Fable 160 (Chambry 132* = Perry 113)
The Tuna Fish and the Dolphin
A tuna fish who was being chased by a dolphin was splashing madly through the water. Just when the dolphin was about to catch him, the tuna fish heaved himself forward with a great effort and landed on an island. Matching his effort, the dolphin ran aground beside him. The tuna fish then turned to look at the gasping dolphin and said, ‘I do not grieve over my own death, so long as I am able to see that the one to blame is dying together with me!’
The fable shows that people readily undergo a disaster when they can witness the destruction of those who are to blame.
Fable 161 (Chambry 331* = Perry 216)
The Snake and the Wasp
A wasp landed on the head of a snake and began to harass him, stinging him again and again. As he was suffering from terrible pain but couldn’t get rid of his enemy, the snake crawled into the road and looked for an oncoming wagon. He then put his head under the wheel as he said, ‘I die together with my enemy!’
This is a fable for people who share their troubles with their enemies.
Fable 162 (Avianus 22 = Perry 580)
Greed and Jealousy
To become better acquainted with the baffling logic of mortal men, Jupiter sent Phoebus Apollo from the heavenly citadel to visit the earth. At that moment two men happened to be asking the gods to fulfill their opposite prayers: one of the men was greedy, and the other was a jealous man. The mighty god examined each of them and offered himself as a mediator. When they made their requests, Apollo told them, ‘The gods agree to grant your prayers, but the thing that one of you requests will immediately be given twofold to the other.’ The greedy man whose limitless desire could never satisfy his longing allowed the other man to choose first, expecting to augment his prospects by that man’s prayer, thus carrying off two prizes for himself. Instead, he met with an unexpected loss, since the jealous man realized that the other man was trying to take his own reward. Thus, he voluntarily requested that a punishment be inflicted on his body: by asking to be blinded in one eye, he thus condemned the other man to a life of total darkness, with two blind eyes. The wise Apollo laughed at the human condition and told Jupiter about the wickedness spawned by such jealous feelings: because it rejoices in the unhappy things that happen to other people, wretched jealousy gladly works to its own disadvantage.
Fable 163 (Steinhowel, Fab. Ext. 11 = Perry 702)
The Dog in the Manger
People frequently begrudge something to others that they themselves cannot enjoy. Even though it does them no good, they won’t let others have it. Listen to a fable about such an event.
There was a wicked dog lying in a manger full of hay. When the cattle came and wanted to eat, the dog barred their way, baring his teeth. The cattle said to the dog, ‘You are being very unfair by begrudging us something we need which is useless to you. Dogs don’t eat hay, but you will not let us near it.’ The same thing happened when a dog was holding a bone in his mouth: the dog couldn’t chew on the bone that way, but no other dog was able to chew on it either.
The fable shows that it is not easy to avoid envy: with some effort you can try to escape its effects, but it never goes away entirely.
NOTE: Although this story is not attested in the ancient Greek and Roman fables, the proverbial ‘dog in the manger’ makes his appearance in Lucian, Against the Unlearned 30: ‘There was a dog lying in a manger who did not eat the grain but who nevertheless prevented the horse from being able to eat anything either.’
Fable 164 (Phaedrus App. 1 = Perry 533)
The Monkey and the Fox
A monkey asked a fox to give him a part of her tail so that he could respectably cover up his bare behind. The malicious fox said in reply, ‘Even if my tail grew longer than it is now, I would sooner drag it through filth and thorns than share even the smallest part of it with you!’
NOTE: There is a promythium appended to the fable in Perotti’s Appendix: ‘A greedy man does not gladly give anything away, even when he has enough for himself For the traditional enmity between the fox and the monkey, see Fable 24.
FABLES ABOUT JUSTICE
Fable 165 (Phaedrus 2.1 = Perry 487)
The Lion and the Two Men
A lion was standing over a young bull whom he had killed when a robber showed up and demanded a part of the spoils. ‘I would agree,’ the lion said, ‘if you were not already in the habit of taking whatever you want!’ Thus, the lion refused the villain’s request. Meanwhile, an innocent wayfarer also happened upon the very same spot, although he backed away as soon as he saw the ferocious lion. ‘There is nothing to be afraid of,’ the lion said to him in kindly tones. ‘Please, take without hesitation the portion of this prize that your modesty has earned for you.’ He then divided the bull into pieces and went away into the woods, so that the man would come forward freely.
This is an altogether outstanding and admirable model of behaviour; in the real world, however, greed grows wealthy while honesty goes unrewarded.
NOTE: For the traditional version of ‘the lion’s share,’ see Fable 14.
Fable 166 (Phaedrus 4.26 = Perry 522)
Simonides and the Twin Gods
Elsewhere I have described the great value people place on learning, and now I will record for future reference how greatly learning is honoured by the gods; this is another story about Simonides, whom I have spoken of before.
In exchange for an agreed-upon fee, the poet Simonides was to write a victory ode for a certain boxer. Simonides accordingly sought out a place of peace and quiet, but the unpromising subject-matter hampered his artistic impulse. As a result, Simonides relied on the usual poetic licence, which allowed him to include the gods Castor and Pollux as part of his poem, alluding to the renown that the sons of Leda, those celestial twins, had also enjoyed in boxing. Simonides’ client praised the work but he paid the poet only one third of the agreed-upon fee. When Simonides demanded the rest, his patron told him, ‘Let the twins pay the rest, since their praise occupies two-thirds of the poem! Of course,’ the man added, ‘I don’t want people to think that you have been sent away in anger, so please agree to come to my house for dinner this evening. I have invited all my relatives, and I want you to be in their number as well.’ Although Simonides had been cheated and was still upset about the loss he had suffered, he agreed to come, not wanting to harm his reputation by parting with his patron on bad terms. The dinner hour arrived and Simonides took his place at the table. The party sparkled with wine and good cheer, and the house resounded with the delightful sounds of the extravagant banquet, when all of a sudden two young men appeared. They were completely covered with dust and sweat, and they had the bodies of supermen. They ordered one of the servant boys to summon Simonides, urging him to be quick about it, as it was a matter of great importance. The awestruck servant roused Simonides, and the poet had barely moved one foot away from the dining room when the structure suddenly collapsed, crushing everyone beneath it. Meanwhile, there were no young men to be found at the door. When the sequence of events became generally known, everyone realized that, with their presence, the gods had repaid the poet by saving his life in lieu of a fee.
NOTE: Other accounts of this story focus on the aftermath of these events: Simonides was able to identify all the victims of the disaster, despite the fact that their bodies were mangled beyond recognition, because he remembered where each person was sitting, using the technique of the ‘loci’ or ‘places’, a popular mnemonic device (see Cicero, Orator 2.86 and Quintilian, Institutes 11.2.11 ff.). For Phaedrus’ other story about the Greek poet Simonides, see Fable 412.
Fable 167 (Chambry 214 = Perry 152)
The Murderer and the Mulberry Tree
A robber had murdered someone along the road. When the bystanders began to chase him, he dropped the bloody corpse and ran away. Some travellers coming from the opposite direction asked the man how he had stained his hands. The man said that he had just climbed d
own from a mulberry tree, but as he was speaking, his pursuers caught up with him. They seized the murderer and crucified him on a mulberry tree. The tree said to him, ‘It does not trouble me at all to assist in your execution, since you tried to smear me with the murder that you yourself committed!’
It often happens that even honest people do not hesitate to persecute someone who has slandered them.
Fable 168 (Chambry 45* = Perry 32)
The Murderer and the Nile
A man had committed a murder and was being pursued by the victim’s relatives. He reached the river Nile, and when he found a lion there he was afraid and climbed up a tree; in the tree, he saw a snake and was practically scared to death, so he threw himself into the river, where a crocodile devoured him.
The story is for people who commit murders: neither earth nor air nor water nor any other place will be able to protect them.
NOTE: Other versions of this fable (included in Chambry’s first edition of the Greek fables) feature a wolf instead of a lion.
Fable 169 (Syntipas 52 = Perry 347)
The Wolf and the Lion
A wolf had seized a young pig and was carrying it away when he ran into a lion. The lion immediately took the pig away from him. After having to surrender the pig, the wolf said to himself, ‘I wondered myself how what I acquired by theft could possibly have stayed with me.’
The fable shows that if someone acquires other people’s property by fraud or force, he cannot expect to keep it.
Fable 170 (Chambry 298 = Perry 239)
The Oath’s Punishment
A certain man took a deposit from a friend but intended to keep it for himself. When the depositor then summoned him to swear an oath regarding the deposit, he realized the danger he was in and prepared to leave the city and go to his farm. When he reached the city gates, he saw a lame man who was also on his way out of town. He asked the man who he was and where he was going. The man said that he was the god named Oath and that he was on his way to track down wicked people. The man then asked Oath how often he revisited each city. Oath replied, ‘I come back after forty years, or sometimes thirty.’ Accordingly, on the very next day the man did not hesitate to swear an oath that he had never received the deposit. But then the man ran into Oath, who dragged him off to the edge of a cliff. The man asked Oath how he could have said that he wasn’t coming back for another thirty years when in fact he didn’t even grant him a single day’s reprieve. Oath explained, ‘You also need to know that if somebody intends to provoke me, I am accustomed to come back again the very same day.’
The fable shows that there is no fixed day on which wicked people are punished by the god.
NOTE: The divine embodiment of the oath, called Horkos in Greek, was represented as being lame, since it often took him a very long time to catch up with oath-breakers and punish them. For another account of why the gods’ justice is frequently delayed, see Fable 524.
Fable 171 (Babrius 117 = Perry 306)
Hermes, the Man, and the Ants
There was once a ship that sank with all hands on board. A man who saw what had happened said that the gods’ judgement was unfair: because of just one sinner who was on board the ship, many men had died together with him, even though they were innocent. While the man was speaking, a swarm of ants started crawling over him as they rushed in their usual frenzy to feed on some bits of wheat chaff. When one of the ants bit the man, he proceeded to trample a considerable number of them underfoot. Hermes then appeared and struck the man with his wand as he said, ‘So, are you going to let the gods pass judgement on you humans just as you have passed judgement on the ants?’
NOTE: The god Hermes carried a special wand in his role as a messenger and herald of the gods, in addition to his famous winged sandals.
Fable 172 (Syntipas 18 = Perry 198)
Apollo and the Snake
A creeping snake who had been stepped on by many people made his way to the temple of Apollo and went inside. Apollo immediately explained to the snake, ‘If you had simply killed the first person who stepped on you, no one would ever have dared to step on you again!’
The story shows that if people who have previously committed a crime are swiftly punished, then others will become afraid on their account.
Fable 173 (Syntipas 56 = Perry 64)
The Man Bitten by the Dog
A man who had just been badly bitten by a dog was looking for someone who could heal his wound. He ran into someone who told him, ‘Here is what you need to do: let the blood from your wound drip onto a piece of bread and then feed the bread to the dog who bit you. If you do that, your wound will be cured.’ The man who had been bitten by the dog replied, ‘But if I do that, every single dog in the city will want to bite me!’
This fable shows that if someone respects and honours a wicked man, the wicked man will not return the favour, since his only friends are other wicked men like himself.
NOTE: In another version of this fable (Phaedrus 2.3), the man actually gives the blood-soaked bread to the dog who bit him, provoking Aesop to remark that if the other dogs find out, they will all want to bite him.
FABLES ABOUT COURTS AND JUDGES
Fable 174 (Phaedrus 1.17 = Perry 478)
The Sheep, the Dog, and the Wolf
Wicked liars generally get their just deserts.
A dog made false accusations against the sheep, demanding that she pay him back a loaf of bread which, he insisted, the sheep had supposedly borrowed from him. The dog summoned the wolf as his witness and the wolf testified that the sheep didn’t owe the dog just one loaf of bread: he swore that she owed him ten! Based on this false evidence, the sheep was found guilty and was sentenced to pay what she did not owe. A few days later the sheep found the same wolf lying dead in a ditch. ‘This,’ said the sheep, ‘is the reward that the gods give to liars.’
NOTE: For a less rousing conclusion, see Fable 175 (following).
Fable 175 (Ademar 5 = Perry 478)
The Sheep, the Dog, and the Witnesses
A dog made false accusations against the sheep, saying, ‘You must give me back the bread which I gave you on loan.’ This led to an argument, since the sheep insisted that she had never taken any bread from the dog. When they took the matter to court, the dog reportedly claimed to have witnesses. The wolf was brought in and he swore, ‘I know that the sheep borrowed bread from the dog.’ The kite was brought in and he swore, ‘I saw the sheep take it.’ As the hawk came in, he said to the sheep, ‘Do you deny that you took it?’ Defeated by these three false witness, the sheep was hard pressed to pay back the loan; in order to return what she had not borrowed, she was forced to fleece herself of her own wool and sell it.
For someone who treacherously persecutes and destroys innocent people.
NOTE: Walter of England (twelfth-century author of an extremely popular collection of fables in verse) is even more specific about the sheep’s grim fate: ‘even though winter was coming on, the sheep had to sell her own wool and suffer the north wind’s blast while she was stripped bare of her own fleece.’
Fable 176 (Phaedrus 1.16 = Perry 477)
The Sheep, the Stag, and the Wolf
When a liar has dishonest backers, he is not trying to make a deal: he wants to play a dirty trick.
A stag asked the sheep to loan him a peck of wheat, with the wolf vouching for his good credit. The sheep, however, saw that there was trouble ahead, so she said, ‘The wolf always just takes what he wants and vanishes, while you are the sort who turns tail and runs. How can I hope to find either of you when it comes time to collect?’
Fable 177 (Ademar 6 = Perry 558)
The Roosters and the Hawk
There was a rooster who was always quarrelling with another rooster, so he asked the hawk to judge their dispute. The rooster was actually hoping that when he brought the other rooster before the judge, the judge would devour him. Yet when they came before the judge to make their arguments, the hawk grabbed the rooster who had original
ly brought the case to court. The rooster shouted, ‘Not me! You want the one who is running away!’ The hawk replied, ‘Abandon all hope of being released from my talons today! Justice demands that you yourself should suffer the punishment that you intended for another.’
For people who plot the demise of others, not realizing what might happen to them as a result.
Fable 178 (Phaedrus 3.13 = Perry 504)
The Bees, the Drones, and the Wasp
The bees had built their honeycombs up high in an oak tree but the lazy drones insisted that the honeycombs were theirs. The case went to court, with the wasp presiding. Given that the judge was well acquainted with both the bees and the drones, she made the following proposal to the two parties: ‘Your bodies are not dissimilar and your colouring is the same, which makes this an undeniably difficult decision. Of course, I want to be absolutely scrupulous, avoiding any hasty judgements. So, please take these hives and fill them full of waxen cells. The taste of the honey and the shape of the combs will reveal which party is actually responsible for the honeycombs in question.’ While the drones refused to comply with this request, the proposal greatly pleased the bees. Thereupon the judge pronounced the following sentence: ‘It’s clear who was incapable of making those honeycombs, and who it was that made them. Accordingly, I return to the bees the fruit of their labours.’
Aesop's Fables Page 14
