Aesop's Fables: Townsend (1867)
306. The Bald Man and the Fly (Perry
525)
A FLY bit the bare head of a Bald Man who, endeavoring to destroy it,
gave himself a heavy slap. Escaping, the Fly said mockingly, 'You who
have wished to revenge, even with death, the Prick of a tiny insect, see
what you have done to yourself to add insult to injury?' The Bald Man
replied, 'I can easily make peace with myself, because I know there was
no intention to hurt. But you, an ill-favored and contemptible insect
who delights in sucking human blood, I wish that I could have killed you
even if I had incurred a heavier penalty.'
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. |