Aesop's Fables: Townsend (1867)
181. The Eagle, the Cat, and the Wild Sow (Perry
488)
AN EAGLE made her nest at the top of a lofty oak; a Cat, having found
a convenient hole, moved into the middle of the trunk; and a Wild Sow,
with her young, took shelter in a hollow at its foot. The Cat cunningly
resolved to destroy this chance-made colony. To carry out her design,
she climbed to the nest of the Eagle, and said, 'Destruction is preparing
for you, and for me too, unfortunately. The Wild Sow, whom you see daily
digging up the earth, wishes to uproot the oak, so she may on its fall
seize our families as food for her young.' Having thus frightened the
Eagle out of her senses, she crept down to the cave of the Sow, and said,
'Your children are in great danger; for as soon as you go out with your
litter to find food, the Eagle is prepared to pounce upon one of your
little pigs.' Having instilled these fears into the Sow, she went and
pretended to hide herself in the hollow of the tree. When night came she
went forth with silent foot and obtained food for herself and her kittens,
but feigning to be afraid, she kept a lookout all through the day. Meanwhile,
the Eagle, full of fear of the Sow, sat still on the branches, and the
Sow, terrified by the Eagle, did not dare to go out from her cave. And
thus they both, along with their families, perished from hunger, and afforded
ample provision for the Cat and her kittens.
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. |