A Goatherd, driving his flock from their pasture at eventide, found some Wild Goats mingled among them, and shut them up in a cave together with his own for the night.

The next day it snowed very hard, so that the Goatherd could not take the herd to their usual feeding places, but was obliged to keep them inside the cave. He gave his own goats just enough food to keep them alive, but fed the wild goats more abundantly, hoping that by doing so, they would stay with him and join his herd.

When the snow thawed, the Goatherd led them all out to feed, and the Wild Goats scampered away as fast as they could to the mountains. The Goatherd scolded them for their ingratitude in leaving him, when during the storm he had taken more care of them than of his own herd.

One of the Wild Goats, turning about, said to him: “That is the very reason why we are so cautious; for if you yesterday treated us better than the Goats you have had so long, it is plain also that if others came after us, you would in the same manner prefer them to ourselves.”

Moral: Don’t sacrifice old friends for new ones.