Aesop's Fables: Townsend (1867)
160. The Lion, the Fox, and the Ass (Perry
149)
THE LION, the Fox and the Ass entered into an agreement to assist each
other in the chase. Having secured a large booty, the Lion on their return
from the forest asked the Ass to allot his due portion to each of the
three partners in the treaty. The Ass carefully divided the spoil into
three equal shares and modestly requested the two others to make the first
choice. The Lion, bursting out into a great rage, devoured the Ass. Then
he requested the Fox to do him the favor to make a division. The Fox accumulated
all that they had killed into one large heap and left to himself the smallest
possible morsel. The Lion said, 'Who has taught you, my very excellent
fellow, the art of division? You are perfect to a fraction.' He replied,
'I learned it from the Ass, by witnessing his fate.'
Happy is the man who learns from the misfortunes of others.
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. |