Perry's Index to the Aesopica
Fables exist in many versions; here is one version in English:
THE WITCH ON TRIAL
There was a witch who claimed to be able to perform magic ceremonies to avert
divine wrath. She was often employed for such purposes and earned a considerable
profit in this line of work. Certain people then accused her of sacrilege. The
woman was arrested and condemned to death. As they were leading her away, someone
saw her and said, 'You claimed to be able to turn aside the anger of the gods,
so why weren't you able to ward off the plans of mere mortals?'
The fable shows that people often make extravagant promises which they are
completely unable to carry out. |
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 56: Gibbs (Oxford) 315 [English]
Perry 56: L'Estrange 89 [English]
Perry 56: Chambry 91 [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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