Aesop's Fables (Penguin Classics) - Aesop [18]
Ingratitude is as blind as it is base.
LXXXIX
The Fox Without a Tail
A fox was once caught in a trap, and the only way he could save himself was by leaving his tail behind him. Knowing that without a tail he would be the laughing stock of all the other foxes, he almost wished that he had died rather than having saved himself. Determined to make the best of a bad situation, he called a meeting of the foxes and proposed that everyone should follow his example.
“You have no idea of the ease and comfort with which I now move about,” he asserted. “I would never have believed it if I hadn’t tried it myself. But when you really think about it, a tail is such an ugly, inconvenient, unnecessary appendage, and the only wonder is that we, as foxes, could have put up with it so long. Therefore, I propose, my worthy brethren, that you all profit from my wonderful experience and that, from this day on, all foxes should cut off their tails.”
When he sat down, a sly old fellow stood up, and waving his long brush with a graceful air, he said, “If I had lost my tail as you did, my friend, your proposal would be very convincing. But until I have such an accident, my vote will always be in favor of keeping our tails.”
Be wary of advice prompted by selfishness.
XC
The Horse and the Stag
A horse once had a whole meadow to himself, but a stag came and damaged the pasture. Anxious to gain revenge, the horse asked a man if he would help him punish the stag.
“Yes,” said the man, “but you must let me put a bit in your mouth and get on your back. Then I’ll find the weapons to punish the stag.”
The horse agreed, and the man mounted him. From that time on, however, instead of gaining revenge, the horse has been the slave of mankind.
Revenge may be not be worth the price when you pay for it with your liberty.
XCI
The Mischievous Dog
There was once a dog so wild and mischievous that his master was obliged to fasten a heavy collar with a bell around his neck to prevent him from biting and worrying his neighbors. The dog was so proud of his badge that he paraded about in the marketplace, shaking his collar to attract attention. But a sly old friend admonished him, “The less noise you make, the better. Your collar is not a mark of distinction but a sign of disgrace!”
Men often mistake notoriety for fame.
XCII
The Geese and the Cranes
Some geese and cranes were feeding together in the same field one day, when a bird-catcher suddenly came upon them. Since the cranes were slim and light, they could fly off right away and escape the birdcatcher’s nets. The geese, however, weighed down by their fat, could not take off so easily and were all captured.
Those who are caught are not always the most guilty.
XCIII
The Quack Frog
Emerging from the mud of a swamp, a frog proclaimed to the entire world that he had surfaced to cure all diseases.
“Come and see the most miraculous doctor in the world!” he cried. “No one is my equal, not even Aesculapius himself, Jove’s physician!”
“How dare you pretend to be able to heal others,” asked the fox, “when you’re not even able to cure your own limping gait and blotched and wrinkled skin?”
A man’s professions can only be tested by his practice. Physician, heal yourself!
XCIV
Mercury and the Woodcutter
While chopping down a tree on the bank of a river, a woodcutter let his ax slip by chance into the water, and it immediately sank to the bottom. This accident upset him so much that he sat down by the side of the stream and lamented his carelessness with bitter tears. Fortunately, Mercury, whose river it was, took pity on him and suddenly appeared. After he heard what had happened, he dived to the bottom of the river and brought back a golden ax. Then he asked the woodcutter whether the ax was his. When the man said no, Mercury dived a second time and brought back a silver one. Again the man said that it was not his. Finally, after diving a third time, Mercury produced the ax that the man had lost.
“That’s mine!” said the woodsman, delighted