The fable shows that there is no benefit in having lots of foolish friends; in fact, it can be a disaster.
Fable 91 (Avianus 9 = Perry 65)
The Two Friends and the Bear
A man was travelling together with his friend along a narrow road through unknown mountains and winding valleys. He felt safe because he and his friend could combine forces to fight whatever danger Fortune might put in their way. As they were travelling along discussing various subjects, a bear suddenly confronted them in the middle of the road. One of the men ran straight for a tree and grabbed at a branch in order to suspend his trembling body in the foliage. The other man stood stock still and then fell to the ground on purpose, pretending to be dead. The wild beast immediately ran up to him, eager to seize her victim. With her curved bear claws, she lifted the wretched man up off the ground, but since his limbs had grown stiff and frozen with fear (for the usual warmth of life had left his body), the bear concluded that he was nothing but a rotting corpse. Thus, despite her hunger, the bear abandoned the man and went away to her den. The men gradually began to relax and started up their conversation again. The man who had only just now fled in fear was feeling far too sure of himself and he said to his companion, ‘Tell me, my friend, what did that bear say to you while you were lying there shaking? She must have told you many things in that lengthy private conversation.’ The other man replied, ‘Indeed, she gave me some quite important advice including, alas, one particular command that I cannot afford to forget: “Do not be too quick to resume your fellowship with that other man, in case you fall once again into the clutches of another wild beast.”’
Fable 92 (Phaedrus 5.2 = Perry 524)
The Two Soldiers and the Robber
Two soldiers happened to fall into the clutches of a robber: one of the soldiers ran away while the other stood his ground and defended himself with all the strength he could muster. As soon as the robber had been beaten back, the soldier’s cowardly companion ran up, drawing his sword and even throwing aside his cloak as he said, ‘Let me at him; I will make sure he knows who it is he has dared to attack!’ The one who had fought with the robber replied, ‘I only wish that you had been here to help me with your words; even if you did nothing more than that, I would have believed what you were saying and would have fought with even greater determination. But please put away your sword and shut your useless mouth: you might be able to fool people who do not know you, but I have learned by experience with what prowess you turn tail and run, and how unreliable your courage really is.’
This tale should be applied to a man who is confident when things are going well but who proves a coward when the outcome is in doubt.
Fable 93 (Chambry 256* = Perry 67)
The Travellers and the Axe
Two men were walking down the same road together when one of them found an axe. ‘Eureka!’ he cried, ‘I found it!’ The one who didn’t find the axe said to him, ‘Don’t say “I found it”—say “we found it” instead.’ A little while later the people who had lost the axe caught up with them, and when they started to chase the man who was holding the axe, he said to his fellow traveller, ‘We are lost!’ The fellow traveller answered, ‘Incorrect! You should say “I am lost,” not “we are lost,” since when you found the axe you said “I” found it, not “we” found it.’
The story shows that if people are not allowed to share in your good fortune, they will not stand by you in times of trouble.
Fable 94 (Phaedrus 3.9 = Perry 500)
Socrates and His Friends
The word ‘friend’ is in common use but true friends are hard to find.
Socrates had erected for himself a very modest house—and I myself would even be willing to die as Socrates died if I could achieve an equal fame, yes, I would be willing to suffer the same public disapproval if I too could be vindicated after death! Anyway, just as you would expect on such an occasion, one of his neighbours had to ask, ‘Why is it, Socrates, that someone like you would build himself such a tiny little house?’ ‘Ah,’ said Socrates, ‘if only I could fill it with true friends!’
NOTE: The Greek philosopher Socrates was executed by the state of Athens in 399 BCE (see Fable 532 for a fable attributed to Socrates).
FABLES ABOUT DECEPTIVE INVITATIONS
Fable 95 (pseudo-Dositheus, Hermeneumata = Perry 389)
The Cat and the Birds
The cat pretended that it was his birthday and invited the birds to a party. When the birds had come in, the cat seized the opportunity: he shut the doors of his house and proceeded to devour the birds one after another.
This fable can be applied to people who set off with high hopes of something pleasant but who actually experience the exact opposite.
NOTE: The cat is replaced by a bird in other versions of the fable; see Fable 96 (following).
Fable 96 (Romulus 4.11 = Perry 577)
The Raven and the Birds
The raven pretended that it was his birthday and invited the birds to a party. Once the birds were inside, he locked the door and began to kill them one by one.
This fable is meant for people who rush off to some merry feast but who find that things are the opposite of what they expected.
NOTE: In other medieval versions of this fable it is a vulture or a hawk who throws the party.
Fable 97 (Phaedrus 3.16 = Perry 507)
The Cricket and the Owl
Someone who does not respect his associates will usually be punished for his conceited behaviour.
The cricket was making a great deal of noise and this greatly annoyed the owl, since she was accustomed to seek out her food in the darkness of night and to sleep during the day inside the hollowed-out branch of a tree. The owl thus asked the cricket to keep quiet, which only provoked the cricket to make an even greater racket. Again the owl asked the cricket to keep quiet, and this triggered a still greater outburst of noise. When the owl saw that she was accomplishing nothing since the cricket simply scorned her requests, she decided to trick the chattering insect. ‘Given that I cannot sleep because of your singing,’ said the owl, ‘which of course one might easily mistake for the tuneful strains of Apollo’s lyre, I’ve decided to drink some of the nectar which Athena recently gave me as a gift. Please come and let’s drink it together, if that meets with your approval.’ The cricket happened to be extremely thirsty and she was also quite pleased by the compliments which the owl had paid to her singing, so she gladly flew to where the owl was waiting. The owl then sealed up the entrance and seized the trembling cricket and brought her life to an end: what the cricket refused to do while living, she conceded in death.
NOTE: Apollo was the leader of the Muses and the god of music and poetry; Athena was the goddess of wisdom and warfare. The owl was closely associated with Athena.
Fable 98 (Ademar 25 = Perry 561)
The Night-owl, the Cat, and the Mouse
A night-owl asked a cat if the cat would agree to carry him around, so that together they could go and look for someone to talk to. The cat took the owl to the house of a mouse. The owl asked the cat to announce him and he did so. When the mouse heard the voice of the cat, he came to the door of his house and said, ‘What do you two want from me? What do you have to say?’ ‘We want to talk with you’, said the owl and the cat. The mouse understood that these two had devised some evil plot against him, so he replied, ‘A curse on you, my lord cat, and a curse on the one you are carrying—and a curse on your house, and on your sons and your daughters, and on all your damn relatives! You did badly to come here, and I hope that bad things will befall you on your way back home!’
For people who do not know how to speak nicely to their enemies, thus creating enmity and getting into trouble.
Fable 99 (Babrius 97 = Perry 143)
The Bull, the Lion, and the Dinner Invitation
There was once a lion who wanted to set a trap for a wild bull. He pretended to be making a sacrifice to the mother of the gods and asked the bull to come share the
feast. The bull said that he would come, suspecting nothing. But when he arrived and stood in the lion’s door, he looked and saw many bronze cooking pots filled with boiling water, along with cleavers and knives for skinning, all newly polished. Yet the bull didn’t see anything that could be offered for sacrifice except a single trussed-up rooster. The bull then turned tail and ran back to the mountains. Later on the lion happened to run into the bull and criticized his behaviour. The bull said, ‘I came to your house, and here’s the proof that I was there: you had no sacrificial victim on hand that was equal to the scale of your butcher shop.’
Fable 100 (Syntipas 44 = Perry 157)
The Wolf and the Goat on the Cliff
There was a goat grazing up high on a cliff. At the bottom of the cliff there was a wolf who wanted to catch the goat and eat her. Since it was impossible for the wolf to climb up the cliff, he stood down below and said to the goat, ‘You poor creature! Why have you left the level plains and meadows in order to graze upon the cliff? Are you trying to tempt death from that height?’ The goat said to the wolf in response, ‘I know how often I have managed to frustrate you! What makes you think that you can now get me to come down off this cliff so that you can eat me for dinner?’
The fable shows that sometimes people give you advice that is to their advantage but which is dangerous for you.
NOTE: In another version of this fable (Avianus 26), the goat is besieged by a lion, not a wolf.
Fable 101 (Phaedrus App. 32 = Perry 557)
The Fox and the Ground-bird
There is a bird that country folk call ‘ground-bird’, which makes sense, because this bird makes her nest on the ground. A ground-bird happened to run into a conniving vixen, and as soon as she noticed her, the ground-bird flew even higher on her wings. ‘Greetings!’ said the vixen, ‘May I ask why you are running away? It’s not as if there were not plenty of food for me here in the field—grasshoppers, beetles, locusts in abundance—so there’s nothing for you to be afraid of. I am actually very fond of you because of your retiring manner and honest ways.’ The singing bird replied, ‘Your words are certainly pleasant to hear, but I am no equal to you on the ground. Here in the air, though, I can hold my own. Why don’t you come on up here with me? This is the place where I would trust you with my life!’
NOTE: Phaedrus has provided us with a folk name that is relevant to the fable, terraneola ‘ground bird’, but this name is not found in the ancient scientific writers, making it impossible to provide an identification.
Fable 102 (Phaedrus 1.25 = Perry 482)
The Dogs and the Crocodiles
If you try to deceive someone who has his wits about him, you will waste your time and be made fun of as well.
Legend has it that when dogs drink from the Nile they do so on the run to avoid being caught by the crocodiles. So when a certain dog started to lap some water as he ran, a crocodile said, ‘Drink as much as you want, take your time, don’t be afraid!’ The dog then said to the crocodile, ‘By god, I would do just that, if I didn’t already know that you have a craving for my flesh!’
NOTE: This same motif is found in Pliny, Natural History 8.61: ‘when they lap from the Nile they do so at a run, so that they won’t give the hungry crocodiles a chance to eat them.’
Fable 103 (Babrius 132 = Perry 261)
The Wolf and the Sheep in the Sheepfold
A solitary sheep suddenly caught sight of a wolf and fled into the sheepfold, which by chance had been left open since a sacrifice was being readied for the holiday. The wolf did not come within the walls of the sheepfold but stood outside and tried to win the sheep’s trust. ‘Don’t you see that altar there covered with blood?’ said the wolf. ‘Come out, or else they will seize you and sacrifice you too.’ The sheep replied, ‘Don’t you worry about my place of refuge; I’m doing just fine. And even if things turn out as you say, I would rather become an offering for the god than a meal for a wolf!’
FABLES ABOUT FLATTERY AND INSULTS
Fable 104 (Aphthonius 29 = Perry 124)
The Fox and the Raven
A story about a fox and a raven which urges us not to trust anyone who is trying to deceive us.
The raven seized a piece of cheese and carried his spoils up to his perch high in a tree. A fox came up and walked in circles around the raven, planning a trick. ‘What is this?’ cried the fox. ‘O raven, the elegant proportions of your body are remarkable, and you have a complexion that is worthy of the king of the birds! If only you had a voice to match, then you would be first among the fowl!’ The fox said these things to trick the raven and the raven fell for it: he let out a great squawk and dropped his cheese. By thus showing off his voice, the raven let go of his spoils. The fox then grabbed the cheese and said, ‘O raven, you do have a voice, but no brains to go with it!’
If you follow your enemies’ advice, you will get hurt.
NOTE: Horace alludes to this fable in Epistles, 1.17.50f. For a similar story about the flattering fox but with a quite different outcome, see Fable 148.
Fable 105 (Odo 71)
The Cat and the Stork
We should strive to be like the stork who was carrying home an eel as food for herself and her chicks.
The cat saw a stork carrying an eel. Now, the cat is a creature who dearly loves fish although he doesn’t like to get his feet wet. So the cat said to the stork, ‘O most beautiful bird! You have such a red beak and such white feathers! Could it be that your beak is just as red on the inside as it is on the outside?’ The stork refused to answer the cat, keeping her mouth shut so that she wouldn’t lose her eel. The angry mouser then began insulting the stork, ‘Why, you must be deaf or dumb! Why don’t you answer me, you wretched creature? You do eat snakes sometimes, don’t you? Snakes are poisonous and filthy! A nice animal likes to eat nice things, but you like to eat filthy things that are not nice at all! That means you are the most filthy bird in the world!’ The stork didn’t say anything, and just kept on walking, carrying her eel.
Fable 106 (Nikephoros Basilakis, in Walz, Rhetores Graeci = Perry 469)
The Lion, the Bull, and His Horns
A lion once saw a bull and, although he was extremely hungry, he feared being gored by the bull’s horns. The lion had found the remedy for his disease, but could not administer the cure. Hunger eventually won out, and prompted him to grapple with the bull. Still, the size of the bull’s horns deterred him. Finally he heeded his hunger, pretended to be friends, and prepared to trick the bull (when trouble is at hand, even valour quails; if it sees a risk in attempting to prevail by force, subterfuge is used). ‘I commend your strength,’ said the lion, ‘and how I admire your beauty—your head, your whole physique! And what wonderful feet and hooves! But what a heavy burden you carry on your head! Take that useless contraption off! Your head will look better without it, and you will be free of the weight—the change will be altogether an improvement. Why do you need horns when you live at peace with the lion?’ The bull was convinced. But as soon as he put aside the strength of his armour he was easy prey for the lion who dined without fear.
Believing your enemies makes you fall victim to their tricks and gets you into trouble.
Fable 107 (Chambry 335 = Perry 241)
The Cicada and the Fox
A cicada was singing on top of a tall tree. The fox wanted to eat the cicada, so she came up with a trick. She stood in front of the tree and marvelled at the cicada’s beautiful song. The fox then asked the cicada to come down and show himself, since the fox wanted to see how such a tiny creature could be endowed with such a sonorous voice. But the cicada saw through the fox’s trick. He tore a leaf from the tree and let it fall to the ground. Thinking it was the cicada, the fox pounced and the cicada then said, ‘Hey, you must be crazy to think I would come down from here! I’ve been on my guard against foxes ever since I saw the wings of a cicada in the spoor of a fox.’
The fable shows that a discerning person is made wise by the misfortunes of his neighbour
s.
Fable 108 (Ademar 51 = Perry 569)
The Monkeys and the Two Men
There were two men travelling together: one was a liar and the other always told the truth. Their journey led them to the land of the monkeys. There was a whole crowd of monkeys there and one of them noticed the travellers. The monkey who was clearly their leader ordered that the men be detained. Since he wanted to know what the men thought of him, he commanded all the rest of the monkeys to stand before him in a long line to his right and to his left, while a seat was prepared for him to sit on (this monkey had once seen the emperor, so he was ordering his monkeys to line up for him in the same way). The men were then told to come forward into the midst of the monkeys. The chief monkey said, ‘Who am I?’ The liar said, ‘You are the emperor!’ Then the monkey asked, ‘And those whom you see standing before me: who are they?’ The man answered, ‘They are your noble companions, your chancellors, your officials, and the commanders of your armies!’ Because these lies flattered the monkey and his troops, he ordered that the man be showered with presents. All the monkeys were fooled by his flattery. Meanwhile, the man who always told the truth thought to himself, ‘If that liar received such rewards for telling lies, then surely I will receive an even greater reward for telling the truth.’ The chief monkey said to the second man, ‘Now you tell me who I am, and who are these whom you see standing before me.’ And the man who always loved the truth and never lied said to the monkey, ‘You are simply a monkey, and all of these similar simians are monkeys as well!’ The chief monkey immediately ordered the monkeys to attack the man with their teeth and claws because he had spoken the truth.
Aesop's Fables Page 10
