, and not about one, but even about two. It tells the story of how, in ancient times, an old Indian revealed one of life’s truths to his grandson. He said that the struggle is in each of the people. It is very similar to a battle between two wolves. The first of them represents evil - lies, ambition, selfishness, regret, jealousy, envy. Another wolf is responsible for good: loyalty, kindness, truth, hope, love, peace. The little Indian was touched with all his soul by his grandfather's words. He thought for a few moments, and then asked which wolf wins in the end. The old Indian smiled slightly and said that the one who feeds wins.

Joker

Next we will consider the parable about the wolf and the shepherd. A man was herding sheep alone. He wanted to see people. Then he made a noise and shouted about the approach of the wolf. People from the village came running with chains and sticks. We looked around. We were surprised at first. Afterwards they spat and returned to their village. Time passed, the shepherd decided to repeat his idea. People came running again, but not so soon. When a wolf actually appeared on the horizon, the shepherd screamed, but no one believed him and did not come to help. Perhaps this is the most famous parable about the wolf.