The Wolf and the Crane
Encyclopedia
The Wolf and the Crane is a fable attributed to Aesop
that has several eastern analogues. Similar stories have a lion instead of a wolf, and a stork, heron or partridge takes the place of the crane.
agreed to try and, putting its long bill down the Wolf’s throat, loosened the bone and took it out. But when the Crane asked for his reward, the Wolf replied, "You have put your head inside a wolf’s mouth and taken it out again in safety; that ought to be reward enough for you." In early versions, where Phaedrus has a crane, Babrius
has a heron, but a wolf is involved in both.
The story is very close in detail to the Javasakuna Jataka
in the Buddhist scriptures. In this it is a woodpecker that dislodges the bone from a lion's throat, having first taken the precaution of propping its mouth open with a stick. On testing his gratitude later, the woodpecker is given the same answer as the wolf's and reflects
A Jewish Midrash
version, dating from the 1st century CE, tells how an Egyptian partridge extracts a thorn from the tongue of a lion. Its reward is similar to the other retellings. One of this fable's earliest applications was at the beginning of the Roman emperor Hadrian
's reign (117 - 138 CE), when Joshua ben Hananiah
skilfully made use of it to prevent the Jewish people from rebelling against Rome and once more putting their heads into the lion's jaws (Genesis Rabba
lxiv., end).
It is notable that both eastern versions are given a political application. This is equally true of John Lydgate
's 15th century retelling of Isopes Fabule, titled 'How the Wolf deceived the Crane'. The crane there is described as a surgeon engaged to perform a delicate operation and then deceived out of his fee. Lydgate goes on to draw the wider lesson of how a tyrannous aristocracy oppresses the rural poor and gives them no return for their service. Jean de la Fontaine
's Le loup et la cigogne (Fables III.9) also describes the crane's action as a surgical service; on asking for the salary promised, it is scolded for ingratitude by the wolf.
and his son Giovanni
. Since Perugia was at that time an ally of Rome, a carving of the wolf suckling Remus is included there; but the wolf peers back over her shoulder towards two adjacent panels depicting the fables of The Wolf and the Lamb
and the wolf and the stork. This hints at the political lesson that the friend might find an excuse to swallow its ally or at the very least would not reward its help.
Where sculptures of the fable are found in a church, a different symbolism is involved. Commenting on its appearance above a capital of the west door of Autun Cathedral, one scholar points out that what is in this instance a fox typifies the devil, and the crane is an emblem of Christian care and vigilance, ever active in saving souls from the jaws of hell. The crane must therefore be imagined as coming to the rescue, not of the fox, but of the bone. This religious meaning made the subject, according to the French architect Eugene Viollet-le-Duc
, one of the commonest sculpted on buildings from the 12th to the 13th century, not simply in France but elsewhere in Europe.
That the subject has not lost its dramatic power in more modern times is evidenced by its appearance on the St Petersburg monument to Ivan Krylov
(1855), as a bronze sculpture by Joseph Victor Chemin (1825 - 1901) in the Musée Jean de la Fontaine and by Stefan Horota in Berlin's Treptower Park (1968).
Aesop's Fables
Aesop's Fables or the Aesopica are a collection of fables credited to Aesop, a slave and story-teller believed to have lived in ancient Greece between 620 and 560 BCE. The fables remain a popular choice for moral education of children today...
that has several eastern analogues. Similar stories have a lion instead of a wolf, and a stork, heron or partridge takes the place of the crane.
The fable and its alternative versions
A feeding Wolf got a small bone stuck in his throat and, in terrible pain, begged the other animals for help, promising a reward. At last the CraneCrane (bird)
Cranes are a family, Gruidae, of large, long-legged and long-necked birds in the order Gruiformes. There are fifteen species of crane in four genera. Unlike the similar-looking but unrelated herons, cranes fly with necks outstretched, not pulled back...
agreed to try and, putting its long bill down the Wolf’s throat, loosened the bone and took it out. But when the Crane asked for his reward, the Wolf replied, "You have put your head inside a wolf’s mouth and taken it out again in safety; that ought to be reward enough for you." In early versions, where Phaedrus has a crane, Babrius
Babrius
Babrius was the author of a collection of fables written in Greek. He collected many of the fables that are known to us today simply as Aesop's fables .Practically nothing is known of him...
has a heron, but a wolf is involved in both.
The story is very close in detail to the Javasakuna Jataka
Jataka
The Jātakas refer to a voluminous body of literature native to India concerning the previous births of the Buddha....
in the Buddhist scriptures. In this it is a woodpecker that dislodges the bone from a lion's throat, having first taken the precaution of propping its mouth open with a stick. On testing his gratitude later, the woodpecker is given the same answer as the wolf's and reflects
-
-
- From the ignoble hope not to obtain
- The due requital of good service done.
-
A Jewish Midrash
Midrash
The Hebrew term Midrash is a homiletic method of biblical exegesis. The term also refers to the whole compilation of homiletic teachings on the Bible....
version, dating from the 1st century CE, tells how an Egyptian partridge extracts a thorn from the tongue of a lion. Its reward is similar to the other retellings. One of this fable's earliest applications was at the beginning of the Roman emperor Hadrian
Hadrian
Hadrian , was Roman Emperor from 117 to 138. He is best known for building Hadrian's Wall, which marked the northern limit of Roman Britain. In Rome, he re-built the Pantheon and constructed the Temple of Venus and Roma. In addition to being emperor, Hadrian was a humanist and was philhellene in...
's reign (117 - 138 CE), when Joshua ben Hananiah
Joshua ben Hananiah
Joshua ben Hananiah was a leading tanna of the first half-century following the destruction of the Temple. He was of Levitical descent , and served in the sanctuary as a member of the class of singers . His mother intended him for a life of study, and, as an older contemporary, Dosa b. Harkinas,...
skilfully made use of it to prevent the Jewish people from rebelling against Rome and once more putting their heads into the lion's jaws (Genesis Rabba
Genesis Rabba
Genesis Rabba is a religious text from Judaism's classical period. It is a midrash comprising a collection of ancient rabbinical homiletical interpretations of the Book of Genesis ....
lxiv., end).
It is notable that both eastern versions are given a political application. This is equally true of John Lydgate
John Lydgate
John Lydgate of Bury was a monk and poet, born in Lidgate, Suffolk, England.Lydgate is at once a greater and a lesser poet than John Gower. He is a greater poet because of his greater range and force; he has a much more powerful machine at his command. The sheer bulk of Lydgate's poetic output is...
's 15th century retelling of Isopes Fabule, titled 'How the Wolf deceived the Crane'. The crane there is described as a surgeon engaged to perform a delicate operation and then deceived out of his fee. Lydgate goes on to draw the wider lesson of how a tyrannous aristocracy oppresses the rural poor and gives them no return for their service. Jean de la Fontaine
Jean de La Fontaine
Jean de La Fontaine was the most famous French fabulist and one of the most widely read French poets of the 17th century. He is known above all for his Fables, which provided a model for subsequent fabulists across Europe and numerous alternative versions in France, and in French regional...
's Le loup et la cigogne (Fables III.9) also describes the crane's action as a surgical service; on asking for the salary promised, it is scolded for ingratitude by the wolf.
Sculptural symbolism
A political lesson can also be drawn from some mediaeval sculptures of the fable, most notably on the Great Fountain in Perugia executed in 1278 by Nicola PisanoNicola Pisano
Nicola Pisano was an Italian sculptor whose work is noted for its classical Roman sculptural style. Pisano is sometimes considered to be the founder of modern sculpture.- Early life :His birth date or origins are uncertain...
and his son Giovanni
Giovanni Pisano
Giovanni Pisano was an Italian sculptor, painter and architect. Son of the famous sculptor Nicola Pisano, he received his training in the workshop of his father....
. Since Perugia was at that time an ally of Rome, a carving of the wolf suckling Remus is included there; but the wolf peers back over her shoulder towards two adjacent panels depicting the fables of The Wolf and the Lamb
The Wolf and the Lamb
The Wolf and the Lamb is a well known fable of Aesop and is numbered 155 in the Perry Index. There are several variant stories of tyrannical injustice in which a victim is falsely accused and killed despite a reasonable defence.-The fable and its variants:...
and the wolf and the stork. This hints at the political lesson that the friend might find an excuse to swallow its ally or at the very least would not reward its help.
Where sculptures of the fable are found in a church, a different symbolism is involved. Commenting on its appearance above a capital of the west door of Autun Cathedral, one scholar points out that what is in this instance a fox typifies the devil, and the crane is an emblem of Christian care and vigilance, ever active in saving souls from the jaws of hell. The crane must therefore be imagined as coming to the rescue, not of the fox, but of the bone. This religious meaning made the subject, according to the French architect Eugene Viollet-le-Duc
Eugène Viollet-le-Duc
Eugène Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc was a French architect and theorist, famous for his interpretive "restorations" of medieval buildings. Born in Paris, he was a major Gothic Revival architect.-Early years:...
, one of the commonest sculpted on buildings from the 12th to the 13th century, not simply in France but elsewhere in Europe.
That the subject has not lost its dramatic power in more modern times is evidenced by its appearance on the St Petersburg monument to Ivan Krylov
Ivan Krylov
Ivan Andreyevich Krylov is Russia's best known fabulist. While many of his earlier fables were loosely based on Aesop and Jean de La Fontaine, later fables were original work, often satirizing the incompetent bureaucracy that was stifling social progress in his time.-Life:Ivan Krylov was born in...
(1855), as a bronze sculpture by Joseph Victor Chemin (1825 - 1901) in the Musée Jean de la Fontaine and by Stefan Horota in Berlin's Treptower Park (1968).
External links
- 15th-20th century book illustrations online