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

71. THE ANT, THE PIGEON AND THE BIRD-CATCHER
Perry 235 (Chambry 242 *)

An ant was thirsty and went down to a spring expecting to take a drink of water, but instead he found himself in danger of drowning. A pigeon snapped off a leaf from a nearby tree and threw it to the ant so that he could save himself by climbing up onto the leaf. Meanwhile, a bird catcher showed up and prepared his limed reeds, intending to capture the pigeon. The ant then bit the bird catcher on the foot which caused the bird catcher to shake his limed reeds, warning the pigeon who flew off to safety.
The story shows that even dumb beasts experience fellow feeling and come to one another's aid.

Note: For a more detailed description of the bird catcher's use of a snare made of extensible reeds coated with viscous birdlime, see Fable 138.

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.