which is malicious delight in another's misfortune.
Those people who indulge in Schadenfreude will find that the setbacks they so much enjoy when suffered by others, invariably boomerang upon themselves.
"What goes around, comes around."
A Dog found his way into a barn crowded with the horses and oxen who worked on the farm. One section only was empty and contained a Manger full of straw, awaiting the last team of Oxen who had labored hard the long day.
The Dog, who was sleepy after a full meal, sought a place to lie down, and although the straw in the Manger was prickly and uncomfortable and not to his liking at all, he settled there in an attempt to find sleep.
The Oxen returned to their stall, hungry and weary, to find the Dog lying atop their food. But when they asked him to find another place to sleep, he snarled at them and said, "I arrived here before you, and here I stay."
The Oxen replied, "But surely you are not able to sleep on that prickly straw." And the Dog answered,
"I care not. I have possession of this Manger and you can go elsewhere." And then he snarled, baring his teeth in canine glee, saying, "as long as I am here you will not eat."
The Oxen went hungry
and the Dog got no sleep.
photography by Ansel Adams, Cape Cod, c 1930s
"High upon a windswept ledge,
A figure teeters near the edge,
While jeers and calls from
crowds below
Egg him on with "Go, man, go!"
There is a Zeitgeist in American culture today which seems to mirror Aesop's observations of nearly 3,000 years ago. Have we changed so little? Have the great teachings of Jesus, Mohamed, the Talmed had so little effect? Are we still so primitive?
Throughout time, Dogs in their Mangers have been enlivened by the tragedies of other people. They will endure any discomfort themselves to block help for the distress of someone else.
Aesop's story is easy to read. But almost three thousand years later, why do we still not comprehend it?
From "Who Will Answer?"
as sung by Ed Ames,
in the 1960s:
"Those who are cruel and insecure, and too dim-witted to avoid boredom, take delight in others' discomfort, pain, even tragedy."
