<< Home Page | Oxford (Gibbs) Index

Aesop's Fables, translated by Laura Gibbs (2002)

457. THE HUNTERS AND THE DEER WITH ONE EYE
Perry 75 (Chambry 105 *)

There was a deer who had lost an eye, so she lived on the shore, keeping her good eye towards the land, looking for hunters. Meanwhile, she turned her blind eye towards the sea, since she did not expect any danger from that direction. Then some men came sailing by, took aim, and shot the deer. The deer bewailed her fate, since she had been afraid of something that didn't affect her at all, while she was undone by something she didn't even think was dangerous.
The fable shows that the things we think are harmful turn out to be helpful, and the things we think are helpful turn out harmful.


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.