Aesop's Fables, translated by Laura Gibbs (2002)
102. THE DOGS AND THE CROCODILES
Perry 482 (Phaedrus
1.25)
If you try to deceive someone who has his wits about him, you will
waste your time and be made fun of as well.
Legend has it that when dogs drink from the Nile they do so on the run
to avoid being caught by the crocodiles. So when a certain dog started
to lap some water as he ran, a crocodile said, 'Drink as much as you want,
take your time, don't be afraid!' The dog then said to the crocodile,
'By god, I would do just that, if I didn't already know that you have
a craving for my flesh!'
Note: This same motif is found in Pliny,
Natural History 8.61: 'when they lap from the Nile they do so at
a run, so that they won't give the hungry crocodiles a chance to eat
them.'
 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.
|
