Aesop's Fables: Townsend (1867)
17. The Herdsman and the Lost Bull (Perry
49)
A HERDSMAN tending his flock in a forest lost a Bull-calf from the fold.
After a long and fruitless search, he made a vow that, if he could only
discover the thief who had stolen the Calf, he would offer a lamb in sacrifice
to Hermes, Pan, and the Guardian Deities of the forest. Not long afterwards,
as he ascended a small hillock, he saw at its foot a Lion feeding on the
Calf. Terrified at the sight, he lifted his eyes and his hands to heaven,
and said: 'Just now I vowed to offer a lamb to the Guardian Deities of
the forest if I could only find out who had robbed me; but now that I
have discovered the thief, I would willingly add a full-grown Bull to
the Calf I have lost, if I may only secure my own escape from him in safety.'
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. |