Aesop | Greece
The Young Goat and The Wolf
A playful young goat on a barn roof mocks a wolf, but realizes it's easy to be brave from a safe place.

Once upon a time, in a quiet little village, there was a young goat. This goat, being playful and adventurous, had found a way to climb onto the roof of a tall barn. From up there, he could see the whole village and beyond, and he felt very important.
One day, he spotted a wolf walking beneath him. Seeing the wolf from such a great height gave the young goat a burst of courage. He began to shout down at the wolf, calling him all sorts of silly and rude names. He thought this was very brave of him because wolves were usually scary creatures.
The wolf, hearing the young goat's loud words, looked up. He didn't get angry or show his teeth. Instead, he just smiled and spoke in a calm voice. "Young one, don't feel too proud of yourself for saying mean things to me. I know you're only doing it because you're safe up there. Those harsh words aren't coming from you, they're coming from your safe place."
With that, the wolf walked away, leaving the young goat thinking about what he'd said. As the young goat sat there on the roof, he started to understand what the wolf had meant. He realized that it was easy to be brave and say mean things when he was safe and high above danger.



















