Reading time: 6 minutes

Read and listen to the wolf and the sheep

Content index

Summary

Hello lads. There fable di questa sera contiene un messaggio molto importante: l’amicizia è una cosa seria.

Essere amico, e avere un amico, richiede rispetto e sincerità.

Al lupacchiotto di questa sera non è riuscito proprio benissimo.

Read with me

“Marvin, la dinner it's ready, hurry up, this is the third time I'm calling you!”

“Arrivo mamma”.
Ogni sera si ripeteva la stessa scena, mamma Lucy doveva chiamare Marvin più e più volte perché si decidesse a tornare a casa per sedersi con il resto della famiglia a cenare.
Marvin was a very cheerful, carefree cub who played with whatever he found, from pebbles to tree branches, from leaves to flowers.

Aveva quattro fratelli, tutti più grandi di lui, con i quali andava d’accordo ma con cui non aveva molto in comune. Gli altri infatti erano molto più maturi di lui, o, meglio, avevano altri interessi: pensavano a cacciare, a studiare nuovi metodi di pesca, ad aiutare il padre nei lavori, che si susseguivano come le stagioni.

Marvin, on the other hand, was a free spirit, almost a rebel, who thought about having fun and who daydreamed about new adventures at any time of the day.

That evening, at dinner, while they were all around the table and the family talk focused, as always, on the things to do and on how good the older cubs had been in finding new prey, Marvin realized that he was different from his brothers.

He didn't like hunting or fishing, he couldn't see the other animals of the forest and the nearby countryside as possible prey but only as possible friends. This thought saddened Marvin who felt somehow excluded from the family, as if what bound them all was the fact that they had the same ideas and the same desires. With this thought, sad and bitter, Marvin supped in silence and immediately went to bed for the night.

Later, while everyone was asleep, Marvin slipped out of bed, crept out of his bedroom window, and ran like hell to see May, his best friend. By now it had become almost a ritual, every evening Marvin went to her friend's house and spent hours with her having fun running in the meadows and inventing new games. After all, what was wrong with a great friendship? Nothing, except that May was a little sheep.

il lupo e la pecorella — Eyes of the wolf

Se solo gli altri abitanti del bosco avessero saputo, se solo lo avessero scoperto, chissà cosa sarebbe successo. Sicuramente avrebbero ostacolato questa amicizia, per non parlare delle prese in giro degli amici e della delusione della famiglia.

And it was precisely this last one, the fear of disappointing his family, which meant that Marvin, one day, decided not to see May anymore.
The feeling of being excluded, of being different from his brothers was too great for him, so he began to behave like them, hunting, fishing and doing all the other things that any self-respecting wolf does.
Day after day Marvin became better and better at his tasks, his parents were proud and showered him with compliments "Bravo, today you have outdone yourself, being able to catch that fox is not everyone's thing!".

But Marvin wasn't happy, he hardly knew happiness anymore.

The days were sad, dark, like the nights, in which dreams returned to the times spent in May's company, when the most important thing was friendship and freedom, freedom to be oneself.

Una mattina la mamma di Marvin si avvicinò a lui, lo prese in disparte e gli chiese cosa ci fosse che non andava. “Niente mamma, va tutto bene”, rispose Marvin.

Ma la mamma aveva capito che c’era qualcosa e che il figlio non era felice quindi insistette. Alla fine Marvin scoppiò in lacrime e confessò tutto alla madre che, abbracciandolo, gli disse “Mi dispiace tanto figlio mio di non aver capito prima il tuo dolore.

Sai, io e papà siamo contenti che tu sia diventato un bravo cacciatore ma saremmo molto, molto più contenti di saperti felice.

What unites a family and friends are not the same ideas or sharing the same dreams, but è l’amore, il volersi bene e il sapersi accettare per come si è.

Of course, a little sheep as a friend is not an everyday thing but if yours is a true friendship then it is not right that you give it up".

Marvin was amazed, he couldn't believe his ears, all the fear he had had, the fear of not being up to his brothers, the fear of being judged by others had influenced his choices and had prevented him from being happy when it would have been enough talk, express one's fears, confront those who loved him to overcome any difficulty.
From that day things changed, Marvin returned to May and together they could still experience many fantastic adventures.

Conclusion

Quello che è successo a Marvin, ossia l’aver rinunciato ad un’amicizia per la paura del giudizio degli altri è una cosa che, magari in altro modo e in situazioni diverse, succede anche a noi persone.

It happens when we are afraid of disappointing someone, when we are afraid of not being understood or of being made fun of by our friends or by the people we love.
And when this happens we often react by withdrawing into ourselves and doing what we think others expect of us.

Certo, non è facile comportarsi diversamente e rischiare di essere presi in giro o allontanati, ma non è facile nemmeno rinunciare a fare le cose che vorremmo fare o a quello che vorremmo essere per accontentare qualcun altro. Infatti poi il vuoto che sentiamo dentro è forte, come è forte è il desiderio di poter essere liberi da tutti questi condizionamenti.

Then, perhaps, it can help to think that the people who really love us love us for who we are and for how we are, not for what we could be or what we could do.

It's true, maybe there may be some people who will move away, but those who stay will certainly be more important because they will be able to show us all their good by accepting us as we are.

Good night