A Tale on Winning Hearts Through Kindness

On the road a young man came toward me, running hard, chasing after a sheep. I said to him: it is this rope and tether that keeps the sheep coming along behind you. He quickly took off its collar and chain, and the sheep began to run left and right. Yet it kept running ahead of the man, though it had eaten barley and young grass from his hand. When it came back, satisfied and content, it saw me and said: master of good judgment, It is not this rope that keeps it with me; kindness is the lasso around its neck. The raging elephant, because of the gentleness it has known, will not charge at its keeper. Show kindness even to the wicked, good man, for a dog stands guard once it has eaten your bread. The cheetah's teeth grow blunt against the man who lets it lick a bit of cheese for two days.