[DanaC]

I would say Power = the potential for oppression.



[eta] the only character in this scenario who exercises power is the shepherd. Wolves do not oppress sheep, they kill them. Both animals are acting on instinct and without the capacity for empathy, as we might understand it. For the sheep, the wolf is simply a situation to be responded to, a danger to survive, or not. To the wolf, the sheep is simply a recognised prey, to which he responds according to his nature. Power presupposes that the one exercising has the capacity for agency.