Aesop's Fables: Townsend (1867)
106. The Shepherd and the Sea (Perry
207)
A SHEPHERD, keeping watch over his sheep near the shore, saw the Sea
very calm and smooth, and longed to make a voyage with a view to commerce.
He sold all his flock, invested it in a cargo of dates, and set sail.
But a very great tempest came on, and the ship being in danger of sinking,
he threw all his merchandise overboard, and barely escaped with his life
in the empty ship. Not long afterwards when someone passed by and observed
the unruffled calm of the Sea, he interrupted him and said, 'It is again
in want of dates, and therefore looks quiet.'
George Fyler Townsend's translation of the fables, first published in 1867, is
in the public domain and can be found at many websites, including Project
Gutenberg.
Illustrations come from: Aesop's Fables, by George Fyler Townsend, with
illustrations by Harrison Weir, 1867, at Google
Books. |