Townsend 281. The She-Goats and Their Beards

Aesop's Fables: Townsend (1867)

281. The She-Goats and Their Beards (Perry 516)

THE SHE-GOATS having obtained a beard by request to Jupiter, the He-Goats were sorely displeased and made complaint that the females equaled them in dignity. 'Allow them,' said Jupiter, 'to enjoy an empty honor and to assume the badge of your nobler sex, so long as they are not your equals in strength or courage.'
It matters little if those who are inferior to us in merit should be like us in outside appearances.

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.