A wolf once went out with his cub in search of food.
As they walked through the forest, the father said,
“My son, if only you could live on grass, your life would be so much easier.
But you must eat meat — and that is your curse.
The forest is nearly empty now… where will we find food? How will we survive?”
The little wolf listened silently to his father’s words.
The wolf continued,
“The more humans have killed us, the less we have harmed them — except for a few accidents.
Yet they call themselves civilized, and we are branded savage.”
After a long walk, they came upon a farm.
A flock of sheep was grazing peacefully nearby.
The cub said eagerly,
“Father, let me go. I’ll bring back food for us.”
The father shook his head.
“No, my son. You’re not yet a skilled hunter. If you get caught, it will mean certain death.
I’ll go instead. You wait here.”
“Do you see that man there? He’s the shepherd.
And the stick in his hand — that’s his weapon.
That very stick was what killed your mother.
The pain of a beating is unbearable. Sometimes men become more terrifying than any beast.
They often fight among themselves, but when it comes to killing —
when they gather together with their sticks to beat someone to death —
they become one.
They strike like rain — blow after blow — until the victim stops moving.
And in that moment, their violence becomes a kind of celebration.
It doesn’t matter whether the victim is a man or a creature like us.”
The father paused and said in a grave tone,
“So remember this, my son — never go near the reach of a man’s stick.
Stay far, far away.”
The little wolf then pointed toward another animal near the shepherd and asked,
“But Father, who is that creature beside him?”
The father sighed deeply.
“That, my son, is a dog. And the dog… is your real enemy.”
The cub looked confused.
“But Father, it looks exactly like us! Isn’t it one of our kind?”
With sorrow in his voice, the father replied,
“No, my child. That’s the greatest tragedy of our lives.
There’s a vast difference between looking like us and being one of us.”
