The Wolf, the Fox and the Monkey

A Wolf and a Fox go to court over a petty theft, but they have a hard time getting the Judge to believe them.

Introduction

Phaedrus was a Roman fabulist, roughly a contemporary of St Paul, who turned large numbers of Aesop’s Fables into Latin verse. He admits that many of the Fables are actually his own, but says that this one, in which a Wolf and a Fox struggle to overcome their reputations for dishonesty, is an Aesop original.

IF someone with a reputation for dishonesty complains of suffering an injustice, he has already squandered any chance of being believed, even when he is telling the truth.* There is a brief Aesop’s Fable that bears witness to this.

A Wolf accused a Fox of theft, but the Fox denied that he was in any way to blame. So they asked a Monkey to judge between them. Plaintiff and defendant were howling and barking at each other, arguing their cases, when the Monkey broke in with his judgment. ‘You’ he said to the Wolf ‘do not seem to have lost what you claim to have lost. On the other hand,’ he went on, turning to the Fox, ‘despite your specious arguments, I’m inclined to think you took it.’

Based on the Latin of Phaedrus, a Roman fabulist of the 1st century AD.

See The Boy Who Cried Wolf.

Précis
A Wolf accused a Fox of theft. As the Fox denied the charge, they agreed to the arbitration of a Monkey. The Monkey declared that he did not believe the Wolf had lost anything, but also that he was pretty sure the Fox had taken it. Those known for dishonesty are unlikely to be believed, even when telling the truth.
Sevens

Suggest answers to this question. See if you can limit one answer to exactly seven words.

What did the Wolf accuse the Fox of doing?

Suggestion

He accused him of stealing from him.

Jigsaws

Express the ideas below in a single sentence, using different words as much as possible. Do not be satisfied with the first answer you think of; think of several, and choose the best.

A Wolf accused a Fox of theft. The Fox denied it. They asked a Monkey to judge between them.

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