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

367. THE EUNUCH AND THE FORTUNE-TELLER
Perry 310 (Babrius 54)

A eunuch went to a fortune-teller to find out whether he would ever have children. The fortune-teller sacrificed an animal and spread out its liver for examination. He then said, 'When I look into the liver, I see that you will be a father, but when I look upon your face, you do not even appear to be a man!'

Note: For another fable about a eunuch, see Fable 595. The practice of consulting the liver of an animal as a means of predicting the future was widespread in the ancient Mediterranean world.

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.