Once Upon a Business – Episode 104
The Wolf and The Seven Kids
Lisa Bloom: There was once an old nanny goat who had seven kids, and she was just as fond of them as a mother of her children. One day, she was going into the woods to fetch some food for them, so she called them all up to her and said, my dear children, I’m going out into the woods. Beware of the wolf.
Hi, I’m Lisa Bloom, the story coach, and you’re listening to Once Upon a Business. In each episode we explore a story, a fairy tale, folktale or traditional story, so that we can discover the amazing lessons relevant for business and for entrepreneurs.
The old nanny goat continued, if once he gets into the house, he will eat you up, skin and hair and all. The rascal often disguises himself, but you will know him by his rough voice and his black feet. The kid said, oh, we will be very careful, dear mother. You may be quite happy about us. Bleating tenderly, the old goat went off to her work. Before long, someone knocked at the door and cried, open the door, dear children. Your mother has come back and brought something for each of you. But the kids knew quite well by the voice that it was the wolf.
We won’t open the door. They cried. You’re not our mother. She has a soft, gentle voice, but yours is rough, and we are quite sure that you are the wolf. So he went away to a shop and bought a lump of chalk, which he ate, and it made his voice quite soft. He went back, knocked at the door again and cried, open the door, dear children, your mother has come back and brought something for each of you. But the wolf had put one of his paws on the windowsill, where the kids saw it and cried, we won’t open the door. Our mother has not got a black foot as you have. You are the wolf.
Then the wolf ran to a baker and said, I have bruised my foot. Please put some dough on it. And when the baker had put some dough on his foot, he ran to the miller and said, strew some flour on my foot. The miller thought, the old wolf is going to take somebody in, and refused. But the wolf said, if you don’t do it, I will eat you up. So the miller was frightened and whitened his paws. People are like that, you know. Now the wretch went for the third time to the door and knocked and said, open the door, children. Your dear mother has come home and has brought something for each of you out of the wood.
The kids cried, show us your feet first. That way we may be sure you are our mother. He put his paws on the windowsill and when they saw that they were white, they believed all he said and opened the door. Alas, it was the wolf who walked in. They were terrified and tried to hide themselves. One ran under the table, the second jumped into bed, the third into the oven, the fourth ran into the kitchen, the fifth got into the cupboard, the sixth into the washtub, and the seventh hid in the tall clock case. But the wolf found all but one and made short work of them.
He swallowed one after the other, except the youngest one in the clock case, whom he did not find. When he’d satisfied his appetite, he took himself off and lay down in a meadow outside, where he soon fell asleep. Not long after, the old nanny goat came back from the woods. Oh, what a terrible sight met her eyes. The door was wide open. Table, chairs and benches were overturned. The washing bowl was smashed to atoms, the covers and pillows torn from the bed. She searched all over the house for her children, but nowhere were they to be found.
She called them by name, one by one, but no one answered. At last, when she came to the youngest, a tiny voice cried, I’m here, dear mother. Hidden in the clock case, she brought him out, and he told her that the wolf had come and devoured all the others. You may imagine how she wept over her children. At last, in her grief, she went out, and the youngest kid ran by her side. When they went into the meadow, there lay the wolf under a tree, making the branches shake with his snores. They examined him from every side, and they could plainly see movements within his distended body.
Oh, heavens, thought the goat. Is it possible that my poor children, whom he ate for his supper, should be still alive? She sent the kid running to the house to fetch scissors, needles and thread. Then she cut a hole in the monster’s side, and hardly had she begun when a kid popped out its head. And as soon as the hole was big enough, all six jumped out, one after the other, all alive and without having suffered the least injury. For in his greed, the monster had swallowed them whole. You may imagine the mother’s joy. She hugged them and skipped about like a tailor on his wedding day.
At last she said, go and fetch some big stones, children, and we’ll fill up the brute’s body while he is asleep. Then the seven kids brought a lot of stones as fast as they could carry them, and stuffed the wolf with them till he could hold no more. The mother quickly sewed him up without his having noticed anything or even moved. At last, when the wolf had had his sleep out, he got up. And as the stones made him feel very thirsty, he wanted to go to a spring to drink. But as soon as he moved, the stones began to roll about and rattle inside him. Then he cried, what’s the rumbling and tumbling that sets my stomach grumbling? I thought the six kids’ flesh and bones now find its naught but rolling stones.
When he reached the spring and stooped over the water to drink, the heavy stones dragged him down and he was drowned miserably. When the seven kids saw what had happened, they came running up and cried aloud, the wolf is dead. The wolf is dead. And they and their mother capered and danced around the spring in their joy.
This was from the Grimm’s Fairy Tales. This is such a classic fairy tale, similar to Little Red Riding Hood and others that speak to the typical lessons that children are told. They should learn not to speak to strangers, to beware of the danger beyond, to look after themselves and the home. And yet the story is so much more and of course has some brilliant lessons for business owners. So let’s dig in.
One of the main themes of the story is all about vigilance. Be careful of the dangers that always seem to lurk out there, but specifically, to beware of the wolf. In fairy tales, the wolf is a powerful and recurring symbol that often represents deception and manipulation, disguising his voice and appearance to lure the innocent into a trap. From a business perspective, the wolf can stand for the person or entity that uses manipulation, false promises or unethical tactics to achieve their goals. I think we’ve all met wolves in our life and business, right?
The wolf’s insatiable appetite is interesting to me, too. It’s not enough for him to eat one or two of the kids. He needs to eat every one of them, or at least all that he finds. And he eats them so fast that he can’t even digest them. Good for the kids, not so much for the wolf. This is some kind of hunger. It reminds me of how we sometimes speak about the entrepreneur or the rising star in a company, that they’re hungry, so hungry that they’ll do almost anything to succeed. This is usually seen as a positive, the kind of drive necessary to advance or to do the impossible. In this story, the wolf serves to remind us that being too hungry, being insatiable, in fact, will not lead to anything good. It’s the path to self destruction. And in companies, I’ve definitely seen hungry wolves go too far, burn out and self destruct.
The role of the mother in the story and parental guidance in General is interesting. Once the kids are gone, she’ll do anything and everything to get them back. And she’s fierce. But earlier in the story, it’s more confusing. On the one hand, she warns the kids to be careful of the wolf and not to be deceived by him. She says he’ll eat you up, skin and hair and all, explaining that he may disguise himself. On the other hand, she leaves them alone to fend for themselves. Strange kind of parenting, no? My sister and I often joke about our parenting style as being mindful neglect. We’re big believers in helping our kids be independent. This story might be taking it a step too far.
I’d like to think that if a vicious predator was likely to knock on my door, I wouldn’t leave my kids alone for a second. That fierce mother energy is not unfamiliar to me. I think this speaks to that interesting line between advice, warning and independence. As a parent, we need to let our kids experience what shows up and make their own mistakes. In business, we should work with mentors and coaches who will give us the guidance and the necessary warnings. But at the end of the day, we do need to forge our own way, making mistakes and experiencing failure too.
The end of the story is happy, if a little grim. The nanny goat cuts open the wolf to free the kids and fills his stomach with rocks that make him thirsty and drown him when he leans into the spring to drink. And of course, the innocent kids are free. Justice is served. My father always used to say, what goes around comes around, as if justice will always be served in hard times. I find myself wondering if this is true. There seems to be so much injustice in life and business that it can be hard to stay optimistic. I think this story is a reminder that there is indeed justice and fairness. The innocent will be saved and tactics of manipulation and viciousness will not win through. Perhaps that’s one of the reasons we need these stories, because it can be hard to remember these important lessons.
One final thought about the story occurred to me. As an entrepreneur, you need to discover a new world, something that others can’t or won’t see. And it requires you to be daring and brave and to take risks. Sometimes you need to go out and meet the wolf, not stay behind closed doors, afraid of the dangers that are out in the big wide world. Instead, to gather yourself, your wits, your courage, and your creative thinking. And to face the wolf. You may need to outwit him, or you may have to fight him. But either way, if you face the worst possible thing without being manipulated or devoured, you will surely rule the world.
I’m Lisa Bloom, and you’ve been listening to Once Upon a Business. You can find out more about me at story-coach.com. That’s story-coach.com. Once upon a Business is part of the Mirasee FM Podcast Network, which also includes such shows as Just Between Coaches and Consciousness Explored. To catch the great episodes that are coming up in Once Upon a Business, please like and follow us on Mirasee FM’s YouTube channel or your favorite podcast player. And if you enjoyed the show, please leave us a comment or a starred review. It’s the best way to help us get these ideas to more people. Thank you. We’ll see you next time.