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

51. THE HARES AND THE FOXES
Perry 256 (Syntipas 22)

The hares were at war with an eagle and they asked the foxes to be their allies. The foxes said in reply, 'We would agree to be your allies, if we didn't know what sort of creatures you are and who you are fighting against!'
This fable indicts people who attack someone who is more powerful than they are and thus bring ruin upon themselves.


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.