Aesop's Fables, translated by Laura Gibbs (2002)
316. THE SOOTHSAYER AND THE THEFT
Perry 161 (Chambry
233 *)
There was a soothsayer who used to sit in the marketplace and predict
the future. Someone suddenly appeared and told the soothsayer that the
doors of his house had been forced open and that everything inside had
been stolen. The soothsayer groaned and sprang to his feet, rushing off
to his house. Someone saw him running and said, 'Hey you! You claim to
be able to tell what is going to happen to other people in advance, so
why were you not able to predict your own future?'
This is a fable for people who do a poor job of managing their own
lives but who nevertheless make pronouncements about things that are none
of their business.
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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