~   The Man Who Cried Wolf   ~

or

What We Can Learn from the War 
‘This is a man of great evil, as the President said.

And he is actively pursuing nuclear weapons at this time.'
Vice-President Cheney, Mar 4th 2002


 
There once was a man who lived in a house,

It was a large house built on a hill.

This man was strong and righteous

A straight-talking valorous man

Respected by all in the village.
Now, far on the other side of that village

At the place where two streams meet

Was another, smaller house, very old,

Where men and women of wisdom had lived

For as long as anyone knew.


~   Wisdom   ~ 
The third millennium saw a series of developments basic

to most of the fundamental institutions and concepts of

the mainstream of all later civilized life.
The Greatness That Was Babylon, H.W.F. Saggs

 
But the man who lived in the house by the streams,

At the time of this story, had lost this wisdom,

And had now become a tyrant.

Two of his sons had hair that was brown,

The other two had hair that was red,

And these last would be beaten unmercifully

Whenever the wind was in the west,

After which those two boys could not walk for days.

But on the lucky brown-headed ones

He bestowed a great many favours.
But the thing that the bad man loved the most

Was a wonderful goose with sleek white feathers

That once a year laid a golden egg

Which the family could exchange in return

For all manner of wondrous goods.


~   A Wonderful Goose   ~
President Saddam Hussein is believed to be sitting on

reserves of at least 115bn barrels, the second-biggest in

the world after Saudi Arabia.
Evening Standard, Mar 10th 2003


 
This goose had indeed lived in the house

For as long as memory lived —

But could not live away from that place

And keep its magical gift.
Now the man who lived way up on the hill

Had always liked that goose,

And grew sadder and sadder in the knowledge

That he did not own such a thing.

So one morning he rushed out and raised a cry

That the man in the valley had twelve vicious wolves

And was going to let loose these creatures

On the people at any moment,

And all their sheep would be slaughtered,

And all the little boys and girls

Would be in dreadful danger.
‘Wolf, wolf!' he cried

And his servants cried ‘Wolf!'

And his gamekeeper cried ‘Wolf, wolf!'

‘What are we to do?' asked the villagers.

‘We must save ourselves from this evil,'

Said the righteous man from the hill.


~   Evidence   ~
‘We do have evidence of it. We are not suggesting that there

is a 9/11 link, but we are suggesting — and we do have

evidence — of connections over the years between Iraq and

Al Qaeda and other terrorist organizations.'
Secretary of State Powell, Jan 6th 2003


 
But another man came up to him

And said, ‘I've not seen or heard these wolves.

Perhaps you are mistaken.'

And the man from the hill then looked at him

With glowing eyes, full of valour,

And said calmly, ‘What I tell you, my friend,

On my mother's grave, is the truth.

We have no time to lose.'
Hearing the news of the strong man's plan,

The red-headed boys waited eagerly,

Knowing they would be saved at last,

But the brown-headed boys were much afraid

Because of being their father's favourites,

While the old man dared one and all to take him on,

He would fight them unto the death!


~   Here is a Small Fact   ~
You are going to die.
The Book Thief, Markus Zusak, p.3


 
So it came to pass

That the strongest men of the village

Went out the very next day,

And descended on the house by the streams

And killed all the family,

And razed the house to the ground

That had been a place of wisdom for so many years

So that not a stick was left standing.

Luckily, they said to one another,

All the twelve wolves must have burned away

For not a trace was found.
But, lo and behold, the goose was saved

Through the foresight of that resolute man

And the townsfolk, to thank him for his courage,

Bequeathed to him and his descendents

All the eggs that the goose might lay

For ever more.


~   Mission Accomplished   ~
‘The campaign has ended, and the United States of

America goes forward with confidence and faith.' 
George W. Bush, acceptance speech, Nov 3rd 2004


 
Now once a week goes his bravest servant

To that place by the streams, to feed the goose

Which continues to live in its fine silver cage,

Midst the weeds and rotting splinters.
Brave indeed must he be,

And quick enough to enter and leave

Before the foul stench of Truth overpower him

And he suffer the same fate as that bad man,

And the brown-headed sons and the red-headed sons.


~   The Moral to This Tale   ~
Thus it is that he who cries ‘Wolf!'

may have the good luck to receive golden eggs.