514- The Belly and Lust of the Dog

A youth asked a friend of his, “I know that the males of some animals and birds remain single until their death after the death of their females and wouldn’t accept any other female. On the contrary, the male of the dog may have any female even if it’s his sister, daughter or mother. Why?”

“’Cause he doesn’t put limits to his stomach.” His friend answered. “He who does not restrain eating can’t restrain his instinct. If you want to live pure you should put limits to your stomach and go on a diet.”

The friend said this not from a scientific view but from the ethical symbolic one.

The young man asked, “Why does the dog eat much without going on a diet?”

His friend told him the following allegorical story:

It was said in the past that the dog and the crocodile were intimate friends. Since the dog loved eating, he took a knife and went to the crocodile saying, “Please, Open my mouth with the knife to be wider for I can’t eat a large piece of meat at a time.”

The crocodile held the knife and opened the mouth of the dog. Thus, the dog was able to eat very quickly. The crocodile asked the dog to do the same with him. Hence, the dog took the knife and opened his mouth to the extent that he was about to cut the crocodile’s head into two pieces. The crocodile’s mouth got very wide yet, he felt that he had become ugly and frightening. Thus, he got furious with him and insisted on taking revenge. As soon as the dog felt this, he fled away and they were no more friends. As for the crocodile, he was ashamed of his mien. Therefore, he dived in the water so that no one could see him.

→ English translation of the story here at St-Takla.org: بطن الكلب وشهوته.

Let me O Lord eat in order to live

Not live in order to eat.

You control my stomach

And put a guard over my lips.

With you, my body,

Stomach, thoughts and senses become chaste.

You are He who bestows purity.

The Stork and the Wolf

Short Stories (Stories for the Youth) Books by Father Tadros Yacoub Malaty

Anchorites Entertained by Pope Theophilus