OK, OK, so cockerels don't exactly roost. But it makes a statement, don't you think? To me the bane of America's culture is the heritage from Puritan times of lying about people. The Witchhunt is alive and well in this new millennium.
Gossip destroys reputations with no evidence but a nasty imagination. A victim cannot confront his accusers; they are anonymous. Worse, too often he doesn't even know what he is accused of!
Guilt by Accusation! I hate, loathe, and despise gossip, in case you haven't noticed. 'Nuf said by me.
The Fable that follows does a better job.
A Spider, who was vain about her craft, spun webs in every imaginable spot she could find, often in unlikely spots that even annoyed the Farmer and his Wife. The Spider was swift and could create a masterpiece in less than an hour.
An aging Ram resided in a pen, beloved of the Children, although he was half blind. One day the gate to his pen was left open by the youngest Child and the Ram blundered out of his pen, unable to see where he was going.
He drifted into the barn and innocently brushed through one of the Spider's art works which she had spun across the doorway. The web was destroyed and the Spider was outraged.
She made her way to all the farm structures, the pig pen, the barn stalls, the hen house, and told all the oxen, the horses, the pigs, the hens, and anyone she could find about the wicked, vicious Ram who had deliberately destroyed her home (although one of the pigs did ask if it were her Summer Home, her Winter Home, or Which Home).
Inflamed by her own passion the Spider wove webs of deceit about the Ram, creating horror stories of abuse, viciousness, and oppression of which the Ram was the purported villain. All the animals listened to her. After all, it was very entertaining. All nodded their heads ~ that is, all but one.
A Sheep watched the Cockerel carefully, then hesitantly approached him. "I saw the whole thing," she said, sheepishly. "But I was afraid of the Spider."
"What did you see?" asked the Cockerel.
"It was an accident. The poor Ram did not see the web. But, sir," she went on, "it is very difficult for any of us to avoid the Spider's webs. She has no concern for the rights of others."
The Sheep gained confidence because the Cockerel listened attentively. "And further, Ram has never done any of the other things, either. Anyone should tell you that."
The Cockeral thanked the Sheep and approached the Ram and asked to hear his side of the story. The Ram told the truth with humility and conviction, and the Cockeral then spoke to a few other of the Farm creatures.
Finally he sought out the Spider and said to her, "There is a Commandment among Humans which says, 'Thou Shalt Not Bear False Witness Against Thy Neighbor.' You have told hurtful lies about the Ram, who is a good fellow and innocent of all your deceit. Several here have contradicted your stories."
The Cockerel looked around the barnyard. None of the animals would look him in the eye. "What say you all? asked the Cockerel. Shall the Spider answer for her sins?"
All the animals, deciding a new game was afoot, began to yell out, "Yes! Yes! Kill her! Kill her!" And with that the Cockeral snapped the squirming Spider with his beak and made a tasty meal of her.
The Cockerel was new to the farm, a large handsome bird and a favorite of the hens to whom he was kind, wise, and very protective. He watched the animals shun the Ram. He saw the Ram isolated and lonely.
