Aesop's Fables: Townsend (1867)
171. The Wolves and the Sheepdogs (Perry
342)
THE WOLVES thus addressed the Sheepdogs: 'Why should you, who are like
us in so many things, not be entirely of one mind with us, and live with
us as brothers should? We differ from you in one point only. We live in
freedom, but you bow down to and slave for men, who in return for your
services flog you with whips and put collars on your necks. They make
you also guard their sheep, and while they eat the mutton throw only the
bones to you. If you will be persuaded by us, you will give us the sheep,
and we will enjoy them in common, till we all are surfeited.' The Dogs
listened favorably to these proposals, and, entering the den of the Wolves,
they were set upon and torn to pieces.
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. |