Fable 2: The Goose and the Goat

A/N: Hello Dear Reader,

I have decided to write 10 fables (some modern and some traditional) inspired by the great Aesop! Enjoy! Please Like Comment and Subscribe!

-TWW

There once was a goose, a gentle goose. While the other geese flapped around boisterously, shoving and stomping, this goose liked to swim on calm waters. When the others asked the goose why he strayed from the group, he would simply reply that he preferred to be alone. However, this was not the truth for the goose. In his heart, the goose could not have been lonelier. He understood his plight and felt annoyed at it. He wondered why there were no other geese who enjoyed the calm waters.

One afternoon, the geese were being particularly boisterous, splashing around and testing their strength against one another so the goose plodded away from the noise, determined to find some peace along the banks of the river on which they lived.

He found his way blocked by a fence. He stooped low, extending his long neck, and peeked under the wooden planks. Inside was a field, a very peaceful field. The grass was high and moths began to flit around the darkened trees. The goose squeezed under the fence and lay down at the base of a large and silent oak. He tucked his beak into his feathers and fell into a deep sleep.

He was awoken the next morning by a deep rumbling across the field. His head whipped up and looked across the grass to find goats.

Many goats

All running towards him

Squawking, he leaped up and flapped his way under the gate. From that safety, he watched the goats go about their day.

There was a remarkable similarity between goats and geese, he decided upon reflection. He watched the goats fight amongst one another, clacking horns and stomping through the ground. They shouted and laughed, enjoying the noise and company, just as the geese did.

However, there was one goat that didn’t interact with the rest. They chose to patiently graze on the outskirts of the field. The goose noted the goat looked scruffy and unkempt. Upon closer examination, the goose could see a nail hanging from the goat’s beard.

He decided to approach the kindred spirit and offer to remove the pesky object.

‘Ho! You there!’ The goose puffed out its chest and spoke, trying to be brave.

The goat started, wide-eyed, searching for the source of the noise. His head turned and one eye fell on the goose.

Briefly, the goose thought the goat to be very scary indeed. Large in muscle and horn, the goat towered over the goose.

‘Yes?’ The goat asked, surprised at his new company.

‘You have a nail in that beard of yours.’ The goose stated.

‘I know!’ The goat quickly turned into anger ‘Are you here to mock me? Like those other geese? Like my herd, eh? Why, if this fence wasn’t here, I’d ram you through!’

The goose squawked in surprise, he had expected this goat to be calmer than the rest, as he had observed.

‘Away with you!’ The goat shouted.

The goose was about to make good on that request when he heard the rest of the geese arrive at the field. They flew up above, taunting the goats and escaping their angry attempts to headbutt them.

Two geese from the group decided to pick on the goat, taunting the goat for being foolish enough to get a nail tangled into his beard and also not having enough friends to groom it out of him. The goat sighed, saddened. Minutes passed before intervention occurred.

‘Away with you!’ It was the goose that spoke this time.

His brethren looked at him in stunned silence before taking flight, back to the rest. They hadn't expected the quiet goose to say anything, let alone tell them off! They scowled at him from afar.

‘Why thank you!’ The goat said, ‘I think I had you all wrong little goose!’ he exclaimed.

The goose stared back, wary of the goats’ temper.

‘Say, about this nail…it does get into the way while I am grazing. Would the offer to remove it still stand?’ The goat asked sheepishly.

The goose stuck his long neck past the fence and gently prized the nail from the goat's beard.

‘Thank you, friend’ the goat said softly.

They stared at one another.

‘Say, you liked spending the night by the oak tree, yes?’

‘Oh, you saw me,’ the goose stated

‘Haha yes, friend. I thought, in return for your kindness, I could graze by the tree, keeping the grass down so you can have some peace there.’

‘I would like that – thank you…friend,’ the goose cautiously added.

From there, they walked up the field, discussing their similarities and finding true friendship. Soon enough, the scruffy goat was known for his shining, smooth, coat as the goose groomed him. The goose won his peace and was able to find quiet by the oak tree both at night, and during the day, guarded by the goat.

While at first, the goose and the goat were limited by their groups, they turned their similar minds into an enduring friendship.

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Moral: to judge by appearances is to lose the best of friends

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A/N: Hi there! I hope you enjoyed this fable! I enjoyed writing it. I took a more traditional angle with this one and it was difficult to leave out some details which I am used to including (names, descriptions and such). Nevertheless, I thoroughly enjoyed the challenge!

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ThatWriterWoman