The Goat and the Goatherd
Story by: Aesop
Source: Aesop's Fables
A goatherd was leading his flock back to the fold one evening when he noticed that one of his goats had wandered away from the group to browse on some particularly tempting bushes.
“Come back at once!” the goatherd called to the wayward goat. “Don’t lag behind! Stay with the flock!”
But the goat, finding the leaves especially sweet, continued to graze and ignored his calls.
Growing impatient, the goatherd picked up a stone and hurled it at the goat. The stone struck the goat’s horn and broke it, causing the poor animal to cry out in pain.
Immediately realizing what he had done, the goatherd became frightened. If his master discovered that he had injured one of the goats through his carelessness, he would surely be punished or dismissed.
“Please, dear goat,” the goatherd begged urgently, “don’t tell the master what happened. I promise I’ll be more careful in the future. Just keep quiet about your broken horn.”
The goat looked at him with a mixture of pain and disgust.
“How can I hide what you have done?” she replied. “My broken horn speaks louder than any words I could say. The evidence of your violent temper and poor judgment is plain for all to see.”
The goatherd realized that his actions had betrayed him, and no amount of pleading could undo the damage he had caused.
Moral: Our actions speak louder than our words. When we do wrong, the consequences are often impossible to hide, no matter how much we may wish to conceal them.
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