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Aesop's Fables: Townsend (1867)128. The Fisherman and the Little Fish (Perry 18) A FISHERMAN who lived on the produce of his nets, one day caught a single small Fish as the result of his day's labor. The Fish, panting convulsively, thus entreated for his life: 'O Sir, what good can I be to you, and how little am I worth? I am not yet come to my full size. Pray spare my life, and put me back into the sea. I shall soon become a large fish fit for the tables of the rich, and then you can catch me again, and make a handsome profit of me.' The Fisherman replied, 'I should indeed be a very simple fellow if, for the chance of a greater uncertain profit, I were to forego my present certain gain.'
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. |
