The Wolf in Sheep's Clothing
- 2 minute read
- Ages 6-10
- Aesop's Fables
A wolf had been watching a flock of sheep for weeks and could not get near them.
The shepherd was careful. The dogs were quick. Every time the wolf came out of the trees, something saw him and the whole flock moved away up the hill.
He needed a way to walk among them without being a wolf.
The skin
One afternoon he found a sheepskin lying at the edge of a field where it had been left out to dry.
He pulled it over himself, and worked his legs into it, and looked down at what he had become. From any distance at all, he was a sheep.
That evening he walked out of the trees and straight into the flock.
Nothing happened. The dogs looked at him and looked away. The sheep moved aside for him and went back to their grass. The shepherd counted the flock and got the right number.
The wolf walked through the middle of them all, so pleased with himself that he did not eat anything at all that first night. He just walked, and let himself be looked at.
The pen
At dusk the shepherd drove the flock into the pen for the night, and the wolf went in with them and lay down in the straw.
He decided he would wait until the middle of the night. Then he would take his time.
He was still lying there planning it when the pen door opened again.
The shepherd had come back. He wanted meat for the next day's meal, and he had come to choose a sheep.
He walked along the row in the dark, and stopped, and took hold of the nearest one.
Moral of the story
A disguise that gets you in can also stop you getting out. Pretending to be something else means being treated as that thing, including when you would rather not be.
Questions and answers
- Why could the wolf not reach the sheep?
The shepherd watched carefully and the dogs were quick, so the flock always moved away before the wolf could get close.
- How did the wolf disguise himself?
He found a sheepskin left out to dry in a field and pulled it over himself.
- What happened when the wolf walked into the flock?
Nothing. The dogs ignored him, the sheep moved aside, and the shepherd counted the right number.
- Why did the wolf not eat on the first night?
He was so pleased with how well the disguise worked that he simply walked among them enjoying it.
- How did the disguise destroy him?
The shepherd came to the pen at night to choose a sheep for the next day's meal and took the wolf.
Word meanings
- flock
- A group of sheep or birds kept together.
- shepherd
- A person whose job is looking after sheep.
- disguise
- Something worn to hide who or what you really are.
- pen
- A small fenced area for keeping animals.
Questions about The Wolf in Sheep's Clothing
What is the moral of The Wolf in Sheep's Clothing?
The moral is that a disguise cuts both ways. By pretending to be a sheep, the wolf also accepted a sheep's fate.
What does 'a wolf in sheep's clothing' mean today?
It describes a dangerous person who acts harmless and friendly to get close to people, so they lower their guard.
Where does the phrase come from?
It comes from this fable, and a very similar warning appears in the Gospel of Matthew, which is why the phrase spread so widely.
Is the ending too harsh for children?
The ending is implied rather than described. Nothing violent appears on the page, which is why it works for ages six and up.