Perry's Index to the Aesopica
Fables exist in many versions; here is one version in English:
THE LION AND THE FARMER
A lion entered a farmer's yard and the farmer, wanting to capture the lion,
shut the outer gate. The lion, unable to get out, first devoured all the sheep
and then turned his attention to the cattle. The farmer became afraid for his
own safety so he opened the door. After the lion had gone away, the farmer's
wife saw the farmer groaning and said to him, 'It serves you right! Why did
you want to shut yourself up with the sort of creature you should run away from
even at a distance?'
In the same way people who provoke those stronger than themselves must naturally
suffer the consequences of their mistake. |
 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.
| In Perry 144, a farmer foolishly
shuts a lion in his barnyard. In Perry 365,
a man is about to enclose a wolf in the sheepfold, when he is warned
of his mistake by his dog. |
Perry 144: Gibbs (Oxford) 438 [English]
Perry 144: Townsend 131 [English]
Perry 144: Chambry 197 [Greek]
You can find a compilation of Perry's index to the Aesopica in the gigantic appendix to his
edition of Babrius and Phaedrus for the Loeb Classical Library
(Harvard University Press: Cambridge, 1965). This book is an absolute must for anyone interested
in the Aesopic fable tradition. Invaluable.
|
