An Aesop fable for the Exxon oil deal

Jun 10, 2018 Countryman, Features / Columnists

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By Dennis Nichols

One of the poems I have enjoyed immensely since my youth is the entertaining parody of an ancient Aesop fable – The Fox and the Crow. Its author Guy Wetmore Carryl, added rhyme, figurative embellishment, and stylish wit, to come up with ‘The Sycophantic Fox and the Gullible Raven’.
The poem cautions against flattery, and ends with the unbecoming picture of a bird so embarrassed and angry at being tricked that it utters an unprintable expletive when the fox’s ruse is revealed. But it is too late, and the cheese-less crow is left not only bemused, but sadder, wiser, and presumably more cynical.
Of course it’s an allegory, and I’m not naming names, but a handful of individuals would come to mind whenever I read those verses and force myself to think between and beyond the lines. Indeed, I was at times a gullible raven (Weren’t we all?)
Lately, for some maybe not-so-strange reason, our local deal-makers and ExxonMobil spring to mind; not that the former are crows, or the latter a fox? But those two did pop into my consciousness when I read the poem for the umpteenth time a few weeks ago. The verse is light-hearted and, like this article, hints at a moral. However, neither Exxon nor any government official whom the cap appears to fit, should take it to heart, unless it actually does fit.
In the course of history, it appears that the part of the fox has been played by quite a few ‘explorers’ intent on seeking wealth, or new lands to colonize. The native masses would collectively be the crow.
Think of European penetration into the New World a couple of hundred years ago, and of how indigenous peoples were plied with trinkets and fooled by a façade of friendship before the plunder and the peril. Think of similar overtures in Africa and India. Think of the vanishing promises of successive governments in Guyana. Now think of Exxon and our esteemed contract-signers. Then substitute oil for cheese.
The searching and drilling for oil in offshore Guyana, the big finds, the contract, and the subsequent cash tallying constitute a mixture of technology, economics, and politics that many Guyanese do not fully understand. Some say they do, but others don’t buy that.
Prior to 2015 there was little need for comprehensive education and expertise in this field locally. Therefore I suggest that before the signing of contract, a lot of promises and a little flattery may have gone some way in persuading our government to give the oil company what some experts consider a sweetheart deal. How sweet a deal we may see somewhere down the line.
Some will argue that unlike the crow in the fable, who lost her entire hunk of cheese and got nothing in return, our government has fared somewhat better – in fact billions of Guyana dollars better. But the more hard-nosed and cynical among us would no doubt remind the others that there’s a gargantuan gulf between our billions and Exxon’s, relatively speaking of course; also that we have many more mouths to feed. But I guess a plate of nothing is worse than a saucer of rich crumbs or, as someone who placed a value on our 2% royalty quipped ‘Three loaves of bread for each Guyanese per month’ is better than none.
Words carry weight. They also help bitter medicine go down sweeter.
In Guyana, Exxon’s words filter down adroitly through persons like Rod Henson and Kimberly Brasington. They promise much. Then there are the words of two of our local and most critical thinkers – Nigel Hinds and Christopher Ram. They caution more. People like me are caught between promise and prudence. I for one still cannot wrap my mind around ‘the baseless US$460 Million invoice’ (Mr. Hinds’ words) we have to pay ExxonMobil to ‘have our resources plundered’.
Now for those who have never heard of, or read, the poem, here’s that gem. As you read it, observe the rhythm, rhyme, and cadence with which it is imbued by its author. Notice its wryly effortless humour, the culminating lesson which adapts and extends Aesop’s simple moral of caution against flattery, and the ambiguous ‘after dinner’ quip.
For the younger reader it may help to know that Brie and Roquefort are types of cheese, “J’admire …. ton beau plumage “translates as “I admire your beautiful feathers”, persiflage is cheap talk, Adelina Patti was an Italian opera singer, and ‘Götterdämmerung’ is a 19th century musical drama.
Here’s the poem ‘The sycophantic fox and the gullible raven’ by Guy Wetmore Carryl.

A raven sat upon a tree/ and not a word he spoke for/
His mouth contained a piece of Brie/ or maybe it was Roquefort/
We’ll make it any kind you please; at all events it was a cheese.

Beneath the tree’s umbrageous limb/ a hungry fox sat smiling/
He saw the raven watching him/ and spoke in words beguiling/
“J’admire,” he said ‘ton beau plumage”/
(The which was simply persiflage)

Two things there are no doubt you know/ to which a fox is used/
A rooster that is bound to crow/ a crow that’s bound to roost/
And whichsoever he espies/ he tells the most unblushing lies.

“Sweet fowl,” he said, “I understand/ you’re more than merely natty/
I hear yousing to beat the band/ and Adelina Patti/
Pray render with your liquid tongue/ a bit from Götterdämmerung.”

This subtle speech was aimed to please/ the crow and it succeeded/
He thought no bird in all the trees/ could sing as well as he did/
In flattery completely doused/ he gave the ‘Jewel Song’ from ‘Faust.’

But gravitation’s law of course/ as Isaac Newton showed it/
Exerted on the cheese its force/ and elsewhere soon bestowed it/
In fact there is no need to tell/ what happened when to earth it fell.

I blush to add that when the bird/ took in the situation/
He said one brief emphatic word/ unfit for publication/
The fox was greatly startled but/ he only sighed and answered “Tut.”

THE MORAL is: A fox is bound to be a shameless sinner. And also: when the cheese comes round you know it’s after dinner. But (what is only known to few) The fox is after dinner too!
Aesop’s fame as a fabulist is debated by some, but in the oral tradition at least, he is accepted as the author of most of the fables credited to him. He was said to be a slave in ancient Greece and some believe he was black. Whether these are facts or speculation, he must have had great insight into human nature, the behaviour of animals, and a healthy dose of commonsense.
An Aesop clone may have been a welcome addition to our oil contract team! What do you think?

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