Because we in the West also say “no good deed goes unpunished,” we do not mean that one shouldn’t do good deeds, or that the failure of others to correctly respect good deeds is a fact of life that should cause us to throw up our hands and collapse gloomily at the unchanging evils of the world. Rather it is an ironic statement in sympathy with the person whose good deed was unrewarded, to show that we recognize ourselves the goodness of good deeds, unlike those other nasty monkeys who aren’t “nice.”
@Robin
What? Of course it is a realistic story, but it is told as form of warning! Don’t behave like this—be nice instead! Think and display gratitude—don’t abuse hospitality & kindness! Isn’t this in keeping, Robin, with your idea that stories are about niceness and to reinforce that we value it and are nice ourselves?
@daniel
Because we in the West also say “no good deed goes unpunished,” we do not mean that one shouldn’t do good deeds, or that the failure of others to correctly respect good deeds is a fact of life that should cause us to throw up our hands and collapse gloomily at the unchanging evils of the world. Rather it is an ironic statement in sympathy with the person whose good deed was unrewarded, to show that we recognize ourselves the goodness of good deeds, unlike those other nasty monkeys who aren’t “nice.”
@Robin
What? Of course it is a realistic story, but it is told as form of warning! Don’t behave like this—be nice instead! Think and display gratitude—don’t abuse hospitality & kindness! Isn’t this in keeping, Robin, with your idea that stories are about niceness and to reinforce that we value it and are nice ourselves?