Perry's Index to the Aesopica
Fables exist in many versions; here is one version in English:
THE CAMEL AND THE PEOPLE
The first time that they saw the camel, the people were afraid and ran away,
awestruck by her immense size. Yet as time went by, they recognized the camel's
gentle nature and grew bold enough to approach her. Gradually they realized
that this was a creature who was incapable of anger. Their contempt for the
camel finally reached the point that they placed a bridle on the camel and allowed
their children to ride her.
The fable shows that familiarity mollifies even the most terrifying things. |
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.
Perry 195: Gibbs (Oxford) 268 [English]
Perry 195: L'Estrange 70 [English]
Perry 195: Townsend 174 [English]
Perry 195: Chambry 148 [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.
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