Once upon a time there was farm. It was established by a herd of sheep who had wandered from grazing pasture to grazing pasture. These were an unfortunate lot. Every they went, they were hounded by the wolves. If it wasn’t the wolves it was the bears. If not the bears it was the lions. If not the lions it was by starvation for lack of grazing pastures. Through all the generations they persevered. They never fought back. They did not have the means. When things got too bad, they simply moved else where.
This continued for many, many years. Until a new type of wolf arose. This kind of wolf just did not see the sheep as dinner. This wolf hated the sheep and wanted them gone. The sheep defiled the wolf’s hunting grounds and were an afront to him. Sheep were an impure type of animal to the wolf. The consequences for the sheep were terrible. The wolves almost hunted the sheep to extinction. Only by a miracle, the wolves also upset the eagles and bears. The wolves tried to take over the traditional hunting grounds of the bears and the eagles. Though the bears and the eagles also liked to hunt the occasional sheep, this was going too far. The eagles banded up with the bears and fought against the wolves. It was decisive victory. The wolves were crushed and the sheep were saved.
Finally the sheep had had enough. “Never again!” they cried. We no longer wish to at the mercy of the bears and eagles. We want to take our destiny into our own hands. We will go back to old grazing pastures. Many animals were sceptical. The chickens said: “There were bad wolves in the old grazing pastures too. It is not safe. You will be outnumbered.” Never mind, answered the sheep, we will band together and protect each other, instead of being scattered all over the world. This is the only way to survive. We can no longer leave our fate in the hands of others.
From all over the world the sheep gathered. They began to rebuild their old farm and restore their grazing pastures. This was an astonishing success. The farm thrived after having fallen to complete disrepair. The sheep hired guard dogs who become really good at driving back the wolves. Even successfully counter attack the wolves and made their little farm bigger. Easier to defend. This was so successful the wolves could no longer attack and eat sheep. The wolves began to starve. The sheep were delighted. They thought they had finally made it.
After a few years of this a few of the dogs began to feel sorry for the wolves. Even little baby wolves were dying for the lack of sheep to eat. The pictures of little baby wolves getting killed while trying to hunt down baby sheep were horrific. The numbers of the wolves dwindled while the number of sheep increased. The eagles and the bears also started to get concerned. This was very unfair to the wolves. After all, the sheep had established this farm because of their own relentless persecution of the sheep. They felt responsible for the plight of the wolves.
The animals of world gather together and decided that the sheep had to leave the gates open. Only occasionally. After all, the wolves had to eat. Even some of the guard dogs declared they were going to break the silence about the plight of the wolves and refused to do guard duty. It was immoral, they said, to treat the wolves in such a humiliating manner. A violation of animal rights! The fences against the wolves were deeply racist. Putting a fence up against the wolves is despicable form of discrimination, said the animals all over the world.
Even the sheep started to feel bad about the situation and wondered if they should not give up an occasional sheep in the name of animal rights. They wondered if maybe taking down the fences would mitigate the accusations of racism against the wolves. The wolves were delighted. Would this be finally their opportunity for eliminating those land thieving, violent and immoral sheep? Will the sheep put their own well-being above the well-being of the wolves? Will the sheep continue to violate the animal rights of the wolves? Will the sheep continue to steal hunting grounds from the wolves? Or will they made the necessary and painful sacrifices needed to make the bears, eagles and wolves like and admire the sheep again?
Only time will tell.
