Aesop's Fables, translated by Laura Gibbs (2002)
44. THE DECOYS AND THE DOVES
Perry 238 (Chambry
282)
A bird catcher laid out his net, tying some tame doves to the net as
decoys. He then stood off at a distance, waiting to see what would happen.
Some wild doves flew up to the tame doves and became entangled in the
knots of the net. When the bird catcher ran up and began to grab them,
the wild doves got angry at the tame doves, since the tame doves had not
warned them about the trap even though they were all members of the same
species. The tame doves replied, 'Nevertheless, it is better for us to
protect the interests of our masters than to please our relations.'
The same is true about household servants: they should not be blamed
when their devotion to the master of the house causes them to set aside
any loyalty to their kinfolk.
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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