Aesop's Fables, translated by Laura Gibbs (2002)
20. THE HARE AND THE LION'S JUSTICE
Perry 334 (Babrius
102)
There was once a lion king who did not have a bad temper. In fact, he
never took any pleasure in acting violently but was instead mild and just,
as if he were a human being. During this lion's reign, so they say, all
the wild animals assembled to present their petitions and receive verdicts
in their disputes. Every animal was called to account: the wolf for what
he had done to the lamb, the leopard for what she had done to the wild
goat, the tiger for what he had done to the deer, and so on. In the end,
all the animals were at peace with one another. The timid hare then proclaimed,
'Now has come the day for which I have always prayed, when even the weak
creatures are feared by the strong!'
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.
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