SURVIVAL OF THE MEANEST
Alex Haley tells a legend in Roots about a boy who found a crocodile trapped in a net. “Help me!” the crocodile begged. “No,” said the boy. “You’ll kill me.” The crocodile assured him he would not harm him, so the boy came near. Instantly, the crocodile seized him in his jaws. “Is this how you repay my kindness?” asked the lad. “Of course,” said the crocodile, out of the corner of his mouth. “That is the way of the world.” The boy refused to believe such a pessimistic view of things, so the crocodile agreed to not swallow him without getting an opinion from the first witnesses to pass by. The first was an old donkey. When the boy asked his opinion, the donkey said, “Now that I’m old and can’t work, my master has driven me out for the leopards to eat.” “See?” said the crocodile. The next to come by was an old horse, who had a…
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