Aesop’s Fables Month: The Farmer and the Stork
by Crystal A Murray (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) via Gemini & Nano
Both my sister and I often carry a recurring vision in our minds: we see ourselves in a room full of tall men in suits while we are standing down near the floor, small and desperately tugging on jacket tails to try to get attention about something important. We both struggle with deep issues around feeling rejected, even when we have vital information to share. I’ve come to realize that this pain stems from past accusations leveled against us, even when we were entirely innocent.
I think my heart grabs onto the pain of being misjudged because of moments that left deep marks. For example, I remember going to a dentist’s office once, and because I’m a naturally curious person, I asked a lot of questions about a device on the counter—an electronic buffer like dentists use to shine teeth. Before I left, that device disappeared, and the staff asked to check my bag. I gladly obliged since I knew I hadn’t taken it, but I spent years feeling a lingering, undeserved guilt simply because I couldn’t prove who did take it. I hated even being suspected. To this day, I still get defensive over things that couldn’t possibly be my fault, because the thought of being suspected when I know I’m innocent is agonizing.
The Classic Fable Retold: The Farmer and the Stork (Perry 23)
This fable has a moral about being careful of the company you keep, but a second observation includes the protests of an innocent stork pleading with the farmer to believe that he was not a destroyer like the cranes:
A farmer set a net in his fields to catch the cranes that were eating and tearing up his crops. When he went to check the trap, he found a mix of cranes and a single stork tangled up together. The stork immediately began to plead for his life, explaining that he was a bird of excellent character, highly devoted to his parents, and entirely innocent of the crop-stealing.
The farmer wasn’t having it. He replied, “That may all be true, but I caught you in the company of these thieves and destroyers, and down you go with them.” No matter how much the stork protested his innocence, the blanket judgment of being in the wrong place at the wrong time sealed his fate.
Reflections…
It is a painful reality of this world: people in power often issue blanket judgments, lumping the innocent in with the guilty just because of association or surface appearance. Whether it’s society hastily pointing fingers or the sting of being wrongfully accused, it hurts to be treated unfairly no matter how loudly you protest. Scripture acknowledges this heavy reality of facing false charges and human condemnation:
“Who will bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is there to condemn us? For Christ Jesus, who died, and more than that was raised to life, is at the right hand of God— and He is interceding for us.”
— Romans 8:33-34 (B.S.B.)
For the longest time, that room full of towering, dismissive figures felt final. But recently,a friend offered a profound perspective that completely changed the picture. They said that whenever I see that room in my mind, I should envision YahShua walking in, stepping past the towering figures, picking me up above the crowd, and holding me close. The Psalmist offers this reflection:
“For the cause of the oppressed and for the groaning of the needy, I will now arise,” says the LORD. “I will bring safety to him who yearns.”—
He doesn’t leave us trapped in the nets of other people’s snap judgments or false accusations. He sees our true hearts, steps into the spaces where we feel small, and lifts us out entirely. The prophet Nahum said it like this:
“The LORD is good, a stronghold in the day of distress; He cares for those who trust in Him.”
Though we don’t see the innocent stork rescued in this fable, we know that our Almighty Creator believes in justice. Because of free will, innocents often pay a price on this Earth, but none of that happens without God seeing it and planning a righteous future. Still, wherever we are able, it’s important for us to be careful where we go and with whom we spend time. We have better promises by keeping our focus on The Lord.
“Commit your way to the Lord; trust in Him, and He will do it. He will bring forth your righteousness like the dawn, your justice like the noonday sun.”
— Psalm 37:5-6 (B.S.B.)
We know that Yahveh’s eyes are always beholding both the innocent and the guilty, and that His plans include bringing balance and justice. But until that day comes, let us run to Him for strength and believe that He will, indeed, lift us up above false accusations and judgments.
“The LORD is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.”
— Psalm 9:9 (B.S.B.)
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