Aesop's Fables: Townsend (1867)
288. The Ant and the Dove (Perry 235)
AN ANT went to the bank of a river to quench its thirst, and being carried
away by the rush of the stream, was on the point of drowning. A Dove sitting
on a tree overhanging the water plucked a leaf and let it fall into the
stream close to her. The Ant climbed onto it and floated in safety to
the bank. Shortly afterwards a birdcatcher came and stood under the tree,
and laid his lime-twigs for the Dove, which sat in the branches. The Ant,
perceiving his design, stung him in the foot. In pain the birdcatcher
threw down the twigs, and the noise made the Dove take wing.
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. |