Aesop's Fables (Joseph Jacobs)
Jacobs 70. The Hare With Many Friends (Perry)
A Hare was very popular with the other beasts who all claimed to be her
friends. But one day she heard the hounds approaching and hoped to escape
them by the aid of her many Friends. So, she went to the horse, and asked
him to carry her away from the hounds on his back. But he declined, stating
that he had important work to do for his master. "He felt sure,"
he said, "that all her other friends would come to her assistance."
She then applied to the bull, and hoped that he would repel the hounds
with his horns. The bull replied: "I am very sorry, but I have an
appointment with a lady; but I feel sure that our friend the goat will
do what you want." The goat, however, feared that his back might
do her some harm if he took her upon it. The ram, he felt sure, was the
proper friend to apply to. So she went to the ram and told him the case.
The ram replied: "Another time, my dear friend. I do not like to
interfere on the present occasion, as hounds have been known to eat sheep
as well as hares." The Hare then applied, as a last hope, to the
calf, who regretted that he was unable to help her, as he did not like
to take the responsibility upon himself, as so many older persons than
himself had declined the task. By this time the hounds were quite near,
and the Hare took to her heels and luckily escaped.
He that has many friends, has no friends.
The
Fables of Aesop, by Joseph Jacobs with illustrations by
Richard Heighway (1894). The page images come from Google
Books. The digitized text comes from Project
Gutenberg. You can purchase this inexpensive Dover edition, The
Fables of Aesop by Joseph Jacobs from amazon.com.
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