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

33. THE SHEEP AND THE INJURED WOLF
Perry 160 (Chambry 231 *)

A wolf had been mauled by dogs and had cast himself down on the ground. Because of his injuries, the wolf could not go in search of food, so when he saw a sheep, he begged her to bring him something to drink from the river that ran nearby. 'If you just give me something to drink,' said the wolf, 'I will find myself something to eat.' The sheep replied, 'But if I give you with something to drink, then you will make me your dinner as well!'
The story can be used against a wicked man who hides his plots behind a veil of pretense.

Note: L'Estrange appends this bit of commentary: 'It is a Charitable and Christian Office to Relieve the Poor and the Distressed; but this Duty does not Extend to Sturdy Beggars, that while they are receiving Alms with one Hand, are ready to Beat out a Man's Brains with the Other.'


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.