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Aesop's Fables, translated by Laura Gibbs (2002)

189. THE FOX AND THE CROCODILE
Perry 20 (Chambry 35 *)

The fox and the crocodile were disputing about their pedigrees. The crocodile was proudly enumerating the eminent qualities of his ancestors, and when he said that they had been the highest ranking athletic officials, the fox remarked, 'My dear sir, even if you had not mentioned it, the mere condition of your skin is evidence enough that you have suffered long years of athletic sports out of doors in the sun!'

Note: The joke is based on the crocodile boasting that his ancestors had been 'Gymnasiarchs,' city officials who presided over the athletic gymnasiums in ancient Greece.


Source: Aesop's Fables. A new translation by Laura Gibbs. Oxford University Press (World's Classics): Oxford, 2002.
NOTE: New cover, with new ISBN, published in 2008; contents of book unchanged.