Snare Of The Fowler, parts 1972 - 1975

1972. “I understand your concern about Otis,” said the Duck. “When last we looked in on him he was becoming the most famous wolf of the middle ages. But what became of him you do not know. I agree that the fate of the dog, or wolf if you prefer is much more important to us than the combined life histories of all the other characters in our story.

1973.  I am not going to draw any conclusions from that so as not to aggravate Dr. Buboni here. But the truth is, the fate of Otis is more important to us than the entire biography of Giotto, no matter how many paintings he painted, or perfect circles he drew.”

1974. But, although Otis became famous there is yet a more famous dog in literary history. The most famous dog in all of human history never did a single thing, and is renowned simply for his dramatic and moving death. I am talking about Argos. The dog Argos does not have much of a part to play in Homer’s Odyssey, but his role is so important that I am going to quote it to you, it is only a few lines as you will see.

1975. Homer, The Odyssey, Book 17, l7. 317-360: As they were speaking, a dog that had been lying asleep raised his head and pricked up his ears. This was Argos, whom Odysseus had bred before setting out for Troy, but he had never had any enjoyment from him.