ABSTRACT

As illustrated in the following fable, violence, aggression, and confl ict between those of diff ering abilities, strengths, and status appear to be ubiquitous:

Th e beasts of the fi eld and forest had a Lion as their king. He was neither wrathful, cruel, nor tyrannical, but just and gentle as a king could be. During his reign he made a royal proclamation for a general assembly of all the birds and beasts, and drew up conditions for a universal league, in which the Wolf and the Lamb, the Panther and the Kid, the Tiger and the Stag, the Dog and the Hare, should live together in perfect peace and amity. Th e Hare said, “Oh, how I have longed to see this day, in which the weak shall take their place with impunity by the side of the strong.” And aft er the Hare said this, he ran for his life.