【英】《伊索寓言》第8集：The Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing

Once a wolf tried and tried to snatch a sheep from the shepherds nearby, but they always drove him away with dogs and sticks. He was certain that anything they guarded so fiercely must taste better than the rabbits and birds of the woods. Then one day he came across a sheep’s fleece drying on a rack.

“If I put that on my back,” the wolf said, “I would easily sneak in amongst the sheep!”

He snatched the fleece and slunk off to wait until the evening shadows would make his disguise even more believable. Then he snuck up on a flock of sheep and threw the fleece over his own gray fur.

The sheep all made way for this very large sheep. The lambs looked at him in awe. And the ewes all bleated for his attention. It was the very best the wolf could hope for! He soon chose a plump lamb and began whispering to it, encouraging the lamb to go with him for a walk in the woods.

But each time the wolf and the lamb began to move away from the flock, the sheep dog would drive them back into the flock. Over and over the wolf tried to sneak away with one sheep or another, but the dog would not let him escape.

“At first they wouldn’t let me in,” he muttered, “now they won’t let me out!”

Then the shepherd came to look over the sheep and pick the fattest of the lot for a huge village feast. It was clear the wolf in the fleece was bigger than any other sheep. When the shepherd tried to use his hook to catch the fat sheep, it only snagged the fleece and pulled it from the wolf’s back.

In terror, the wolf ran away into the woods with the sheep dogs snapping and growling after him. The shepherd held up the empty fleece and scratched his head. Then he shrugged and said, “Appearances can be deceiving!”