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

505. THE SWALLOW AND THE NIGHTINGALE
Perry 277 (Chambry 9 *)

A swallow once asked a nightingale why she didn't want to come and take up residence with her. The nightingale wept and cried, 'No, it is impossible for me to do that. It brings to mind the grief suffered by my ancestors, which is why I dwell in the wilderness.'
The fable shows that when people feel grief for their misfortunes, they avoid the place where that grief overtook them.

Note: This fable is based on the well-known story of Procne and Philomela (see Fable 213 and the note to that fable). For an explanation of why the swallow decided to dwell in people's houses, see Fable 487.


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.