[0490] WWRD?
└ posted on Thursday, 13 June 2013, by Novil
- Ruth: I don’t even know who I am anymore…
- Sid: Ruth, this is the moment when you have to ask yourself: What would Ratatoskr(*) do?
- Caption: (*) = Ratatoskr is a squirrel in Norse mythology who runs up and down the world tree Yggdrasil to carry messages between the unnamed eagle, perched atop Yggdrasil, and the wyrm Nídhöggr, who dwells beneath the tree’s roots.
- Ruth: What would Ratatoskr do?
- Sid: Yes. Ratatoskr would never shoot a young lynx mother with his Derringer.
- Ruth: But rather?
- Sid: He’d only shoot the old and sick, of course!
- Ruth: But the meat of the young is much more tender!
- Sid: Having to eat chewy meat is still better than losing yourself, isn’t it?!
- Ruth: Yes,… sigh.
![[0490] WWRD?](/comics/2013-06-13-0490-wwrd.png "[0490] WWRD?")
Now I like this policy FAR more than aged care homes.
Uh, I thought the advice would be to eat the young as well:
– you don’t hear them cry anymore,
– extra tender meat!
Well, I guess that’s one way of looking at it.
@ abowden:
Eat our old? Hmm… Could work. Plus we’d solve world hunger.
@ M:
This is a family(ish) comic. While that advice would indeed solve the problem, the rating is too low to allow the suggestion of intentionally killing children as anything other than monstrous and unthinkable.
@ That one person:
Soylent Green is People! D:
Sounds like a Modest Proposal to me.
Ah ya, I’ve heard of ratatskre befor, I herd a rumor that he used too take peek at some of the messages that he deliverd thus, steeling the wisdom of the gods
all thought till know I thought it was a made up mtih, didn’t know it was a legend
No, no, no. It makes far more sense too eat those who are off their nut.
I normally just read Sandra and Woo as it is one of my favorites, and I don’t comment, but I must post this item just reported in Arizona, via FARK news:
“Bobcat kittens turned in to Arizona Humane Society in Phoenix”
Yep, 2 of them..
Besides knowing how to use guns, does Ruth know how to ship critters?
Isn’t WWRD the same as WWFD? Since Foamy could quite possibly be Ratatoskr.
yep ruth, this is the way to go! humans too only eat those pigs, cows, hens(…) who die of old age after all – we wouldn´t DREAM of eating tender calf meat XD
people seem to have misunderstood me, I think bieng shot once I turn 50 would be an excellent way to go for me.
But what would Ratatoskr do instead of shooting the lynx, if the lynx was already mid-pounce? By the time Ruth could have been aware enough of the attack to choose a different defense / escape, it was already too late to do anything except pull the trigger.
“WWRD?” bracelets, jewelry, and t-shirts now available wherever fine Sandra & Woo merchandise are sold.
Cid’s Alignment: NEUTRAL GOOD!!!
@ Skret:
As opposed to Rob Rhinehart’s Soylent (just Soylent) which is looking like it’s going to be completely awesome. 😀
Nice job bringing it back to a light note- it was getting a bit heavy there ;). I don’t mind heavier topics in Sandra and Woo, mind you, but one reason I really like it is that you guys always bring it back around.
DanialArin wrote:
Ol’ Drill-Tooth wouldn’t have been sitting there using himself as bait. He’s always running up and down the Tree, so that situation is unlikely to have come up.
It’s too bad Ratatoskr doesn’t get more mention in the Childish Edda ^_^
@ abowden:
A bit too far there… even though i laughed a bit myself… well thought out, i just hope you don’t actually mean it 😉
@ dragonking:
what would that make Charmaine?
And remember infected meat turns you into a Zombie Squirrel!
To those disliking my previous comment, I just want to clarify something: I wasn’t trying to be any sort of moral guardian. It was meant to be an observation and nothing more.
Well I must say that I did not see this coming. 😛
I guess this is the animal version of a reasonable compromise. After all, predators in nature actually do tend to prey on the sick, old and weak. They’re easier to catch.
Of course predators in nature also tend to prey on the young because they’re also generally easier to catch, but I think this is a good compromise if Ruth is going to continue to be a predator-squirrel.
I just have to point out that the giant eagle at the top of Yggdrasil isn’t nameless; his name is Hräsvelg.
And considering the messages that Ratatoskr had to relay between the eagle and the wyrm, let’s just say that you never want to challenge that squirrel to a game of ‘dozens’.
There you go Sid! You’re actually reaching the same conclusions as the big predators!
…for completely different reasons
@ abowden:
It’s too late to do that to me but always wanted to go out at 90 being shot by a jealous 19 yr old husband going out a bedroom window. 🙂
@ Alex:
Wasn’t Hräsvelg a frost giant in eagle disguise? I think the unnamed eagle is the one who had a hawk named Vedfolnir between its eyes.
There’s an expression attributed to the American Indian to the effect that tough meat is better because it lasts longer. Go get some of that senior animal steak, Ruth.
@ DanialArin:
she had set up an ambush she knew that the lynx was going to attack.
@ M: Yeah, there was so much tragedy and remorse in this strip that I almost forgot that it’s a comic about animals.
@ …:
…but this suggestion has already been made. She specifically targets wolf pups, remember?
-_-
I love this comic… I just do not like this story arc. Even joking about killing the old and the weak sickens me on a visceral level. Don’t mind me though, I’ll just be mumbling in the shadows.
I don’t think the people who wanted closure on the cubs are going to get their wish.
ehh, thinking of it, as Ratatorsk is an old-skandinavian-mythology character, he probably wouldn´t shoot anyone…
apart from it i want to say that scandinavian-mythology characters tend to get drunken easily, so it´s not very advizable to think what would they do…
So the squirrel religion is nordic? Eh, why not?
@ …:
Yes, because intentionally killing old people is so much better.
I can’t decide if she is more or less adorable than Lily. XD
I can totally see this backfiring.
“WHY DID YOU KILL MY GRANDMA!? IT WAS HER BIRTHDAY AND HER LAST DAY ON THIS EARTH!! YOU MONSTERRRRRRR-” *starts bawling*
the eagle wasn’t unnamed, its name is Hræsvelgr and it means “the one who creates the northern wind”
//Swedish reader
@ …: This comic has made references to intentionally killing children before, though. And sexual references. And references to arson and vandalism and all kinds of crime and killing furry animals for fun. Really, I think this comic is less what adults think kids should be told, and what kids ALREADY know and find funny.
Of course, I always assume kids are more responsible than other people do. I think I’m usually right, but hey, I’m sure lots of parents would disagree.
@ That one person:
And with our aging population, we’d never run out.
Mephil wrote:
No, that’s another eagle (which is actually a giant).
@ illeatyourself: it was her last day on earth anyways (BTW Sandra and Woo………..your famous…..)
@ Skret:
Touche, sir, very much so.
@ Novil:
According to wikipedia yes, but according to my history book written by Lars Magnar Enoksen (a swedish runologist), this is not the case.
The translation actually reads that “the eagle Hräsvälg sits on top of the tree, but is not the animal highest in its crown because the hawk Väderfalner sits between his eyes”
These things are true:
Hräsvälg is a giant
Hräsvälg has a dispute with Nidhögg because of ratatosk
Nobody knows the name of Hräsvälg*
The last line is what confuses some people. We are given the name of the giant in disguise, but according to mythology nobody knows his name. Notice the difference between “nobody knows his name” and “is unnamed”.
You know who else has this policy? The Nazis! (dropped an N-bomb there, and are proud of it)
Don’t know if it breaks the rules or anything (sorry if I did), but someone got to say it.