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Would the fable with the lesson "You knew I was a snake when you took me in" best describe a narcissist?

Originally Answered: Would the proverb with the lesson "You knew I was a snake when you took me in" best describe a narcissist?

Or the story of the scorpion and the frog

The Scorpion and the Frog - Wikipedia

Modern fable The frog carrying the scorpion across the river. The Scorpion and the Frog is an animal fable which teaches that vicious people cannot resist hurting others even when it is not in their own interests. This fable seems to have emerged in Russia in the early 20th century. Synopsis [ edit ] A scorpion wants to cross a river but cannot swim, so it asks a frog to carry it across. The frog hesitates, afraid that the scorpion might sting it, but the scorpion promises not to, pointing out that it would drown if it killed the frog in the middle of the river. The frog considers this argument sensible and agrees to transport the scorpion. Midway across the river, the scorpion stings the frog anyway, dooming them both. The dying frog asks the scorpion why it stung despite knowing the consequence, to which the scorpion replies: "I am sorry, but I couldn't resist the urge. It's in my nature." [1] Origins [ edit ] The earliest known appearance of this fable is in the 1933 Russian novel, The German Quarter by Lev Nitoburg. [2] The fable also appears in the 1944 novel, The Hunter of the Pamirs , and this is the earliest known appearance of the fable in English. [3] The Hunter of the Pamirs is an English translation of the 1940 Russian novel, Jura by Georgii Tushkan , but the fable does not appear in the original Russian. The fable appears in the final chapter of The Hunter of the Pamirs , but does not appear at the corresponding location in Jura . In the English-speaking world, the fable was made famous by the 1955 film Mr. Arkadin . It is recounted in a soliloquy by the movie's villain, played by Orson Welles . [4] [5] In an interview, Welles mentioned that the fable is Russian in origin. [6] Precursors [ edit ] The Scorpion and the Turtle [ edit ] An illustration of "The Scorpion and the Turtle", from a 19th-century edition of the Anvaar Soheili , a Persian collection of fables. A likely precursor to this fable is the Persian fable of The Scorpion and the Turtle . This earlier fable appears in the Anvaar Soheili , a collection of fables written c. 1500 by the Persian scholar Husayn Kashifi . [7] The Anvaar Soheili contains fables translated from the Panchatantra , a collection of Indian fables written in Sanskrit , but The Scorpion and the Turtle does not appear in the Panchatantra , which suggests that the fable is Persian in origin. [8] In the Scorpion and the Turtle , it is a turtle that carries the scorpion across the river, and the turtle survives the scorpion's sting thanks to its protective shell. The turtle is baffled by the scorpion's behavior because they are old friends and the scorpion must have known that its stinger would not pierce the turtle's shell. The scorpion responds that it acted neither out of malice nor ingratitude, but merely an irresistible and indiscriminate urge to sting. The turtle then delivers the following reflection: "Truly have the sages said that to cherish a base character is to give one's honor to the wind, and

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Scorpion_and_the_Frog

But, yes, on some level, we really need to learn to practice discernment when meeting new people, even when they are telling us something we really want to hear, or spinning out the saddest ‘poor little me’ story we’ve ever heard.

Narcissists are good at coming on with a sad story, or 'love bombing,' so without discernment and prior experience, you may not be immediately aware that they are a 'snake'. That's why it's important to take your time with every new person and every new relationship. Beware of anyone who is too much, too soon, even if being with them feels wonderful. Watch and wait before committing. Be slow to give out deeply personal information.

If you meet a person and they behave badly—mistreat a waiter, throw a temper tantrum while waiting in line at a venue, talk sh*t about their exes or their last job, or what-have-you…..listen and watch carefully. Observe patterns of behavior. You aren’t going to be able to love and care enough to change their basic personality traits. You aren’t going to change who they are with your love and affection.

When a person shows you who they are, believe them. - Maya Angelou

And, to that, I would add: Believe them the FIRST time they show their ass, not the 100th time. Because, ultimately, it is your choice to remain in a relationship with someone who treats you badly, ‘stings’ you like the scorpion or ‘bites’ you like the snake.

The first time they behave abusively, that’s on them. If you stick around in hopes of changing them, or loving them so much that they will magically stop being a snake or a scorpion, I’m sorry, but that choice is your responsibility.

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