Aesop's Fables, translated by Laura Gibbs (2002)
229. THE SHEPHERD AND THE LION
Perry 49 (Syntipas
12)
A shepherd had lost one of his sheep and begged the god for help. The
man vowed that if he succeeded in finding the sheep, he would offer up
another sheep to the god as a sacrifice. As he wandered about, he saw
the carcass of the missing sheep chewed to pieces by a lion, and then
the man began to pray, 'O god, if I can just escape the threat of this
wild animal, I will offer up yet another sheep as ransom for my life!'
This fable shows that each man holds his own life dearer than any amount
of wealth or profit.
Note: For another fable about being careful what you pray for, see
Fable 462.
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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