Aesop's Fables, translated by Laura Gibbs (2002)
522. HERMES AND THE EARTH
Perry 102 (Chambry
109)
When Zeus had fashioned man and woman, he ordered Hermes to take them
to Gaia, the Earth, and to show them how to obtain food by digging in
the ground. At first, the Earth refused to cooperate in Hermes' mission.
Hermes then compelled her, saying that Zeus had ordered her to do so.
Earth replied, 'Then let them dig as much as they like, but they will
pay for it with groans and tears!'
This fable is suitable for those people who casually take out loans
but who then find it difficult to pay them back.
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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