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

72. THE SNAKE, THE EAGLE AND THE FARMER
Perry 395 (Aphthonius 28)

A story about an eagle and a snake, exhorting us to be the first to grant a favour.
A snake and an eagle were grappling with one another as they fought. The snake had tightened his hold on the eagle when a farmer saw them and freed the eagle from the grip of the snake. The snake was angry about what had happened, so he went and poisoned the man's drinking water. But just as the unsuspecting farmer was about to take a drink, the eagle flew down and snatched the cup out of his hands.
The man who treats others well is rewarded by gratitude.

Note: There is an elaborate version of this story in Aelian, Characteristics of Animals 17.37.


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.