The Farmer and the Viper: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

{{examples}}

== [[Anime]] and [[Manga]] ==

* In ''[[Kino's Journey]]'', Kino saves some stranded traders. It then turns out they trade human slaves and are looking to recuperate their losses.

* In ''[[Vinland Saga]]'', an English farmer and her daughter take pity on a young boy who stumble into their cottage, feeding and delousing him and sheltering him from the soldiers who are looking for a Viking spy and are killing all strangers on sight. In return, the boy burns down the village's dock, signaling the Vikings nearby to come take the village, which they do. Said boy is the ''[[Black and Grey Morality|protagonist]]''.

* In ''[[Fullmetal Alchemist]]'', the disgraced and homeless [[The Chew Toy|Yoki]] is taken in by a group of Ishbalan refugees. He promptly betrays them by selling out the [[Serial Killer]] and fellow Ishbalan Scar to a bunch of bounty-hunters with the intent to split the bounty. The refugees don't take the idea of Yoki ratting out one of their own well and promptly give him a beat-down.

** Also Scar himself, after he {{spoiler|kills Winry's parents after they give him lifesaving medical treatment.}} ...[[Multiple Choice Past|depending on the source material]]. In the first anime, it was Mustang being forced to do his job.

** In the later chapters, {{spoiler|the chimera Zampano}}, one of Edward's allies that Ed previously spared in battle, sneaks off and contacts {{spoiler|the Military high command}} to rat them out. It's all a {{spoiler|[[Batman Gambit]] though, planned to draw one of the homonculi to them so they can spring an ambush.}}

* In ''[[One Piece]]'', Kaya's family takes in an apparently down-and-out man and makes him their butler. He is secretly the pirate [[Manipulative Bastard|Captain Kuro]], with a long-term plan kill them, to steal their fortune, and retire on it.

** Done [[Accidental Aesop|likely by accident]] with Aokiji and Robin: Aokiji lets her live in spite of his order from the World Government, but, in spite of his warning to keep out of trouble, she's currently part of a crew who's leader declared war on the World Government.

** But being cruel and evil is only half the reason: by his own accord, he killed them (as opposed to just stealing and running) because, having just lost his only beloved sister, it was "too painful to see a happy family".

* A comic serial on the Tales of [[King Arthur]] had the Frog and Scorpion tale being told during an [[Enemy Mine]] situation...up to the point where the frog swims across the river with the scorpion on its back. Later on, he privately reveals the [[Downer Ending]] to his friend and jokes dryly that the story is a lot better without it.

* ''[[Gundam Seed Destiny]]'': poor, poor Shinn. The only way to save {{spoiler|Stella}} was to send her back to Neo, the only one who has the medical equipment to save her. He promised to keep her far from battlefields. What happens next? {{spoiler|Neo puts her into the cockpit of the Destroy. Then Kira has to kill her to stop the destruction of Berlin.}}

 

== [[Comic Books]] ==

{{spoiler|'''"Sobek"'''}}: What use is love to a [[Reptiles Are Abhorrent|reptile]]? My blood is cold! }}

** Hell, Batman and Joker's entire ''relationship'' is this trope. Batman's refusal to kill Joker because [[If You Kill Him You Will Be Just Like Him]] is repaid by Joker's literally thousands of victims.

* A variation on the tale itself comes in the Academy Comics' ''[[Robotech]] II: The Sentinels'' Halloween special, where after going with an Away team against the wishes of his wife Lisa, Rick Hunter explains his actions with the story, basically telling her that he's ''always'' gonna be a little headstrong and willing to take risks. To which Lisa says: "So the moral of the story is you're a lying snake, huh?"

* Played back in forth in a comic for ''[[Transformers Animated]]'' where Ratchet is shown helping a Decepticon suffering from "Cosmic Rust", a disease some Decepticons released in the middle of a battle. Ratchet does it on the grounds that while the commanders knew the score for doing such a thing, it's no reason to abandon a soldier. {{spoiler|[[Nice Job Breaking It, Hero|Then is turns out]] the guy ''was'' the one that made the disease, and infects Ratchet with it after being cured. ''However'' in the process they made a cure for the disease that Ratchet was able to take back, and he'll probably be able to save plenty of Autobots if they can manage to replicate it}}.

* ''[[Usagi Yojimbo]]'' also makes use of the "Farmer and the Viper" story when a hapless fisherman rescues [[Ax Crazy|Jei-san]] {{spoiler|after the latter was stabbed in the stomach and tossed off a cliff into a raging river}} and fails to notice Jei's [[Milky White Eyes]], [[Voice of the Legion|ominous voice]], and [[Evil Is Deathly Cold|the mysterious chill]] that follows him. Jei even tells the story to the fisherman {{spoiler|right before Jei kills him with his bare hands.}}

* The idea of [[The Power of Love]] failing to redeem is featured in ''[[Johnny the Homicidal Maniac]]'', when [[Horrible Judge of Character|Devi]] asks [[Ax Crazy|Johnny]] on a date. All seems to be going well at first, until Johnny realises that he's found someone who actually makes him feel happy. He then {{spoiler|tries to murder her, the one person who ever showed him any kindness}} in order to "immortalise the moment." This goes to show how completely fucked up his mind is, as well as kill the idea of any more romance in the series. {{spoiler|Devi gets away though.}}

* [[The Question]] recites a version of this parable to himself after he is attacked by a biker who he just saved from a fire.

 

 

== [[Film]] ==

* It was also told in ''[[The Crying Game]]''; first by Jody towards the beginning of the movie, then Fergus tells it to {{spoiler|Dil, as an explanation of why he went to jail for her ("It's in my nature"),}} at the end of the film.

** It's a subversion of sorts, in that it states that ''good'' people will do the ''right'' or at least ''honorable'' thing because it's in their nature to do so.

* In the backstory of ''[[Mirror Mask]]'', the Queen of Light took in the Evil Princess, who repaid her kindness by stealing the [[MacGuffin|charm]] that kept the Queen [[Fisher King|and the realm]] alive.

** And let's not forget that after leaving the world of Mirrormask and trapping its creator inside, she was systematically destroying the paintings in the real world that were its [[Cosmic Keystone|anchor]]. All just to get away from [[My Beloved Smother|smother dearest]].

** In the 2007 remake, when Michael escapes the institution, the only security guard who showed him compassion and kindness throughout his fifteen-year incarceration is given an extremely brutal and over the top murder: tossed around like a ragdoll, head dunked in sink four times, and finally head squashed by thrown TV. In contrast, the other guards, most of whom bullied and demeaned him, are typically stabbed or [[Neck Snap|neck snapped]].

 

== [[Literature]] ==

* [[Orson Scott Card]] used something similar in his story ''The Princess and the Bear''. Having attempted to [[Love Redeems|redeem]] the [[Evil Prince]], the princess {{spoiler|gives up on him and lets the Bear kill him.}} If this sounds like a [[Family-Unfriendly Aesop]], it ought to be mentioned that the prince and the princess follow the standard cycle of an abusive relationship.

* If any lesson is to be taken from ''[[Otherland]]'', it's this: never date anyone whose last name is [[Names to Run Away From Really Fast|Dread]]. And who likes to be addressed as "[[King Arthur|More Dread]]." And whose idea of romancing you is setting a priest on fire for your amusement ...

* Subverted in ''[[Les Misérables]]'', as Jean Valjean is taken in by the priest when no one else will after being paroled following nineteen terrible years in prison. Valjean assaults the priest and steals his silver in the night, but while escaping, he is caught by the police as a suspicious character. The priest tells the police that he gave Valjean the silver, and lets him go. This act of kindness actually ''changes'' Valjeans nature, as he strives to be good in return for this second act of compassion. It's shown that being put in prison had thoroughly corrupted him in the first place. His crime was stealing bread to feed his sister's children, for which he got five years, with the sentence extended for every time he escaped.

* ''[[Redwall]]'''s Veil Sixclaw repaid the Abbeydwellers for saving him by attempting to poison one of them. Then again, they may have saved his life but even before he attempted to kill them they always treated him as if he was going to anyway. His foster-mother Bryony, the only one who trusted him, considered this as a [[Freudian Excuse]], but it didn't help.

*** Worse yet, even at the end of the book {{spoiler|and his life}}, he himself feels like he is evil or just born bad, even though he [[Heroic Sacrifice|saved Bryony, sacrificing himself to do that]]. It's also notable for being one of the few books where Redwallians are portrayed in a less-than-sterling light. They're good in themselves here, but their actions toward Veil are ambiguous at best, just as he is ambiguously good or evil. Bryony also seems very uncertain about him even afterward, and both seem to think she should have let him go long before.

** This trope also applies to Chickenhound of ''Redwall,'' who is kindly taken in by the Abbeydwellers after they find him lying muddy, bloody, and unconscious in the middle of the road. He repays the gesture by stealing a bunch of random trinkets and {{spoiler|killing [[The Obi-Wan|Methuselah]]}}, although in his defense the latter was mostly an accident. About the only thing he ''does'' do that's him being nice to the Redwallers is tell them about {{spoiler|Cluny's plans to tunnel into the Abbey}}, which turns out to be incredibly useful, but wasn't [[It's Personal|entirely altruistic on his part]].

* In ''[[The Riftwar Cycle]]'', [[The Hero|Tal]] asks [[Trickster Mentor|Nakor]] how he can swear an oath to serve the evil Duke Kaspar, who wiped out his people, as part of a ploy by the good guys to spy on him. Nakor tells him the "scorpion and the frog" version of the story and explains that he won't have to break his oath to Kaspar, because it's in Kaspar's nature to betray him first, which would render Tal's oath void. {{spoiler|Sure enough, Kaspar turns on Tal and sends him to rot in [[The Alcatraz]], leaving him free to enact his revenge.}}

* Aristophanes quotes Aeschylus in ''The Frogs'' as saying: "Best not to rear a lion's cub in the City, but if you do, its ways must then be served."

* Referenced in ''[[Mara Daughter of the Nile]]". "I plucked a lily from the gutter and it has turned into a viper in my hands." From Sheftu's perspective, he aided a fugitive slave girl and gave her a purpose and a future (and also fell in love with her)--only for her to turn around and betray him to the Queen. (Mara's side of the story is a little different).

 

== [[Live Action TV]] ==

** With the caveat that most of the people that try to work with Sylar are decidedly evil themselves. So, it's basically a case of the Scorpion and the Viper.

* In an episode of ''[[MacGyver]]'', the female antagonist is hanging from a ledge. MacGyver is all [[Take My Hand]], but the woman stabs him, causing him to drop her to her death. Pete tells MacGyver the tale of "The Scorpion and The Frog" to calm him when he questions why she would do that.

* [[Invoked Trope|Invoked]] in the Chinese TV adaptation of ''[[The Prince of Tennis]]'', where Hai Tang (whose nickname on the court is "Viper") recounts this story as the reason why his teammates shouldn't get too friendly with Long Ma.

* ''[[The Bill]]''. An elderly bank robber is caught in the act, and when asked why he'd risk the long prison sentence at his age relates the story. The episode ends with him saying "I'm a scorpion." (i.e. It's my nature).

* In the ''[[Northern Exposure]]'' episode "Gotta Sing", [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNC4pm5cnaQ Shelly performs a jazzy version of Al Wilson's "The Snake"] while warning Maggie that [[Captain Obvious|you cannot and]] ''[[Captain Obvious|should not]]'' [[Captain Obvious|expect unpleasant, mean people to not be unpleasant and mean]].

* [[Lifetime Movie of the Week]] ''Bad to the Bone'' is an adolescent version of all those [[Film Noir]] capers featuring a (mostly) good man and an evil woman. A teenage girl [[Black Widow|wants her rich boyfriend dead so that she can get all his money]], so she [[Wounded Gazelle Gambit|lies to her brother that the boyfriend is abusing her]]. The brother shoots the boyfriend dead in an alley, and soon afterward both brother and sister are arrested on suspicion of the murder. The brother makes clear early on that he is willing to take all the blame for the murder in order to save his sister from life imprisonment, or possibly even execution. The sister repays him by [[Screw This, I'm Outta Here|making bail and disappearing two weeks before the trial even begins]], leaving her brother to stew in his jail cell while she's living the high life with various other gullible boy-toys. (Even then, [[Stupid Good|the brother refuses to testify against his sister at his trial]], and it takes him until almost the end of the movie before he realizes what a patsy he's been.) At one point we see the bad girl telling her "life story" to one of the rich male companions she's snagged (she's concocted a [[Multiple Choice Past]] to go with the false identity she's assumed), and she says that she had a brother once, but he died! [[Sarcasm Mode|What a class act.]]

* In the backstory of ''[[Power Rangers Time Force]]'', [[Big Bad]] Ransik was rescued and given life-saving medical attention by Dr. Ferricks. He responds to this kindness by setting the doctor's lab on fire and leaving him to die.

* An episode of ''[[Scrubs]]'' has J.D. pull a splinter from the Janitor's toe, and even bring up the parallel to [[Androcles' Lion]] (with the Janitor saying the story ends with the lion killing and eating the mouse anyway). The Janitor makes a show of offering unwanted payback, and finishes off by pointing out that J.D. could have just asked for him to stop messing with him (and steals his stethoscope when he tries to).

 

== Music ==

* Given a [[Perspective Flip]] in Nick Cave's song "Fable of the Brown Ape", where the snake is portrayed as a victim rather than a threat.

* Al Wilson's "The Snake" is a variation of the trope-naming story set to music. A tender-hearted woman finds a half-frozen snake, and takes it home with her and warms it up, but is bitten in much the manner of the farmer.

''"You knew damn well I was a snake before you took me in." ''|'''''The Snake'''''}}

* Megadeth song "The Scorpion" alludes to "The Frog and the Scorpion" in the refrain. The lyrics are otherwise more about a figurative scorpion rather than a literal one.

 

== Mythology ==

* A variation involves the Lion and the Unicorn. The two were enemies, but the Unicorn agreed to let the Lion borrow its horn. The Lion then ambushed the Unicorn and stabbed it with the horn. When the Unicorn asked why the Lion did this, the Lion responded by asking why the Unicorn trusted its worst enemy in the first place.

 

== Professional Wrestling ==

* In ''Ring of Honor'', CM Punk started as a heel, [[Heel Face Turn|turned face]], and was receiving massive cheers by the time he won the belt, at which point he made a promo referencing Aesop's story and declared [[Face Heel Turn|"I'm still a snake, you idiots!"]], declaring that he was going to take the title belt with him to the WWE, and signing his WWE contract on the ROH title belt. Of course, as an indie darling and a good performer, he was Face for over a year (and not just with the smarks) since hitting the WWE...and then he assaulted fan favorite Jeff Hardy and stole his title after Jeff had been champion for about five minutes.

** As part of a [[Continuity Nod]], he did basically the same thing in WWE. This time, with a very interesting result.

 

== Tabletop Games ==

 

== Video Games ==

* {{spoiler|General Azimuth's trust in a young Cragmite}} is the reason [[Ratchet and Clank|Ratchet]] is the last Lombax in the universe.

* In ''[[Age of Wonders]]'' the Keepers attempt to raise some goblins to be good. The Cult of Storms has no trouble convincing the goblins to riot and help kill the Keepers' leader.

** In that case, he doesn't fly into a rage at surviving, but at having lost his sword, which is ''very'' important to him as a [[Proud Warrior Race Guy]]. He follows the player as his own [[Redemption Quest]] because of this.

* ''[[Heavy Rain]]''. Without spoiling anything, suffice it to say that during the ending showdown with the Origami Killer, it is entirely possible that the fight will end up on a tall structure, and properly dodged or countered attack will leave the killer hanging by his fingertips over a deadly drop. The killer will humbly ask for your aid, and you have the option of pulling him to safety or letting him fall. Should you choose the former, the killer will give you a sincere-sounding word of thanks before immediately resuming his attempts to kill you. Of course, even the most [[Genre Blind]] player would see this outcome a mile away, but the killer is so [[Evilly Affable]] that most players are tempted to at least take a chance on saving him. A testament to how well-written and -acted the game is.

* If you killed the Rachni Queen in the first ''[[Mass Effect]]'', the Reapers create a husk Queen in the third game to produce Ravagers. The Queen is understandably enraged at having been created as a monster to create more monsters, and wants to help fight the Reapers... supposedly. She ends up betraying you, not only taking away the Assets she provided but also decimating your Engineering Corps.

 

** Of course, Kiel doesn't hold Kharla responsible for this. Sene'kha on the other hand...

* ''[[Bob the Angry Flower]]'' [http://www.angryflower.com/scorpi.html tells it as it is].

* The Scorpion and the Frog parable, above, inspired Vriska Serket in ''[[Homestuck]]'' (or rather, ''she'' inspired ''it''), as her motif is scorpions and has a self-destructively malicious nature. Appropriately enough, she {{spoiler|dies (again) by trusting her worst enemy, Terezi, not to kill her when her back is turned. Terezi, having foreseen the consequences, stabs her in the back.}}

* ''[[Freefall]]'' has this happen to Sam in [http://freefall.purrsia.com/ff400/fv00342.htm this] strip.

 

== Western Animation ==

** In the third season {{spoiler|Aang was ultimately proven right, though - he needed a firebending teacher at the exact same time Zuko did his [[Heel Face Turn]].}}

** [[Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking|In a less extreme example,]] during Zuko's exile in the Earth Kingdom, a woman and her mother take him and Iroh in for dinner. As they leave, Zuko steals their Ostrich Horse.

** Also, in "Imprisoned", Haru uses his Earthbending to save an old man from a cave-in. Later that night, the old man rats him out to the Fire Nation and gets him arrested.

* ''[[The Simpsons]]''

** Lisa makes it her goal to help Burns rebuild his lost fortune in a socially responsible way. He takes to her teachings with zeal, but in his efforts to follow her instructions he creates a recycling plant that strip mines ocean life into an all purpose slurry. It ends with the memorable scene of [[Granola Girl|Lisa]] running house to house begging people ''[[Irony|not]]'' to recycle!

** It then happens again, many seasons down the road, when Burns is brain-damaged and has lost his memory. Most of the Springfieldians take advantage of this to get revenge on him for everything he did to them. Lisa takes pity on him, and ends up restoring him to his former, evil self, with the added lesson that hatred is the only thing keeping him alive.

** An earlier episode had Marge take an interest in reforming Jack Crowley, a prisoner convicted of armed robbery (voiced by [[Michael Keaton]]) by encouraging his casual interest in art. The warden agrees to let Marge take Jack into her home and help him find a job as a mural painter. When Marge hears that Principal Skinner wants a mural painted for Springfield Elementary, she suggests Jack for the task. But Skinner forces him to paint a [[Tastes Like Diabetes|treacly, cutesy scene]] instead of what he actually wanted to paint - and then, to add insult to injury, Skinner has Jack take all the blame when the mural proves unpopular. Jack has to be restrained from physically assaulting the principal, and soon afterward a plot to burn down the school is uncovered. Marge finds Jack hiding in the playground and accuses him of going back to a life of crime; Jack lies that he's innocent, prompting Marge to believe him and to help him escape. Marge's reward for this is seeing Jack pour gasoline on Skinner's car and light ''that'' on fire in full view of everyone, [[Laughing Mad|laughing diabolically]]. Jack is quickly arrested and finally confesses to indeed starting the school fire, but [[Blatant Lies|not the car fire]], leaving Marge disgusted.

* An episode of ''[[Mickey Mouse Works]]'' involved Mickey rescuing Pete from the cold and warming him up inside the mouse's cabin. Being the greedy prick he is, Pete reveals he only pretended to be freezing to death as he and his cousin take over Mickey's cabin. Of course, being a cartoon about Disney's beloved mascot, Mickey not only managed to turn the two against each other, but, in the end, tricked the criminal dimwits into turning themselves into the police.

 

== Other ==

* Parodied in Richard Bartle's children's book parody, the ''SO Book of Spoons'', in the story about [http://www.mud.co.uk/richard/sbos4.htm The Farmer And The Fox].

* This is the reason people are told never to pick up hitchhikers.

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Character Flaw Index]]

[[Category:Stock Aesops]]