History Main / TheFarmerAndTheViper

* ''[[Fanfic/StarWarsVsWarhammer40K Star Wars vs Warhammer 40K]]'': In Season 3, Ahsoka [[SaveTheVillain saves]] an [[{{Mook}} Imperial Guardsman]] who she found trapped inside of a wrecked [[HumongousMecha Imperial Knight]] that had a jammed access hatch. Upon being freed, the Guardsman initially seems grateful and starts thanking his rescuer... until he sees what [[GreenSkinnedSpaceBabe Ahsoka looks like]] and [[AbsoluteXenophobe realizes she isn't a human]]. Even though Ahsoka points out that she ''literally just rescued him'', he doesn't hesitate to pull out his sidearm and try dumping his entire magazine into her while screaming at her to die.

* In the ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'' and ''Franchise/HarryPotter'' crossover ''Fanfic/AceOfSpades'' [[BecauseYouWereNiceToMe because Jim Gordon was nice to Harry]] while he was in Arkham Asylum [[AxCrazy Harry]] becomes obsessed with him. Later [[spoiler:Jim Gordon adopts Harry into his family. As a result, his wife and daughter are killed and it's revealed that not only Harry but also Gordon's son Jimmy were working with the Joker all along]].

* ''Fanfic/AnEagleAmongLions'': {{Discussed}} in Chapter 59: Kronya recounts the tale of the "Scorpion and the Frog" to Ingrid, stating that the reason why she's following [[spoiler:Dedue]]'s orders despite not being able to stand them is "Because I'm a scorpion, and it's simply in my nature to sting." She then turns this into a NotSoDifferentRemark:

* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'': Buffy goes out of her way to be kind and welcoming to Faith, and even tries to help her after her StartOfDarkness... and Faith thanks her by repeatedly trying to kill her or simply ruin her life. By the ''Angel'' episode "Sanctuary", Buffy is finally sick of it, refuses to accept Faith's HeelRealization, and fully intends to kill her.

* In the ''Series/HowIMetYourMother'' episode "[[Recap/HowIMetYourMotherS2E02TheScorpionAndTheToad The Scorpion and the Toad]]", Barney takes newly single Marshall to bars, including one called [[TitleDrop The Scorpion and the Toad]]. But every time Marshall gets a girl interested, Barney charms her away and goes home with her instead.

* ''[[Fanfic/StarWarsVsWarhammer40K Star Wars vs Warhammer 40K]]'': In Season 3, Ahsoka [[SaveTheVillain saves]] an [[{{Mook}} Imperial Guardsman]] who she found trapped inside of a wrecked [[HumongousMecha Imperial Knight]] that had a jammed access hatch. Upon being freed, the Guardsman initially seems grateful and starts thanking his rescuer... until he sees what [[GreenSkinnedSpaceBabe Ahsoka looks like]] and [[AbsoluteXenophobe realizes she isn't a human]]. Even though Ahsoka points out that she ''literally just rescued him'', he doesn't hesitate to pull out his sidearm and unload his entire magazine into her while screaming at her to die.

* ''[[Fanfic/StarWarsVsWarhammer40K Star Wars vs Warhammer 40K]]'': In Season 3, Ahsoka [[SaveTheVillain saves]] an [[{{Mook}} Imperial Guardsman]] who she found trapped inside of a wrecked [[HumongousMecha Imperial Knight]] that had a jammed access hatch. Upon being freed, the Guardsman initially seems grateful and starts thanking his rescuer... until he sees what [[GreenSkinnedSpaceBabe Ahsoka looks like]] and [[AbsoluteXenophobe realizes she isn't a human]]. Even though Ahsoka points out that she ''just rescued him'', the Guardsman doesn't hesitate to pull out his sidearm and start shooting while screaming at her to die.

* ''Fanfic/{{Fractures|ATLA}}'': The Chaunli interlude has the titular innkeeper taking in an injured man, letting him stay for free while nursing him back to health. Unfortunately, his kindness is repaid by [[spoiler:Admiral Zhao stabbing him in the throat with a knife after he overhears the admiral plotting to restore Ozai's firebending]].

* ''[[Fanfic/StarWarsVsWarhammer40K Star Wars vs Warhammer 40K]]'': In Season 3, Ahsoka [[SaveTheVillain saves]] an [[{{Mook}} Imperial Guardsman]] who she found trapped inside of a wrecked [[HumongousMecha Imperial Knight]] that had a jammed access hatch. Upon being freed, the Guardsman initially seems grateful and starts thanking his rescuer... until he sees what [[GreenSkinnedSpaceBabe Ahsoka looks like]] and [[AbsoluteXenophobe realizes she isn't a human]]. Even though Ahsoka points out that she ''just rescued him'', the guardsman doesn't hesitate to pull out his sidearm and start shooting while screaming at her to die.

* ''[[Fanfic/StarWarsVsWarhammer40K Star Wars vs Warhammer 40K]]'': Ahsoka [[SaveTheVillain saves]] an [[{{Mook}} Imperial Guardsman]] who she found trapped inside of a wrecked [[HumongousMecha Imperial Knight]] that had a jammed access hatch. Upon being freed, the Guardsman initially seems grateful and starts thanking his rescuer... until he sees what [[GreenSkinnedSpaceBabe Ahsoka looks like]] and [[AbsoluteXenophobe realizes she isn't a human]]. Even though Ahsoka points out that she ''just rescued him'', the guardsman doesn't hesitate to pull out his sidearm and start shooting while screaming at her to die.

* ''[[Fanfic/StarWarsVsWarhammer40K Star Wars vs Warhammer 40K]]'': Ahsoka [[SaveTheVillain saves]] an [[{{Mook}} Imperial Guardsman]] who she found trapped inside of a wrecked [[HumongousMecha Imperial Knight]] that had a jammed access hatch. Upon being freed, the guardsman is initially grateful and is about to thank his rescuer...until he sees what [[GreenSkinnedSpaceBabe Ahsoka looks like]] and [[AbsoluteXenophobe realizes she isn't a human]]. Even though Ahsoka points out that she ''just rescued him'', the guardsman doesn't hesitate to pull out his sidearm and start shooting while screaming at her to die.

* In ''ComicBook/TheSandman'', Loki's urge to punish Morpheus ''because'' Morpheus helped him escape his eternal torment. Odin even cites this Aesop when pointing out to Morpheus how it is in Loki's nature to repay kindness with malice and ingratitude. [[spoiler:Turns out to be an InvokedTrope on Morpheus's part; Loki's actions are all part of Morpheus's plan.]]

** Done [[AccidentalAesop likely by accident]] with Aokiji and Robin: Aokiji lets her live in spite of his order from the World Government, but, in spite of his warning to keep out of trouble, she's currently part of a crew whose leader declared war on the World Government.

* ''Fanfic/StarWarsVsWarhammer40K'': Ahsoka [[SaveTheVillain saves]] an [[{{Mook}} Imperial Guardsman]] who she found trapped inside of a wrecked [[HumongousMecha Imperial Knight]] that had a jammed access hatch. Upon being freed, the guardsman is initially grateful and is about to thank his rescuer...until he sees what [[GreenSkinnedSpaceBabe Ahsoka looks like]] and [[AbsoluteXenophobe realizes she isn't a human]]. Even though Ahsoka points out that she ''just rescued him'', the guardsman doesn't hesitate to pull out his sidearm and start shooting while screaming at her to die.

!!!'''Franchise/MyHeroAcademia''
* ''Fanfic/{{Cain}}'': Katsuki repeatedly rewards Izuku's efforts to reach out to him with vehemence and violence. For instance, at one point Katsuki breaks his own fingers while trying to punch Izuku. Izuku [[OfferingAHand offers him a hand up]], asking if he's okay; Katsuki [[UnreliableNarrator interprets this as mocking]], grabs his hand, and uses his Quirk to heat up the sprinkler water on Izuku's skin.

* ''Series/TheUntamed:'' Like in [[Literature/GrandmasterOfDemonicCultivationMoDaoZuShi the novel]], the Yi City arc. Xiao Xingchen saves Xue Yang, Xue Yang tricks him into murdering people, and Xingchen commits suicide when he learns the truth.
* ''Series/TheLongestDayInChangAn'': Jiao Sui pulls Po Yan out of the river. Po Yan repays him by robbing and killing him.
* ''Series/{{Heroes}}'': Due to Sylar's HeelFaceRevolvingDoor, he's frequently pitied by others who believe that he's turning good, only for him to later reaffirm his villainy and betray them.

* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'': Buffy goes out of her way to be kind and welcoming to Faith, and even tries to help her after her StartOfDarkness... and Faith thanks her by repeatedly trying to kill her or simply ruin her life. By the ''Angel'' episode "Sanctuary," Buffy is finally sick of it, refuses to accept Faith's HeelRealization, and fully intends to kill her.

* ''Franchise/StarTrek'':
** ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'':
*** In "[[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS3E13DejaQ Deja Q]]", Q actually uses this ''against'' the crew [[BroughtDownToNormal when he's turned mortal by the continuum]], choosing a human form and going to them for help, assuming that their values and willingness to forgive "almost any offense" will mean they are willing to protect him from the variety of less-moral creatures he has tormented in the past, and who are willing to take advantage of his newfound humanity. [[SubvertedTrope He's not entirely right in this assumption]], but he also subverts his own role as the viper; after [[spoiler:Data risks his life to save Q, Q is moved to the point where he decides to risk his own life for the good of the ship]].
*** "[[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS5E23IBorg I Borg]]" is all about this trope, [[DeterminedDoctor with Dr. Crusher arguing to provide mercy for a wounded Borg drone]], while the rest of the crew consider kindness to an inherently evil creature to be self-destructive. It turns out that the "viper" in this case can actually change when given the opportunity.
*** In "[[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS5E24TheNextPhase The Next Phase]]", The ''Enterprise'' undertakes a mission of mercy to their enemy, the Romulans, but the rescued Romulans merely use the opportunity to try to destroy the ''Enterprise''.
** ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'': In the two-part episode "[[Recap/StarTrekVoyagerS3E25S4E1Scorpion Scorpion]]", [[BetterTheDevilYouKnow Captain Janeway plans a temporary alliance with the Borg in order to combat Species 8472]]. When she asks for Chakotay's personal opinion, he relates the parable of "The Scorpion and The Frog" mentioned in the page quotes, though with a fox in place of the frog. Oddly, the story as told is more tragic than the normal telling, with the scorpion [[TragicVillain apologizing for being unable to help its nature]], when the Borg would have no such compunctions.

* In ''Series/{{Being Human|UK}}'', after [[spoiler: the [[BackFromTheDead resurrected]], amnesiac villain Herrick gets his memories back, he considers killing Nina as revenge on George for killing him, then he changes his mind as she was the only one of the main characters who showed him any kindness while he was in their care. Just when it looks like this trope is going to be subverted, however, he decides "But then everyone would think I was going soft" and stabs her. [[MoralEventHorizon She's pregnant, by the way]].]]
* ''Series/TheBill''. An elderly bank robber is caught in the act, and when asked why he'd risk the long prison sentence at his age relates the story. The episode ends with him saying "I'm a scorpion." (i.e. It's my nature).

->Lionel: "Why did you do it?" the dying frog asked him. And the scorpion replied, "Because it is my nature."

* In the ''Series/NorthernExposure'' episode "Gotta Sing", [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNC4pm5cnaQ Shelly performs a jazzy version of Al Wilson's "The Snake"]] while warning Maggie that you cannot and should not expect unpleasant, mean people to not be unpleasant and mean.
* LifetimeMovieOfTheWeek ''Bad to the Bone'' is an adolescent version of all those FilmNoir capers featuring a (mostly) good man and an evil woman. A teenage girl [[BlackWidow wants her rich boyfriend dead so that she can get all his money]], so she [[WoundedGazelleGambit lies to her brother that the boyfriend is abusing her]]. The brother shoots the boyfriend dead in an alley, and soon afterward both brother and sister are arrested on suspicion of the murder. The brother makes clear early on that he is willing to take all the blame for the murder in order to save his sister from life imprisonment, or possibly even execution. The sister repays him by [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere making bail and disappearing two weeks before the trial even begins]], leaving her brother to stew in his jail cell while she's living the high life with various other gullible boy-toys. (Even then, [[StupidGood the brother refuses to testify against his sister at his trial]], and it takes him until almost the end of the movie before he realizes what a patsy he's been.) At one point we see the bad girl telling her "life story" to one of the rich male companions she's snagged (she's concocted a MultipleChoicePast to go with the false identity she's assumed), and she says that she had a brother once, but he died!
* In the backstory of ''Series/PowerRangersTimeForce'', BigBad Ransik was rescued and given life-saving medical attention by Dr. Ferricks. He responds to this kindness by setting the doctor's lab on fire and leaving him to die. This makes things rather awkward for the series' later attempts to sell him as a Magneto-esque AntiVillain
* An episode of ''Series/{{Scrubs}}'' has J.D. pull a splinter from the Janitor's toe, and even bring up the parallel to AndroclesLion (with the Janitor saying the story ends with the lion killing and eating the mouse anyway). The Janitor makes a show of offering unwanted payback and finishes off by pointing out that J.D. could have just asked for him to stop messing with him (and steals his stethoscope when he tries to).
* On ''Series/LazyTown'', oftentimes when Sportacus rescues Robbie Rotten, Robbie's next act is to try to do something else to screw over Sportacus.
* The scorpion variant was referenced by Kevin when dealing with a lawyer who was being particularly feisty on ''[[Series/DragonsDen Shark Tank]]''.
* ''Series/GameOfThrones'':
** Played with Xaro Xhoan Daxos. Daxos was taken in by the city state of Qarth (which is usually closed to outsiders) and proceeds to work his way up to a position of leadership- at which point he has the other leaders killed and declares himself king. However, Daxos attributes his treachery to his love of Qarth- he agrees with the slain leaders that it is a great city but feels that it will grow stagnant if allowed to continue to be isolated from the rest of the world under their leadership.
** Played straight in "[[Recap/GameOfThronesS4E3BreakerOfChains Breaker of Chains]]". [[BadassAndChildDuo Arya and the Hound]] are given food and shelter by a [[SimilarSquad kindly farmer and his daughter]], who tells the Hound that he has silver to pay him to stay as a laborer and protector should he choose. Instead, the Hound robs the man the next day. When a furious Arya calls him out on this, he replies that kindly weak folk like them [[TheSocialDarwinist won't survive the winter, so there's no point in letting them keep the money when he can use it]]. [[spoiler: In a nice DramaticIrony, the Hound is later seriously injured and is robbed of the silver by Arya.]]
** After quelling the rebellion of Ellaria and the Sand Snakes, Prince Doran Martell gives them a second chance, which they promptly use to kill Myrcella Baratheon, Prince Trystane's fiancée. And then they turn on him too.
** Unlike in the books, Cat becomes aware of Petyr's involvement in Ned's death and wishes she had let Brandon kill him years ago.
* The Daleks in ''Series/DoctorWho''. If someone holds a Dalek's life in their hands, the Dalek will '''always''' beg for mercy. As soon as you give them the chance though, they'll exterminate you without a second thought.
* In an episode of ''Series/TheGeorgeLopezShow,'' George finds himself desperately wanting praise from his particularly ungrateful mother, Benny. When his wife Angie suggests renovating her run-down bathroom might get him that elusive "thank you," he throws himself into it full-force, fixing up her bathroom until it's showroom-new. Benny walks into the room, looks around, and... tells George the hook on the back of the door for her robe is too high. Later, when Angie is telling George not to be mad at her, he says he's not, saying you can't be mad at the scorpion for stinging you, it's in their nature. Instead, he's mad at ''Angie,'' who told him to pick up the scorpion in the first place.
* Discussed in the ''Series/MastersOfHorror'' episode "Pick Me Up". Near the end, Wheeler (a SerialKiller truck driver) relays to Walker (a SerialKiller hitchhiker) and their mutual victim Stacia the story in the form of a snake and a blonde woman. Walker already knows the punchline because he's heard the "scorpion and the frog" version. The point Wheeler makes is that he knows full well that he picked up another serial killer and expects him to show his true nature. The subversion, of course, is that he's ''also'' a serial killer, so it would essentially be a scorpion helping another scorpion.
* In one episode of ''Series/GilligansIsland'', a hardened criminal came to the island, and proceeded to kidnap Mrs. Howell, then Ginger, and then Mary Ann, demanding a ransom for their return each time. (This was one of the few times that chest full of cash Mr. Howell had brought proved useful.) When Mary Ann was released, she told the others that he told her he planned to do the same to the other four, and then ''start over again'', so the Professor set a trap for the criminal, and it worked. As the castaways held the criminal in a makeshift cell while the Professor worked on his ship, Ginger felt sorry for him and asked if she could speak to him, remembering how she once acted in a movie about how a psychiatrist helped a criminal reform. Eventually, the others consented (except the Professor, who had his doubts) and Ginger's amateur therapy seemed to work; for a while, he seemed remorseful and willing to help. Unfortunately, it was an act; at the party, they had before they planned to leave, the guy proceeded to steal their jewelry and then escape on his own. That's when Ginger realized that that's how the movie ended.
* In one episode of ''Series/TwentyFour'', a neighbor helps a character played by ''Kal Penn'' from being attacked by people who target him for his race, unfairly assuming he's a terrorist. Later, it turns out that he actually is, and he kidnaps the neighbor and his family.
* ''Series/OnceUponATime''.
** Snow refused to execute the deposed Regina instead of giving her a SecretTestOfCharacter which she failed. Regina was cursed to never be able to harm anyone in the Enchanted Forest, but Rumpelstiltskin manipulates her into casting the Dark Curse.
** Snow's father Leopold set free a genie (Sydney). The genie's love for Regina would later cause him to kill Leopold.
* On ''Series/{{Gotham}}'', Alfred's army mate Reggie Payne shows up at Wayne Manor on a rainy night. Alfred lets him in and Bruce further extends hospitality. Having him around puts Alfred on edge and before he leaves [[spoiler: he steals files on behalf of the corrupt Wayne Enterprises board and stabs Alfred nearly to death]].
* ''{{Series/Grimm}}'': Monroe is captured by an underground gladiator ring. He pulls a nail out of an angry gladiator, much like [[AndroclesLion the Androcles myth]]. Unfortunately, the gladiator is too far gone to remember anything but pain and violence.

** In season 3 Klaus discovers the alternate timeline version of his abusive adoptive father Reginald Hargreeves is being drugged into helplessness and taken advantage of by the Sparrow Academy and helps him get out from under their control. Unfortunately, this version of Hargreeves turns out to be at least as bad as the one he knew, and repays him by [[spoiler: murdering his brother Luther and trying to sacrifice all of them to rewrite the universe to his advantage]].

* In an episode of ''Series/MyNameIsEarl'' where Earl and Randy go back to their old high school to get their [=GEDs=], they encounter some of their old teachers who have become [[ApatheticTeacher resentful of their jobs]] because of [[TeensAreMonsters three students who go out of their way to make their lives a living hell.]] The teachers make Earl a deal: if he can convince them to stop their pranking, they will give him and Randy a refresher course so they can get their [=GEDs=]. The kids, of course, behave horribly towards Earl and Randy, but then the girl of the trio asks Earl for help on an assignment, Earl happily stays with her after class to help. When he leaves the school he learns that it was just a ruse to give her two friends a chance to vandalize Earl's car.
* ''Series/CreepedOut'' has an episode in which two boys befriend an alien who has crash-landed on earth and try to help him return home; only to find he was actually sent there as a scout for an invasion. The alien points out that he never claimed to be a harmless kid (they just assumed he was), and the closing narration implies the boys should have known better than to blindly trust him.
* ''Series/StargateSG1'' season 8: Replicator Carter approaches the SGC and Carter in particular with a sob story about how poorly Fifth is treating her and asks for their help in stopping him, but warns that he's developed an immunity to the Disruptor and offers to help them overcome that immunity. They were rightfully wary, but in the end, Carter couldn't help but aid her Replicator clone. [[spoiler: There never was a Disruptor immunity, the whole thing was a ploy to study the Disruptor in order to develop one. With the immunity in hand Replicarter [[TheStarscream lured Fifth into range of the Alpha Site where he was killed by a Disruptor Satellite so that she could take sole control of all Replicators]], which she would subsequently make immune to the only real threat.]]
* In the ''Series/TheGoldenGirls'' episode "Brother, Can You Spare That Jacket?", the girls go to a homeless shelter to find a jacket with a winning lottery ticket in the pocket. Blanche catches a young man staring at her purse and snaps at him. He claims he just wanted some gum. She apologizes and they end up having a nice chat, but at the end of the conversation, he warns her to keep an eye on her purse--"I didn't want any gum", revealing that despite having grown to like her, he might very well still steal from her.
* ''Series/{{Motive}}'': Discussed in "The Scorpion and the Frog" (as might be guessed from the title). Paula wonders what could have happened to make the murderer the way she was. Angie replies that she doesn't think anything happened, it was just her nature; like the fable of the scorpion and the frog. Some people are just born bad.
* The ''Series/NinjaTurtlesTheNextMutation'' episode "Enemy of My Enemy" has Splinter discover that the Turtles' nemesis the Shredder has become a derelict ever since his defeat in the FiveEpisodePilot "East Meets West". While the Turtles don't like the idea, they are forced by Splinter to help out Oroku Saki and try to rehabilitate him. In the end, the Shredder shows no gratitude and presumably gets back to being one of their enemies.
* ''Series/MidnightCaller'': Jack's father J. J. tells the story, with himself as the scorpion and Jack as the frog, to explain that it's in his nature to gamble even when it hurts himself and everyone around him.
* ''Series/SneakyPete'': When con artist Marius is trying to get Julia to trust him for real, she references the frog and scorpion version. Marius says that he wishes people would stop quoting this story at him and consider that the scorpion wouldn't be dumb enough to drown himself.
* In the ''Series/HowIMetYourMother'' episode "[[Recap/HowIMetYourMotherS2E02TheScorpionAndTheToad The Scorpion and the Toad]]", Barney takes newly single Marshall to bars, including one called [[TitleDrop The Scorpion and the Toad]]. But every time Marshall gets a girl interested, Barney charms her away and goes home with her instead.
* In the ''Series/ColdCase'' episode "The Badlands", a young man let's his junkie brother into the restaurant where he works after hours when the latter shows up begging for something to eat, despite the argument they had earlier that evening. He promptly tries to rob the place and when his brother and the owners angrily confront him, he kills them all.
* In the ''Series/{{Millennium}}'' episode "Somehow Satan Got Behind Me", a demon starts a relationship with a stripper, who [[BeastAndBeauty accepts him even though he eventually reveals his true form to her]]. Just when the demon looks like he's going to make a love confession, he instead dumps her in a humiliating fashion so she's DrivenToSuicide and he can claim her soul. He then expresses his contempt for the PunyEarthlings who need to form such connections out of physical and emotional need.
* ''Series/{{Elementary}}'': Sherlock takes in Cassie Lenue, a teenage con artist, and tries to help her change her ways. She responds by trying to blackmail a suspect in the murder that he was helping her investigate out of two million dollars. [[spoiler: She was actually trying to help catch the murderer. She blackmailed the suspect to bait him into a trap.]]
* ''Series/BreakingBad'':
** In the opening of "Mandala", Combo is on a street corner trying to sell some of the sky-blue meth, when he senses two rival drug dealers watching him are likely about to start some trouble. A little kid on a bicycle is circling around Combo as he's calling Skinny Pete for back up, and he warns the kid to get out of the area. Then, it turns out the kid was actually an underling of the two drug dealers staring him down and shoots Combo to death.
** In "Half Measures", Mike relays a story to Walt from back when he was a cop. There was a repeated case involving an horribly abusive alcoholic who would beat his wife senseless every time he got drunk. The wife was terrified of him and always refused to press charges, but Mike eventually got sick of the whole situation, drove the scumbag out into the desert, held a gun to his mouth, made a show of force as though he was going to kill him, and warned him never to touch her again or he wouldn't be so merciful next time. The man screamed and cried and crapped his pants, swearing he was never going to hit her again, but of course he almost immediately recants upon being released and beats his wife to ''death'' only two weeks later, and with incredible brutality at that. Mike interpreted the experience as a personal lesson: he should've done a "full measure" instead of just doing a "half measure".
* ''Series/BetterCallSaul'': After surviving an assassination attempt by a group of hired mercenaries, Lalo stumbles into the home of a nearby civilian couple, which had been his friends for years, who help patch up his wounds and offer him breakfast. Lalo then kills them both, the husband to [[FakingTheDead use as a body double]] so that the people who wanted him dead will think they were successful (with Lalo burning the body to disguise discrepancies in their appearance and ensuring their dental records are the same), and the wife [[LeaveNoWitnesses just to eliminate any witnesses]] to his survival.

* Given a PerspectiveFlip in Nick Cave's song "Fable of the Brown Ape", where the snake is portrayed as a victim rather than a threat.

''"You knew damn well I was a snake before you took me in." ''

* The song [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D84cuIPx5aQ "The Snake"]] by Mediaeval Baebes is sung in Old Spanish and matches this trope almost completely with the difference being that the snake starts growing dangerously big and when the farmer tries to kick it out of his house, it squeezes him to death instead of stinging him. The lyrics apparently come from a fable from El Libro de Buen Amor (The Good Book of Love) by Juan Ruiz, Archpriest of Hita from the 14th century AD/CE.
* In ASP's "Die kleine Ballade vom schwarzen Schmetterling", the Black Butterfly twice says "Kann nichts dafür, ich bin doch nur ein wildes Tier" (It's not my fault, I'm just a wild animal) in order to excuse torturing (and maybe killing) the protagonist.
* In the old Scottish folk song "The Fair Flower of Northumberland," in Northumberland (just south of Scotland), a prisoner from Scotland is locked up. The chief magistrate's 15-year-old daughter unlocks him after he promises to marry her "and make [her] a lady of high degree." Once they're in Scotland, he displays nothing but contempt for her-- beginning with "Get down from that horse, you're a brazen-faced whore."

-->'''[-Scorpion:-]''' ''[[TakingYouWithMe Better we both should die than my enemy should live.]]''

-->'''Mandragora:''' "Have pity! ''I gave you life!''"
-->'''Wellsian:''' "You did give us life. And see how we repay you. Now, Master, we give you ''death''!"

* Creator/OrsonScottCard used something similar in his story "The Princess and the Bear", collected in ''Literature/MapsInAMirror''. Having attempted to [[LoveRedeems redeem]] the EvilPrince, the princess [[spoiler:gives up on him and lets the Bear kill him]]. It ought to be mentioned that the prince and the princess follow the standard cycle of an abusive relationship.
* If any lesson is to be taken from ''Literature/{{Otherland}}'', it's this: never date anyone whose last name is [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Dread]]. And who likes to be addressed as "[[Myth/ArthurianLegend More Dread]]." And whose idea of romancing you is setting a priest on fire for your amusement ...
* ''Literature/LesMiserables'':
** Jean Valjean is taken in by the priest when no one else will after being paroled following nineteen terrible years in prison. Valjean assaults the priest and steals his silver in the night, but while escaping, he is caught by the police as a suspicious character. The priest tells the police that he gave Valjean the silver, and lets him go. This second act of kindness actually ''changes'' Valjean's nature, as he strives to be good in return for this following act of compassion. It's shown that [[HadToComeToPrisonToBeACrook being put in prison had thoroughly corrupted him in the first place]]. His crime was stealing bread to feed his sister's children, for which he got five years, with the sentence extended for every time he escaped.
** This trope is ultimately the reason Javert chooses to commit suicide. Valjean is a wanted criminal, so legally the only thing to do would be arresting him (something which Valjean has promised, by that point, not to fight). Thing is, Valjean also just saved Javert's life at the barricades, so Javert cannot, in good conscience, betray him like that. The only solution Javier can think of is to remove himself from the problem by killing himself.

* ''{{Literature/Redwall}}'':
** Veil Sixclaw repaid the Abbeydwellers for saving him by attempting to poison one of them. Then again, they may have saved his life but even before he attempted to kill them they always treated him as if he was going to anyway. His foster-mother Bryony, the only one who trusted him, considered this as a FreudianExcuse, but it didn't help. Worse yet, even at the end of the book [[spoiler:and his life]], he himself feels like he is evil or just born bad, even though he [[HeroicSacrifice saved Bryony, sacrificing himself to do that]]. It's also notable for being one of the few books where Redwallians are portrayed in a less-than-sterling light. They're good in themselves here, but their actions toward Veil are ambiguous at best, just as he is ambiguously good or evil. Bryony also seems very uncertain about him even afterward, and both seem to think she should have let him go long before.
** This trope also applies to Chickenhound of ''Redwall'', who is kindly taken in by the Abbeydwellers after they find him lying muddy, bloody, and unconscious in the middle of the road. He repays the gesture by stealing a bunch of random trinkets and [[spoiler:killing Methuselah]], although in his defense the latter was mostly an accident. About the only thing he ''does'' do that's him being nice to the Redwallers is tell them about [[spoiler:Cluny's plans to tunnel into the Abbey]], which turns out to be incredibly useful, but wasn't [[ItsPersonal entirely altruistic on his part]].
** Any vermin Redwallers ever take in or help fit this trope. ''Salamandastron'' has Dingeye and Thura, who eventually [[spoiler:kill Brother Hal]] and then flee the Abbey, stealing [[SpiritAdvisor Martin the Warrior's]] sword and infecting the place with Dryditch Fever in the process. [[spoiler:Hal's death]] was accidental and the Dryditch Fever was inadvertent, but the sword stealing was their decision, albeit while in a state of panic. The ''Bellmaker'' has the Redwallers take in two wandering corsairs, a captain and his MinionWithAnFInEvil. The captain ends up [[spoiler:killing Mother Mellus]] and stealing a trophy cup, but the trope is inverted when the minion ends up [[spoiler:[[TheDogBitesBack killing ''him'']] and returning the cup to the Redwallers, whereupon he becomes a good friend of theirs and is allowed back to the Abbey for visits.]]
* ''Literature/TheRegenerationTrilogy'': In ''The Eye In The Door'', the "viper" character tells this fable to the "farmer" character in order to explain his actions.
* In ''Literature/TheRiftwarCycle'', [[TheHero Tal]] asks [[TricksterMentor Nakor]] how he can swear an oath to serve the evil Duke Kaspar, who wiped out his people, as part of a ploy by the good guys to spy on him. Nakor tells him the "scorpion and the frog" version of the story and explains that he won't have to break his oath to Kaspar, because it's in Kaspar's nature to betray him first, which would render Tal's oath void. [[spoiler:Sure enough, Kaspar turns on Tal and sends him to rot in TheAlcatraz, leaving him free to enact his revenge.]]
* In ''Literature/WutheringHeights'' Nelly Dean comes close to invoking this when she says that Heathcliff was "harbored by a good man to his bane," implying that Mr. Earnshaw inadvertently ruined his family by taking pity on a homeless orphan.
* In the fourth book of ''Literature/GuardiansOfGaHoole'', Simon the brown fish owl saves Kludd from death by drowning/[[ItMakesSenseInContext having his face melt]], nursing him back to health. As a pilgrim from the Glauxian brothers, it's his duty to help those in need, and he helps this murderous owl out of compassion, even catching mice and voles while he's used to catching mostly fish. Sadly, the very ungrateful Kludd murders Simon as soon as he's well enough to leave.
* Referenced in ''Literature/MaraDaughterOfTheNile". "I plucked a lily from the gutter and it has turned into a viper in my hands." From Sheftu's perspective, he aided a fugitive slave girl and gave her a purpose and a future (and also fell in love with her)--only for her to turn around and betray him to the Queen. (Mara's side of the story is a little different).

* The Series/DoctorWho book ''Autumn Mist'', set during the Second World War, has one at the end. Garcia, a young medic who has assisted the Doctor throughout the adventure, decides to treat injured soldiers on both sides because he just wants to save lives. [[spoiler:The first German he treats uses his dying strength to stab him with his bayonet, killing him.]]
* In the second book in ''Literature/TheWolfChronicles'', Kaala has a chance to kill [=DavRian=], the human who's been nothing but trouble and a danger to the wolves for the whole book: he'd fallen down a hill and gotten pinned by debris on the edge of a cliff, and all Kaala would need to do is push him and MakeItLookLikeAnAccident. When the opportunity is offered, she refuses because it would go against the Promise and it's just wrong. He repays her by [[spoiler:killing [=TaLi=]'s grandmother and framing the wolves for it]].
* In Literature/TheVampireChronicles, Claudia hunts by posing as a lost waif, then draining any [[GoodSamaritan good Samaritan]] who tries to help her. Lestat also plays the viper in ''The Tale of the Body Thief'' when, while trapped in the body of an impoverished human, he rapes a waitress who feeds him.
* Discussed in the novel ''Literature/{{Hannibal}}''. Barney, Hannibal Lecter's primary handler during his incarceration at the asylum, defies any notion that he fraternized with Lecter. According to Barney, Lecter is ''nobody's'' friend. Lecter was civil with Barney, genuinely thanked him for treating him decently, and sent him a generous tip after his escape. Despite that, Barney had no delusions regarding Lecter's nature--at the end of the book, when he spots Lecter and [[spoiler: Starling]] at the Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires, he hauls ass out of town ''that very same night'', knowing full well that Lecter wouldn't hesitate to kill him in order to ensure his freedom. Jack Crawford gives Clarice Starling a similar warning after Lecter's escape. In the end, Clarice decides to rescue Lecter from being tortured to death and in return Lecter [[spoiler:brainwashes her with hypnosis and drugs in an attempt to reprogram her with the personality of his dead sister. Clarice is able to resist total LossOfIdentity but still ends up with memories removed and a radical change in personality.]]
* ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire''.
** A young Catelyn Tully saved her friend and admirer Petyr "Littlefinger" Baelish from being killed by Brandon Stark in a duel for her hand. Years later he would repay her by betraying her husband Ned Stark and cause his death as well as her own. It is however implied her plea for Littlefinger's life came off as belittling to his character.
** House Hollard was all but wiped out by The Mad King had it not been for Ser Barristan Selmy's plea to spare a young Dontos. Years later Dontos would help Sansa Stark escape to the Vale, only to be killed by Petyr Baelish who said he was going to sell her out to the Lannisters once the money to pay him off had been spent.
** The Tyrells had been opponents of the Baratheons during Robert's Rebellion but bent the knee when the Targaryens fell. They weren't punished (but they weren't allowed at court) and Renly was even fostered at Highgarden. They repaid the Baratheons by corrupting Renly into trying to take the throne, leading to his death. They then allied with the Lannisters to defeat Stannis Baratheon at Blackwater Bay.
** House Bolton ([[ObviouslyEvil whose standard is a man being flayed alive]]) has apparently been the Viper for the Starks and the North in general for generations with it surviving by keeping its more heinous acts mostly quiet and relegated to mere rumor. By the time of the War of the Five Kings, the current head Roose Bolton is given a prominent command by Robb Stark, and immediately starts sabotaging his allies by sacrificing more loyal soldiers in battles, and making secret overtures to their Lannister enemies. [[spoiler: It all culminates in the Red Wedding that sees Roose Bolton conspire to murder Robb and several heads of Northern Houses, in order to gain control of the North with the Lannisters' blessing.]] Though notably, later in the series, this earns House Bolton the hatred of all the North who no longer tolerate them and are ready to kill them off for good.
** Roose Bolton's legitimate son, Domeric, was ecstatic upon finding out that he had a half-brother, not caring that he was a bastard, and decided to visit him so they could form a relationship. Unfortunately, said half-brother was [[BastardBastard Ramsay Snow]], who quickly killed Domeric so he could take his place as heir to the Boltons.
** Daenerys Targaryen saves Mirri Maz Duur from being raped by Drogo's khalasar after the destruction of the village. Mirri repays this by tricking her into making a deal that kills off her unborn son in exchange for resurrecting her dying husband into a vegetative state. When Daenerys demands answers for this, Mirri says that she had experienced horrors during her village's destruction and wanted to take revenge against Drogo and anyone associated with him. Daenerys saving her didn't change the fact that she is his wife, meaning she is a prime target.
** Catelyn ''fears'' that Jon Snow is going to be this, thinking that a noble upbringing, instead of that of a bastard, would go to his head, leading him take over his legitimate siblings' inheritance as a Stark. Fortunately, Jon inherits his father's honor and has nothing but respect to all of his siblings. He even refuses to become the Lord of Winterfell after his brothers have all ([[FakingTheDead seemingly]]) died, because his sister Sansa is still alive.
* In Esprit de Corpse 5.13 in ''Literature/{{Twig}}'' a soldier [[WouldNotHurtAChild takes pity on the Lambs]] (Sy, Mary, and Gordon) and doesn't kill them when he has the chance and instead takes them to a doctor to be healed despite likely having direct orders to do so. How do the Lambs reward such kindness? The moment Sy's confirmed okay the Lambs murder him, the doctor, and another soldier in the room before making a break for it.
* ''Literature/WarriorCats'': [=ThunderClan=] decides to be compassionate to Brokenstar on account of his becoming blind and being the son of their medicine cat by taking him in as an elder, despite the fact that he's a murderous and insane cat who tried to raid their camp several times and caused the deaths of quite a few of their number. He thanks the Clan by conspiring with Tigerclaw to kill their leader Bluestar (which fails), after which his mother decides he's irredeemable and kills him herself.
* In ''Ava [=XOX=]'', a children's book targeted towards middle-grade audiences, the main character Ava often reads Aesop's fables and is disturbed by this one, noting that its moral, which seems to be that "no good deed goes unpunished," is actually the opposite of another Aesop's fable, ''The Lion and the Mouse''.

* In ''Literature/TheFaerieQueene'', Sir Guyon releases Occasion and Furor at Pyrrochles' request, but as soon as he does, Furor starts to savagely beat Pyrrochles and Ocassion encourages everyone to get more and more violent. Guyon tries to intervene and capture Furor and Ocassion, but the wise Palmer advises him that Pyrrochles would only release the two captors again and that his pity is in vain. Allegorically, this represents the need to completely avoid moments of temptation and anger, since engaging with them only leads to more pain.

--> '''[-Scorpion:-]''' ''[[TakingYouWithMe "Better we both should die than my enemy should live."]]''

* In India there is the story of "The Tiger and the Farmer." The gist is that a farmer was traveling on a road, when he saw a tiger in a cage, the tiger promised that if the farmer opened it, he would flee into the jungle. The farmer was suspicious but let the tiger go, only for the tiger to try and eat the farmer, [[ILied who blamed the predicament on the farmer for trusting a hungry predator.]] Just then a wise man came upon the scene and asked what happened. When they told him, the wise man insisted that the tiger was too big to fit in the cage, the tiger got inside to prove he could fit, the wise man locked the cage and he and the farmer left the tiger to his fate.

* In Chapter 1 of ''VideoGame/{{Deltarune}}'' [[spoiler: Defeating the King either by fighting or simply stalling him out leads to the King collapsing to the floor, exhausted, while giving a speech about how he wasn't always such a bad person. Ralsei, the party's {{WhiteMage}}, takes pity upon him and heals him, which the King uses as an opportunity to hit the party with a surprise attack that nearly results in their death, only being saved by the King becoming incapacitated, either by his former minions, or Ralsei putting him to sleep. Either way, Ralsei apologizes to the team for trying to help a person who had no plans on cooperating.]]

* The Scorpion and the Frog parable, above, inspired Vriska Serket in ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'' (or rather, ''she'' inspired ''it''), as her motif is arachnids and has a self-destructively malicious nature. Appropriately enough, she [[spoiler:dies (again) by trusting her worst enemy, Terezi, not to kill her when her back is turned. Terezi, having foreseen the consequences, stabs her in the back.]]

* Used as a motif in a [[http://www.sluggy.com/comics/archives/daily/130218 side adventure]] in ''Webcomic/SluggyFreelance.''
* The parable was implicitly referenced in [[https://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2015/11/20/ this]] ''Webcomic/PennyArcade'' strip (appropriately titled "Parabolic") about a developer and a games journalist, with the journalist represented by an actual scorpion. True to the trope, the developer makes the mistake of trusting the journalist in an unguarded moment and tells them the truth about their game, and is betrayed in response.

* ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender.'' While Aang, ''Sifu'' ThouShaltNotKill, consistently saves [[{{Determinator}} Zuko]], Sokka, who's spent his whole life in a ''war'', asks why they should help him in the first season finale, given that all the previous times they've saved him or shown mercy he's tried to capture Aang. [[spoiler:This is brought to a head when Katara bonds with him over their (supposedly) dead mothers and offers to try healing his [[GoodScarsEvilScars scar]]... only to face him battling alongside his [[CainAndAbel sister]] in a battle that temporarily [[OurHeroIsDead cost Aang his life]].]]

* In Season 3 of ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'', the heroes meet an orphan named Kai, who claims that his parents were killed fighting a gang of bandits. The law enforcement officers chasing him say that he actually was adopted by a wealthy family, and "thanked" them for their kindness by clearing them out of all their valuables and making a run for it. Kai ultimately proves to be a JerkWithAHeartOfGold following some CharacterDevelopment in later episodes -- he notes he probably deserves the suspicion he received up to the final episode of the season.
* ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries:'' Killer Croc escapes while escorted by train to prison, Batman in hot pursuit. They fall off a cliff and are knocked out. Croc wakes up in a secluded home owned by former circus performers. It's Croc's perfect chance to start a new life. Naturally, Croc claims Batman is evil to get their help in capturing him. Then Croc captures everyone and plans to kill them and run off with their retirement money. When he's eventually foiled, he does seem a little regretful as he's taken away.
--> '''Eddie Deacon/Billy (the seal boy)''': Why Croc? Why'd you turn on us like that? We could've helped you, we could've done something.\\

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons''
** In "The Old Man and the Lisa", Lisa makes it her goal to help Burns rebuild his lost fortune in a socially responsible way. He takes to her teachings with zeal but in his efforts to follow her instructions, he creates a recycling plant that strips mines ocean life into an all-purpose slurry. It ends with the memorable scene of [[GranolaGirl Lisa]] running house to house begging people ''[[{{Irony}} not]]'' to recycle!
** It then happens again, many seasons down the road, when Burns is brain-damaged and has lost his memory. Most of the Springfieldians take advantage of this to get revenge on him for everything he did to them. Lisa takes pity on him and ends up restoring him to his former evil self, with the added lesson that hatred is the only thing keeping him alive.
** "Pokey Mom" has Marge take an interest in reforming Jack Crowley, a prisoner convicted of armed robbery (voiced by Creator/MichaelKeaton) by encouraging his casual interest in art. The warden agrees to let Marge take Jack into her home and help him find a job as a mural painter. When Marge hears that Principal Skinner wants a mural painted for Springfield Elementary, she suggests Jack for the task. But Skinner forces him to paint a [[SickeninglySweet treacly, cutesy scene]] instead of what he actually wanted to paint - and then, to add insult to injury, Skinner has Jack take all the blame when the mural proves unpopular. Jack has to be restrained from physically assaulting the principal, and soon afterward the mural is burned down. Marge finds Jack hiding in the playground and accuses him of going back to a life of crime; Jack lies that he's innocent, prompting Marge to believe him and to help him escape. Marge's reward for this is seeing Jack pour gasoline on Skinner's car and light ''that'' on fire in full view of everyone, [[LaughingMad laughing diabolically]]. Jack is quickly arrested and finally confesses to indeed starting the school fire, but [[ImplausibleDeniability not the car fire]], leaving Marge disgusted.
** In "Home Sweet Homediddly-Dum-Doodily", Homer and Marge lose custody of the kids, who are adopted by the Flanders. They show Rod and Todd an Itchy and Scratchy cartoon where Scratchy adopts Itchy only to be killed. The dying Scratchy asks Itchy "Why?"
** The "Night of the Dolphin" Treehouse of Horror segment has Lisa removing bottle rings from a dolphin, with the dolphin then biting her.
* The episode "Action Figures" of ''WesternAnimation/SupermanTheAnimatedSeries'' featured a couple of kids sheltering an amnesiac Metallo, who they think is a good robot who can be like Superman. In the beginning, he does do good and helps save the kids and trucker, but as more of his memories return he reverts to his evil persona. In "gratitude" for helping him, he tries to kidnap the kids and leave the volcanic island their parents are researching. When one of the children tries to appeal to goodness, he replies [[ThatManIsDead "Steel Man? Steel Man is dead!]] And so are you, Superman!" Lois Lane later consoles the children with "He ''was'' good, when he was with you. Now all the goodness in him is buried, along with the rest of him".
* An episode of ''WesternAnimation/MickeyMouseWorks'' involved Mickey rescuing Pete from the cold and warming him up inside the mouse's cabin. Being the greedy prick he is, Pete reveals he only pretended to be freezing to death as he and his cousin take over Mickey's cabin. Of course, being a cartoon about Disney's beloved mascot, Mickey not only managed to turn the two against each other but, in the end, tricked the criminal dimwits into turning themselves in to the police.
* On ''WesternAnimation/JimmyTwoShoes'', Jimmy agrees to care for a [[WickedWeasel weavil]] he believes to have injured, despite Beezy's warnings that weavils are AlwaysChaoticEvil. Indeed, the weavils take full advantage of him, slowly transforming him into one of them.
* ''WesternAnimation/KingOfTheHill'': In Season 8, Episode 13 "Cheer Factor", when Peggy replaces Jo Rita as cheerleading coach, Peggy offers her the job of assistant coach out of kindness and goodwill. Jo Rita repays Peggy by undermining her and getting her fired to get the job as cheerleading coach back.
* In the [[CanonDiscontinuity oft-disputed]] third season of ''WesternAnimation/{{Gargoyles}}'', a common tactic the villains used was having someone pretend to be in danger in order to lure the heroes into a trap.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSmurfs1981'' episode "All Creatures Great And Smurf" has the adult Nat Smurf getting his fellow Smurfs to help get Azrael's paw out of a bear trap by bringing him into the village. At first, Azrael seems grateful, but upon hearing his master Gargamel calling out for him, he reverts back to his own evil nature and is almost ready to tear Nat Smurf to shreds when he gets chased off into the forest by a larger creature. Nat Smurf mistakes this situation for an AndroclesLion.

* In one episode of ''WesternAnimation/EvilConCarne'', the title character and Cod Commando are marooned together on an island, and Hector successfully uses this trick on Cod ''three times in the same episode.'' (The fourth time he tries it when success is vital to escaping, Cod wises up, and leaves him behind.)
* ''WesternAnimation/XMenTheAnimatedSeries''
** Early on, when Sabretooth winds on at the X-Mansion's doorstep, Professor Xavier takes him in and attempts to help him overcome his bestial urges, with Wolverine being the only objector. It goes about as well as you can expect: when Jubilee attempts to help him out with his hospital restraints so they won't be too uncomfortable, Sabretooth breaks loose and attacks her, forcing Wolvie to fight him off, which also results in him getting injured in the process.
** Fully subverted in an episode with Juggernaut, so it ends up being more akin to AndroclesLion. The X-Men help Juggernaut as he's convalescent, and when he wakes up Wolverine gets ready for a fight. Instead, Juggernaut leaves, saying he doesn't feel like it today.
* ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'' has the Magic Man, who teaches us all an important lesson about not giving sugar to [[JerkAss jerks]].
* ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPandaLegendsOfAwesomeness'' averts this to some extent in the 'Po Picks A Pocket' episode, wherein Po is initially tricked into being kidnapped by a group of adorable, seemingly-innocent child thieves, even as young as toddlers. During Po's imprisonment, the kids attempt to justify this by explaining that they have no other option besides this, due to being held captive by their thieving leader. Po offers to break them out of their situation, and leads them back to the Jade Palace, where they appear to be settling in just fine...that is until they trick Po ''again'', by imprisoning him in the Palace's dungeon so that the leader thief can steal a precious ruby. It isn't until Po points out they cannot split a single ruby between each other for profit, that the kids turn on their leader once again, now having completed the aversion of the trope.

** In ''Total Drama World Tour'', the show's resident [[ManipulativeBastard backstabbers]], Heather and Alejandro, recognize each other for what they are and agree to [[EnemyMine work together]]. Despite knowing Heather has betrayed everyone else who allied with her (including ''him'' in a previous episode), Alejandro [[LoveMakesYouStupid continues]] to trust her...[[spoiler:a mistake which singlehandedly loses him the game]].

** In ''WesternAnimation/TotalDramaPresentsTheRidonculousRace'' [=MacArthur=] [[SaveTheVillain saves Josee from drowning.]] Pretty much as soon as they're back on land, Josee trips her up so she and Jacques can get ahead.
* ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse''
** In the episode "Message Received", it seems like all Steven's efforts to befriend [[spoiler:Peridot]] and make her see the beauty of Earth were in vain, as it seems she still intends to betray them and contact Yellow Diamond. Garnet tells Steven that some people aren't worthy of being patient with. [[spoiler:[[SubvertedTrope As it turns out]], Peridot does ''not'' betray them, nor did she ever intend to. Her plan ([[PoorCommunicationKills which could have been articulated better]]) was to convince Yellow Diamond of the Earth's value. Unfortunately, Yellow Diamond turns out to not be the person Peridot thought she was. As a result, [[HeelFaceTurn Peridot defects to the Crystal Gems entirely]].]]
** The episode "Bubbled" has Steven floating in space with a Ruby Soldier he calls Eyeball. After her gem gets cracked--which can be fatal--Steven pulls Eyeball into his protective bubble and uses his powers to fix her gem. Using that healing power makes Eyeball realize Steven really ''does'' have Rose Quartz's gem, as he'd been trying to tell her, so Eyeball pulls a knife and tries to carve Steven's gem out so she can be a hero for capturing Rose Quartz.
** In the episode "Room for Ruby", the character [[spoiler: Navy]] crashed in front of Steven's house from space, begging for forgiveness and asking to join the Crystal Gems, claiming the other [[spoiler: Rubies]] were mean to her. Steven and Peridot let her join with no hesitation, while Lapis has suspicions. At the end of the episode, it is revealed that Lapis is right, when [[spoiler: Navy steals her ship and reveals she enjoyed deceiving the Gems because she wanted to see their faces once she revealed her true motives.]]
* In ''WesternAnimation/TheLionGuard'' episode "The Kupatana Celebration", the viper (in this case, a pack of thieving jackals) enjoys the good life for a time but is then beaten up and exiled again when the farmer catches on to what it's been doing behind his back. It turns out that hurting someone who is both big enough and close enough to easily hurt you ''back'' is not a great survival policy.
* In the ''WesternAnimation/MegaManFullyCharged'' episode "Enemy of My Enemy", Fire Man and Namagem are locked in a grudge match. Mega Man ultimately teams up with the former to stop the latter, and as Fire Man prepares to finish Namagem off while he's weakened, Mega Man convinces him to spare him. [[spoiler:Namagem repays Fire Man for this with a heavily-damaging charged blast to the back while his guard is down, then makes his getaway while Mega Man is occupied with Fire Man's well-being, leading Mega Man to stop him by any means necessary the next time they meet]].
* ''WesternAnimation/KipoAndTheAgeOfWonderbeasts'': After Kipo saves Jamack from being eaten by the Newton Wolves, he catches her to sell her to Scarlamagne. Ultimately averted, though, as her continued empathy and respect cause him to change his mind.
* One episode of ''WesternAnimation/TazMania'' has a well-meaning man attempt to take care of a wounded Taz, only for Taz to hurt him with each attempt. Every time, he jovially dismisses Taz's attacks by saying that he was a Tazmanian Devil, and it was in his nature, until the man, having reached his limit, demands to know why Taz has been so vicious to him when he's shown Taz nothing but kindness. Taz responds, "Well, I am a Tasmanian Devil. It's in my nature." The kindly man returns to his jovial state, saying Taz was absolutely right.
* An aversion in ''WesternAnimation/HappyHalloweenScoobyDoo''. Under attack by seemingly mutated pumpkin monsters, Velma is forced to free [[Franchise/{{Batman}} The Scarecrow]], citing The Scorpion Dilemma as she does so. Scarecrow doesn't stab Mystery Incorporated in the back, and instead helps fight a mutual foe.
* In the ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'' episode "Jellyfish Jam", [=Spongebob=] offers to take in a jellyfish that seems to have bonded with him. Said jellyfish then invites its kin to party in [=Spongebob=]'s house, responding violently whenever he or someone else protests.
* In ''WesternAnimation/InfinityTrain'' book 3, episode "The New Apex". After Grace saved Simon's life[[note]] He was going to fall in the train lines because his wall-walking boots failed.[[/note]], he kicked her in the train lines. Fortunately Grace was saved by origami birds she helped before and Simon was killed by a Ghom.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheOwlHouse'':
** In "Follies at the Coven Day Parade", Luz tries to help Kikimora deal with some family issues despite Eda rightfully pointing out that she can't be trusted. While Kiki is initially willing to go along with their FakedKidnapping plan, she turns on them the second she's given the false promise of a promotion and tries to kill Luz as a gift to Belos. In Luz's defense, she was clearly projecting her own familial problems that she was having at the time onto Kikimora and all of her past attempts at helping her enemies had worked out pretty well for her.
** In "Elsewhere and Elsewhen", Luz and Lilith travel back in time to help Philip Wittebane find the Collector, in the hope that he can teach them how to make a new portal to the human realm. When they get there however, they discover that Philip only took them along to use them as a sacrifice in order to distract the Stonesleeper guarding the Collector's chamber. Not only does Philip not show any remorse afterwards, he offers them information on the portal in exchange for using them as bait ''again'', and goes on a furious tirade against [[spoiler:all witches]] when Lilith quite understandably breaks his nose.
** After his plans come to fruition in "King's Tide", Belos no longer needs any of his underlings, no matter how much they've dedicated to his cause.
*** When Kikimora delivers [[spoiler:Hunter, the runaway Golden Guard (actually Luz in disguise)]] to him and tries to bargain for [[spoiler:Hunter]]'s position as Belos's right hand, Belos tells her very politely how much he values her contributions.
---->'''Belos:''' Have ''you'' has my right hand? [[WouldRatherSuffer I'd sooner cut off my whole arm]].\\
'''Kikimora:''' But... I just want to help!\\
'''Belos:''' You want to help? ''(picks Kikimora up with magic and shoves her out the door)'' Go find a hole to wither away in.
*** [[spoiler:The Collector, the one who gave Belos the Draining Spell and taught him all the powerful magic he knows now, did so only because Belos promised to free them from their imprisonment in the [[VoidBetweenTheWorlds Inbetween]]. As soon as the Draining Spell starts to actually work however, Belos goes back on his promise, citing the fact that he doesn't want the Collector giving said powerful magic to anyone else. When the Collector begins to scream in rage, Belos picks up the mirror they use to communicate with the outside world, and throws it down a pit.]]
** [[spoiler:After the Collector pulls a HeelFaceTurn in "Watching and Dreaming", Belos takes over the Titan's heart, subsequently burying the Isles in corrosive MeatMoss and forming a gigantic {{Kaiju}} body with a BreathWeapon that spreads even more corruption. The Collector, having learned a lesson about kindness and forgiveness, tries to put this into practice on Belos, telling him they forgive him and hugging his face. As soon as they turn their back and start flying back down to Luz, King and Eda, Belos tries to shoot them InTheBack, which only fails because Luz flies in to take the bullet for them.]]

* Played back in forth in a comic for ''WesternAnimation/TransformersAnimated'' where Ratchet is shown helping a Decepticon suffering from "Cosmic Rust", a disease some Decepticons released in the middle of a battle. Ratchet does it on the grounds that while the commanders knew the score for doing such a thing, it's no reason to abandon a soldier. [[spoiler:[[NiceJobBreakingItHero Then it turns out]] the guy ''was'' the one that made the disease, and infects Ratchet with it after being cured. ''However'' in the process, they made a cure for the disease that Ratchet was able to take back, and he'll probably be able to save plenty of Autobots if they can manage to replicate it]].

* ''Fanfic/PointOfSuccession'': Unlike all the other doctors Light refused to be intimidated by [[AxeCrazy B]] and would not give up on him and so [[{{Yandere}} B comes to transfer his obsession to Light.]]

* In ''[[Fanfic/BurnTheWitchMiraculousLadybug BURN THE WITCH]]'', Lila rewards Marinette's efforts to protect her from Witch Hunter and the mob by [[ComplainingAboutRescuesTheyDontLike complaining]], [[DeadpanSnarker snarking]], and attempting to throw her under the bus and get ''her'' lynched as an 'accomplice' in order to distract the mob. [[spoiler:That last bit backfires, however, as it only serves to alert the mob to ''her'' position, and adds the betrayal to Witch Hunter's list of her crimes.]]

* ''[[Fanfic/BlackkatsReverse Reverse]]'': Kakashi finds Kurama Uzumaki, a homeless but skilled ShellShockedVeteran presumably from the dead village Uzushio, who helped him rescue the daimyo's daughter from bandits. Kakashi takes Kurama back to Konoha to reward him for his help and help him land back on his feet. Kurama ends up kidnapping Naruto, the young son of Kakashi's late sensei. [[SubvertedTrope But Kurama]] is actually a PeggySue trying to rewrite the past who kidnapped Naruto because he couldn't stand to see the child version of his OnlyFriend be [[AllOfTheOtherReindeer ignored, abused]] and [[LockedOutOfTheLoop kept ignorant of his heritage]].

* ''[[Fanfic/StarWarsVsWarhammer40K Star Wars vs Warhammer 40K]]'': Ahsoka [[SaveTheVillain saves]] an [[{{Mook}} Imperial Guardsman]] who she found trapped inside of a wrecked [[HumongousMecha Imperial Knight]] that had a jammed access hatch. Upon being freed, the guardsman is initially grateful and is about to thank his rescuer...until he sees what [[GreenSkinnedSpaceBabe Ahsoka looks like]] and [[AbsoluteXenophobe realizes she isn't a human]]. Even though Ahsoka points out that she ''just rescued him'', the guardsman doesn't hesitate to pull out his sidearm and start shooting while screaming at her to die.

* In ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory3'', Buzz and Woody risk their lives to save [[spoiler:Lotso]] from the dump shredder, even though he had previously tried to kill them. Then, at the dump incinerator a few minutes later, it's [[spoiler:Lotso]]'s turn to repay the favor. Instead, he [[spoiler:leaves Buzz, Woody, and all the toys to burn to death]]. Unfortunately for [[spoiler: Lotso]], karma makes sure he pays for the act by [[spoiler: a garbage man, who finds him and attaches him to the grille of his truck.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda3'' has this in the villain's backstory. Kai and Master Oogway were old friends who went into battle together as warlords of Ancient China. Oogway was injured in battle and Kai carried him for days looking for help. They came across a village of [[spoiler: pandas]] who saved Oogway's life using chi techniques the world had never seen before. Kai's reaction to them helping his friend, for sharing their secret arts out of the goodness of their hearts? Try and kill them all and steal their power for himself. Thankfully, Oogway stopped him, but he managed to come back from the dead hundreds of years later to menace China for the "betrayal" from Oogway.
* ''WesternAnimation/Frozen2013'': From the moment they meet, Anna shows [[spoiler:Prince Hans]] nothing but kindness and love, and even considers him her OneTrueLove. In fact, both share their similar [[BirdsOfAFeather backgrounds]] of older siblings ignoring them and even quickly agree to a FourthDateMarriage ''despite meeting each other on the same day'', something which they get called on. It doesn't stop [[spoiler:his plot to seize control of Arendelle by faking his romance with Anna and doesn't soften his attitude towards her — in fact, when he [[EvilAllAlong reveals histrue colors]], he cruelly mocks her for quickly agreeing to marry him "[[DidYouActuallyBelieve just like that]]," which made his plan easier than expected]]. It briefly left her despondent, but Anna realizes there are others (Olaf and Kristoff) who still care for her. [[spoiler:Hans]] has been confirmed to be a "frozen-hearted" man [[spoiler:and a [[PrinceCharmless subversion]] of the classical PrinceCharming Disney is known for]]. Also, [[spoiler:Hans]] is later revealed to be Anna's EvilCounterpart, {{Foil}}, and ShadowArchetype, as while she manages to reconcile with Elsa after 13 years of separation and retains her optimism, [[spoiler:he remains bitter against his 12 brothers and makes it clear to Anna that he will never reconcile with them]].
* ''WesternAnimation/DoctorDeSoto'': The titular mouse dentist takes a chance to treat a fox's toothache when the fox begs him for help, and the very grateful fox [[SapientEatSapient plans to eat him anyway]]. Dr. [=DeSoto=] finishes the job [[ConsummateProfessional out of professional pride]] and survives by [[spoiler:gluing the fox's mouth shut on the way out, having no illusions about the fox's intentions.]]
* ''WesternAnimation/TheLegoMovie2TheSecondPart'': During the first stage of the Duplo Invasion, Emmet built a LEGO heart that he gave to the Duplo aliens as a peace-offering...only to have them smash it, swallow the pieces, and then start destroying the city. Turns out that the aliens actually were trying to make peace in the only way they knew how, because Bianca thought a game based on breaking things was the only one Finn would enjoy.

* In ''Film/ThePatriot2000'', the rebels (who've had great success ambushing British convoys) agree to stop slaughtering surrendering British soldiers. The first time they try out this new honourable approach, they promptly get counter-ambushed by the British troops and killed or captured almost to a man. They swiftly go back to killing any redcoat on sight.

* The British humor film ''Film/KeepingMum'' has what might be considered a (on the whole) well-meaning (though definitely not good) snake. Grace, the new housekeeper (who happens to be an elderly released murderess) becomes genuinely grateful that the family she has moved in with is happy and grateful she's come, particularly Walter (aka. Mr. Bean). Compounded with her [[spoiler:being Gloria's mother]], she decides to help the family and goes about being a decidedly murderous Mary Poppins to the Goodfellow family. First killing a dog that kept Gloria up, then the owner when he snooped, and finally Gloria's peeping tom paramour because he was causing Gloria to destabilize the family. All in all, she did the family a world of good, however [[spoiler:she may well have unlocked her daughter's murderous side.]]
* In the backstory of ''Film/MirrorMask'', the Queen of Light took in the Evil Princess, who repaid her kindness by stealing the [[MacGuffin charm]] that kept the Queen [[FisherKing and the realm]] alive.
* ''Franchise/{{Halloween}}''

* In Creator/TheCoenBrothers film ''Film/MillersCrossing'', Tom is supposed to take Bernie into the woods and kill him for grifting the wrong mobster, but Bernie's constant pleading and weeping convinces Tom to take pity on him and lets him go. Shortly thereafter, Bernie shows up at Tom's home and proceeds to blackmail him by threatening to walk around in public and expose the fact that Tom lied about killing him. While pleading, Bernie even makes the argument that he shouldn't have to die for grifting, because "I see an angle, I take it," somewhat paraphrasing the Scorpion's excuse, "It's my nature." [[spoiler: Tom doesn't repeat his mistake.]]
* In ''Film/TheThiefOfBagdad1940'', Abu, while stranded on a deserted beach, discovers a bottle. Opening the bottle, he unleashes a huge genie, who because of his imprisonment grew to hate those who lived free and swore to kill his liberator. Abu tricked the genie into returning to his bottle and threatened to toss him into the sea. The genie was then able to regain his freedom by granting Abu three wishes.
* ''Film/TheDevilsCarnival'', which overtly bases chapters of the story on Literature/AesopsFables, uses the Scorpion and the Frog story in several ways. First, one of the female leads dies during a fight with her abusive boyfriend. Once in Hell, she comes across a hoodlum locked in jail and kindly returns his knife so he can use it to pick the lock and get free. Once freed he convinces her to take part in his "knife-throwing act", where he sings a song mocking her before throwing a dagger into her heart. Finally, the story is summarized in a second, innuendo-heavy song about a trusting young frog falling for the "prick" of a scorpion's tail.
* A ZigZaggingTrope in the 2000 live-action adaptation of ''Film/HowTheGrinchStoleChristmas''. Here, the Grinch is [[FantasticRacism a green-furred baby who is persecuted throughout his childhood]] and finally driven out of Whoville and up to the isolation of Mount Crumpet, where he grows to maturity. Cindy Lou Who becomes convinced that the Grinch is not completely evil and urges the townspeople to include him in their Christmas festivities. But not only are the Whos unreceptive to this idea at first, but the Grinch himself has become so misanthropic that he does not ''want'' to be treated kindly anymore. Cindy at length gets both sides to change their minds, and the Grinch is made the guest of honor at the Whoville Christmas festival - a position he does not enjoy. Even so, the Whos shower him with kindness and the Grinch grudgingly plays along... until the time of the gift exchange comes and he is awarded a "gag gift" of a razor - an object that was a TraumaButton for him because as a boy he had been mocked by the other children for his green whiskers, and when he tried to shave them off he succeeded only in cutting himself and getting mocked for ''that'' (led by the very person who would later gift him the razor, no less); this was the final injustice that drove the Grinch to flee from civilization. His temper boiling over, the Grinch [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech lectures all the Whos about their hypocritical attitude toward Christmas]] before setting fire to the Christmas tree in the town square and fleeing the scene. But when he discovers that the Whos had a spare tree to continue the festivities, he becomes even more filled with hatred and finally embarks on his mission to steal all the townspeople's present.

* ''Film/XMenFilmSeries'':
** ''Film/XMenFirstClass'': Charles Xavier believed that he could help the emotionally damaged Erik Lehnsherr find some measure of peace and happiness by offering the latter friendship and a home, but [[spoiler:Erik repays Charles' kindness with betrayal, abandonment, and a permanent (if accidental) spinal cord injury]].
** ''Film/XMenDaysOfFuturePast'': [[spoiler:1973 Magneto's sole contribution to the venture is to derail things the ''moment'' he sees a chance to advance his cause at the expense of everyone else. As the endings of ''First Class'' and ''X2'' show, this is something of a habit for him.]]
** ''Film/XMenApocalypse'': It all comes back to Erik in the end, when in the third movie, [[spoiler: having gone into hiding and adopted a civilian lifestyle as a steel mill worker, Erik had to secretly use his powers once to save a co-worker from getting crushed to death. His co-workers repay him by reporting Erik to the authorities and exposing him as a mutant, resulting in a team of police officers sent to arrest Erik accidentally killing Erik's wife and daughter in the process]].

* ''Film/{{Dragonheart}}'' began when Prince Ainen's life was saved after he was given half a dragon's heart. He recovered but he turned into a tyrant. Years later his mother told him saving him was the worst mistake she ever did.
* ''Film/BatmanForever'' had one where Robin saved Two-Face from falling to certain death and he gets rewarded by having a gun pointed at his face and used as a hostage.
-->'''Two-Face:''' The Bat's taught you well. Noble. [''pulls his gun''] Stupid, but noble.
* Near the end of ''Film/SupermanII'', Superman asks Lex Luthor to help him trick Zod, Ursa, and Nod into depowering themselves by getting him into a chamber that would take away their powers. Lex ''immediately'' informs Zod to get back into his good graces, despite Zod having turned on him earlier, and Zod promises to give him the ShinyNewAustralia he was asking for all along, Superman is forced into the chamber instead. [[spoiler: Unfortunately for Lex and Zod, Superman ''counted'' on Lex doing exactly that, [[BatmanGambit knowing]] that Lex was a SmugSnake with ChronicBackstabbingDisorder who couldn't help himself, and had rigged the chamber so that it worked in reverse- Superman was protected while ''inside'' the chamber, but Zod and his minions lost their powers because they ''weren't'', leaving Superman the only one with powers again.]]
* The documentary ''Film/GrizzlyMan'' concerns [[TruthInTelevision a real-life case of this]]: Animal activist Timothy Treadwell was pretty much in love with [[BearsAreBadNews bears]]; he insisted and believed that he was protecting the bears from humans and believed that he had a strong bond with the predators to a point of pacifism towards them. His pacifism towards them led to the deaths of him and his girlfriend when he refused to set up security measures in his camp, allowing an aggressive grizzly to enter it and kill them.
* ''Film/TheCryingGame'': When a British soldier is taken hostage by an Irish Republican Army terrorists, he tells his guard the story of the Scorpion and the Frog, using it in reverse to suggest that his guard is not a killer and cannot escape his nature as a ''good'' man.
* Subverted in ''Film/NaturalBornKillers'' where an old Native American takes in Mickey and Mallory, who unbeknownst to him are brutal [[SerialKiller Serial Killers]]. While the old man recites the Scorpion and The Frog variant of the story, Mickey shoots him accidentally after waking up from a nightmare, and Mallory gets pissed at him for killing a NiceGuy who did nothing to earn their wrath.
* ''Film/GoldenEye'': 007 once considered [[spoiler:006/Alec Trevelyan]] his best friend and comrade-in-arms, and even mourned his [[spoiler:supposed]] death during their mission to destroy the Arkhangelsk chemical weapons facility in Russia. But when [[spoiler:Trevelyan reveals that he not only survived the explosion but is also the true BigBad]], Bond's [[EtTuBrute reaction]] changes to one of raw anger and shock. [[spoiler:Trevelyan]] even laces his {{Breaking Speech}}es to 007 [[HiddenDisdainReveal with derision]], pointing out his FatalFlaw for women, whether he has any qualms killing people, his loyalty to England, and even his skills as an agent. Near the end, [[spoiler:Trevelyan]] even tries to kill Bond near the climax.
* ''Film/{{Dogman}}'': In spite of the fact that Simone's death would solve a lot of Marcello's problems, Marcello won't take a side on the discussion of whether to have the brutal bully killed. Soon afterward, Marcello can't help but save Simone's life twice. The next time we see them together, however, Simone abuses Marcello worse than ever before.
* ''Film/{{Shenandoah}}'': A DangerousDeserter arrives on the farm and impales James with a sword seconds after James generously tells him he's welcome to all the water he can drink and carry.
* ''Film/SpiderManNoWayHome'' has two examples, both revolving around the Green Goblin.
** Aunt May convinces Peter to not go through with sending the supervillains back home without curing them, which would condemn them to die, after she meets Norman Osborn. [[spoiler:Green Goblin(admittedly distinct from Norman) thanks her by killing her in order to drive Peter to villainy.]]
** [[spoiler:Raimi-verse Peter saves Green Goblin's life by stopping an enraged MCU Peter from impaling him on his own glider. Green Goblin immediately and literally stabs him in the back.]]
* ''Film/{{Barbarian}}'': Tess goes against Andre's advice to save herself and returns to the house in an effort to rescue AJ. He repays her by [[spoiler:accidentally shooting her and then intentionally throwing her off a water tower]].
* ''Film/GameraVsBarugon:'' During their treasure-hunting expedition, Onodera gets caught in quicksand, but his life is saved by Keisuke and Kawajiri. Onodera repays their kindness by intentionally causing a cave-in and leaving them for dead once they find the treasure, so he won't have to share the spoils.

* In ''Film/ThePatriot'', the rebels (who've had great success ambushing British convoys) agree to stop slaughtering surrendering British soldiers. The first time they try out this new honourable approach, they promptly get counter-ambushed by the British troops and killed or captured almost to a man. They swiftly go back to killing any redcoat on sight.

* ''Fanfic/FeralnetteAUBigFatBreak'': Amelie formed several informal contracts with her best friend Emelie as a way of maintaining their connection despite Gabriel being a ControlFreak. After Emelie mysteriously disappeared, Gabriel started exploiting those contracts, aiming to line his own pockets at Amelie's expense while trying to destroy her business. And he combined this all with a healthy helping of emotional extortion:

* ''Anime/DoraemonNobitasDorabianNights'' have Doraemon and gang meeting Sinbad the sailor, and Abdil, a thief who plots to steal Sinbad's magic palace for himself. Several years ago, Sinbad had rescued Abdil from the desert and treats Abdil like a guest in his palace, only to expel Abdil after finding out he's a [[SlaveryIsASpecialKindOfEvil slaver]]. In the present, Doraemon and gang, looking for Shizuka who's lost in the Arabian Desert with their new ally Sinbad, eventually found her... as a captive of Abdil, leading to Sinbad scolding Abdil for ''still'' dabbling in the HumanTrafficking business. Rather than arresting Abdil, however, Sinbad is decent enough to give Abdil sacks of water and food before telling him to leave the desert and never come back. So Abdil repays Sinbad by convincing the thief Cassim to help him steal Sinbad's palace and artifacts, have Sinbad and everyone else sealed in a dungeon, and later as the heroes escaped, released hordes and hordes of vampire bats to kill everyone. Sinbad lampshades it to the gang by saying "I should've left Abdil alone in the desert instead of saving him."

* ''Series/BreakingBad'': In "Half Measures", Mike relays a story to Walt from back when he was a cop. There was a repeated case involving an horribly abusive alcoholic who would beat his wife senseless every time he got drunk. The wife was terrified of him and always refused to press charges, but Mike eventually got sick of the whole situation, drove the scumbag out into the desert, held a gun to his mouth, made a show of force as though he was going to kill him, and warned him never to touch her again or he wouldn't be so merciful next time. The man screamed and cried and crapped his pants, swearing he was never going to hit her again, but of course he almost immediately recants upon being released and beats his wife to ''death'' only two weeks later, and with incredible brutality at that. Mike interpreted the experience as a personal lesson: he should've done a "full measure" instead of just doing a "half measure".

* ''Series/BreakingBad'': In "Half Measures", Mike relays a story to Walt from back when he was a cop. There was a repeated case involving an horribly abusive alcoholic who would beat his wife senseless every time he got drunk. The wife was terrified of him and always refused to press charges, but Mike eventually got sick of the whole situation, drove the scumbag out into the desert, held a gun to his mouth, made a show of force as though he was going to kill him, and warned him never to touch her again or he wouldn't be so merciful next time. The man screamed and cried and crapped his pants, swearing he was never going to hit her again, but of course he almost immediately recants upon being released and beats his wife to ''death'' only two weeks later, and with incredible brutality at that. Mike interpreted the experience as a personal lesson: he should've done a "full measure" of just doing a "half measure".

* Creator/JosephJacobs' story ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yallery_Brown Yallery Brown]]''. The main character releases a small spirit trapped under a stone, and the creature puts a bad luck curse on him.

* ''WesternAnimation/Frozen2013'': From the moment they meet, Anna shows [[spoiler:Prince Hans]] nothing but kindness and love, and even considers him her OneTrueLove. In fact, both share their similar [[BirdsOfAFeather backgrounds]] of older siblings ignoring them, and even quickly agree to a FourthDateMarriage ''despite meeting each other on the same day'', something which they get called on. It doesn't stop [[spoiler:his plot to seize control of Arendelle by faking his romance with Anna and doesn't soften his attitude towards her — in fact, when he [[EvilAllAlong reveals his]] [[BaitTheDog true colors]], he cruelly mocks her for quickly agreeing to marry him "[[DidYouActuallyBelieve just like that]]," which made his plan easier than expected]]. It briefly left her despondent, but Anna realizes there are others (Olaf and Kristoff) who still care for her. [[spoiler:Hans]] has been confirmed to be a "frozen-hearted" man [[spoiler:and a [[PrinceCharmless subversion]] of the classical PrinceCharming Disney is known for]]. Also, [[spoiler:Hans]] is later revealed to be Anna's EvilCounterpart, {{Foil}}, and ShadowArchetype, as while she manages to reconcile with Elsa after 13 years of separation and retains her optimism, [[spoiler:he remains bitter against his 12 brothers and makes it clear to Anna that he will never reconcile with them]].