A parable for your consideration …
Once upon a time, there was a village, ruled by an old, old wizard. Now, this wizard taxed the people heavily but in return he had laid a spell on the borders of the settlement. For although the village itself was peaceful, there were periodic raids from a band of goblins that lived in the nearby hills.
Every month or so, some of the creatures would get into the village, only to be driven out after a few goblins had been killed. They came in all shapes and sizes, some large, some small. The goblins were hideous to behold and spoke no intelligible language, only uttering grunts and howls. They would often shriek as the villagers cut them down while they tried to steal food or clothes. None of the villagers were ever lost during these raids. Many people praised the wizard for their good fortune and he assured them that, without his spell, things would be much, much worse.
One night, the alarm bell clanged frantically, alerting the villagers that another goblin raid was underway. Sure enough, several of the creatures had broken into a meat market and were stuffing smoked ham into their mouths as if they hadn’t eaten for days. The townspeople roused themselves from their beds and quickly surrounded the beasts, trapping some inside the store.
The old wizard stood at the window of his house in the center of town, thin lips curling as he watched the goblins struck down. In that moment, though the wizard thought he would live forever, Death came for him and he was no more.
Meanwhile, there was only one small goblin left alive in the market, bleeding from many wounds. About to strike the death blow, a brawny man stopped and stood transfixed. The goblin’s shrieks had changed to a child’s fading cries for mercy. The townspeople watched, astonished, as its curved black claws became a child’s fingers weakly clutching the gash in her side. They looked around the store and, where the fallen goblins had been moments before, they saw the bloody bodies of children much like their own, emaciated, wearing only rags. And the villagers dropped their weapons, fell to their knees, and wept bitterly.