Aesop's Fables, translated by Laura Gibbs (2002)
508. ZEUS AND THE TORTOISE
Perry 106 (Chambry
125 *)
Zeus invited all the animals to his wedding. The tortoise alone was absent,
and Zeus did not know why, so he asked the tortoise her reason for not
having come to the feast. The tortoise said, 'Be it ever so humble, there's
no place like home.' Zeus got angry at the tortoise and ordered her to
carry her house with her wherever she went.
The fable shows that people often prefer to live simply at home than
to live lavishly at someone else's house.
Note: The Greek maxim pronounced by the tortoise can be translated
literally as 'home is dear, home is best,' oikos philos, oikos aristos.
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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