by Aesop
343
The Bald Horseman
A bald man who had put false hair on the top of his head was riding along the road. A puff of wind blew off the man’s false hair and the people who saw it all burst out laughing at his misfortune. So, stopping his horse, the man said:
‘Is it so strange that I can’t keep hair which isn’t my own on my head when it couldn’t even stay on the head of its rightful owner where it grew naturally?’
It is no good our grieving from accidents which arise. What Nature did not give us at birth we know we can never keep. Naked we come, naked we depart.
344
The Miser
A miser turned his riches into gold, made an ingot of it and buried it in a certain place where he might be said also to have deposited his heart and spirit. Every day he went to gloat over his treasure. A labourer watched him and guessed what he was up to and, digging up the ingot, carried it off. Some time later the miser returned to the spot and found the empty hole. He began to moan and tear out his hair. A passer-by, seeing him lamenting thus and learning the reason why, said to him:
‘Don’t despair like that, friend. For when you had all that gold you didn’t really have it. Take a stone and put that in the earth instead, and imagine that it is your gold. It will serve the same purpose. For, as far as I can see, even when the gold was there you made no use of it.’
This fable shows that, without enjoyment, possession is nothing.
345
The Blacksmith and His Puppy
A blacksmith had a puppy. While he was forging the puppy slept, but when he sat down to eat the puppy went and sat down beside him. Throwing him a bone, the blacksmith said to the puppy:
‘Wretched creature! Always sleeping! When I strike my anvil you sleep but as soon as I move my jaws you wake up instantly!’
Sleepy and idle people who live off the labour of others will recognize themselves in this fable.
346
Winter and Spring
One day, Winter mocked Spring and made fun of her: as soon as Spring arrived, no one had any peace any longer. Some people would go off to the meadows or to the forests, happy to gather blossom, lilies and roses, admire them and put them in their hair. Others would take to their ships and perhaps cross the sea to meet men of other lands. No one had any further fear of winds or floods.
‘I am like a ruler and absolute despot,’ said Winter. ‘I bid them to turn their gaze not up to the heavens but to cast their eyes down to the earth in fear and trembling, and to stay in sometimes and resign themselves to protecting their homes all day long.’
‘That’s why,’ replied the Spring, ‘people have pleasure in being rid of you. But, on the contrary, my very name to them is a thing of beauty, the most beautiful of all names, by Zeus! So that when I disappear they treasure my memory and as soon as I appear they are full of joy.’
347
The Swallow and the Serpent
A swallow who had nested inside a court of justice had flown off for a while. A serpent crept up and gobbled up her little ones. Finding the nest empty upon her return, she wailed, beside herself with grief. To console her another swallow told her that she wasn’t the only one to have had the misfortune to lose her babies.
‘Ah!’ she replied, ‘I am less distressed to have lost my young than that I should be a victim of a crime in a place where victims of violence should find help.’
This fable shows that ill luck or calamity is often more difficult to bear when it comes from those from whom one least expects it.
348
The Swallow and the Crow Obstinately Contending over Their Beauty
The swallow and the crow were disputing their beauty. To the swallow’s argument, the crow replied:
‘Your beauty flourishes only during the spring. But mine survives the winter.’
This fable shows that it is better to prolong one’s life than to be beautiful.
349
The House-martin and the Birds
When the first mistletoe grew, the martin, sensing the danger which faced the birds, drew them all together and advised them urgently to cut off the mistletoe from the branches of the oaks where it grew; but, if that was not possible, to take refuge with men and beg them not to use mistletoe birdlime in order to trap them. The other birds laughed at the martin as being in her dotage. Hence she took herself off to live with men as a supplicant. They made her welcome for her intelligence and gave her a sanctuary at their homes. Thus it happened that the other birds were caught and eaten by men and only the martin, protected and sheltered by them, nests fearlessly even on their houses.
This fable shows that one escapes danger when one anticipates the future.
NOTE: The Greeks did not distinguish the swallow from the martin, so that the same word refers to both; in this case, evidently the house-martin seems to be referred to, as it was extremely common in ancient Greece. As for mistletoe, it rarely grows on oaks, but here it is assumed that it does, indicating that the fable was composed by someone who was not a countryman. There is another version of this fable, featuring an owl instead of a house-martin, preserved in the first century Rylands Papyrus, and the author Dio Chrysostom also recounts that version. As for the use of mistletoe berries to make bird-lime to trap birds, we have encountered this before; see the note to 137. See also Fables 157 and 242 for birdlime, and 9 for house-martins.
350
The Boastful Swallow and the Crow
The swallow told the crow:
‘I am a maiden, an Athenian, a princess, daughter of the King of Athens.’
And she went on to relate how Tereus had raped her and cut out her tongue. The crow retorted:
‘What would you do if you had your tongue, when without it you chatter so much?’
Through lying, boastful people testify against themselves.
NOTE: See note to 9. This fable is a joke based upon the mythological account of the rape of Philomela of Athens by the Thracian prince Tereus. Procne and Philomela were sisters, daughters of King Pandion of Athens. In return for assistance given in war, Procne was given to Prince Tereus in marriage. However, Tereus went back to Athens to fetch her sister Philomela, pretending that Procne had died. Then Tereus raped Philomela and, in order to prevent her telling anyone, he cut out her tongue. Procne learned of the rape because Philomela eventually wove a robe which depicted the scene and the event (note that it is presumed in the myth that the sisters were illiterate so that written communication was impossible).
The two sisters got their revenge by murdering Procne’s son by Tereus, named Itys, and serving him up to Tereus to eat. Then Tereus changed into a hoopoe, Procne changed into a nightingale and Philomela became a swallow. Since this story was well known to all, the joke is that a boastful swallow is pretending to be Philomela.
351
The Tortoise and the Eagle
A tortoise begged an eagle to teach him to fly. The eagle pointed out that he was not made to fly – far from it! But the tortoise only pleaded with him even more. So the eagle took him in his talons, flew up into the air and then let him go. The tortoise fell on to the rocks and was smashed to pieces.
This fable shows that often, in wanting to compete with others in spite of wiser council, we can do ourselves harm.
352
The Tortoise and the Hare
The tortoise and the hare argued over which was the swifter. So, as a result, they agreed a fixed period of time and a place and parted company. Now the hare, trusting in his natural speed, didn’t hurry to set out. He lay down at the side of the road and fell asleep. But the tortoise, well aware of his slowness, didn’t stop running and, overtaking the sleeping hare, he arrived first and won the contest.
This fable shows that hard work often prevails over natural talents if they are neglected.
353
The Wild Geese and the Cranes
Some wild geese and cranes were foraging for food in the same wet grassland [leimon] when hunters
suddenly appeared. The cranes flew off lightly but the geese, hindered by the heaviness of their bodies, were caught.
It is also like this with people; when a city is taken in war, the poor people easily save themselves by migrating from one land to another, thus preserving their liberty. But the rich are held back by the weight of their wealth and often become enslaved.
354
The Pots
An earthenware pot and a bronze pot were being carried downstream by a river. The earthenware pot said to the bronze pot:
‘Swim away from me, not beside me. For, if you bump into me, I will burst into pieces; likewise if I touch you, even unintentionally.’
Life is uncertain for the poor person who has a rapacious ruler for a neighbour.
355
The Parrot and the House-ferret
A man who had bought a parrot let it fly freely in his house. The parrot, who was tame, jumped up and perched in the hearth, and from there began to cackle in a pleasant way. A house-ferret, seeing him there, asked him who he was and from whence he came. He replied:
‘The Master went out to buy me.’
The house-ferret replied:
‘And you dare, most shameless creature – newcomer! – to make such sounds, whereas I, who was born in this house, am forbidden by the Master to cry out, and if sometimes I do, he beats me and throws me out of the door!’
The parrot replied:
‘Oh, go for a long walk! [i.e. get lost!] There is no comparison to be made between us. My voice doesn’t irritate the master as yours does.’
This fable concerns all malevolent critics who are always ready to throw the blame on to others.
356
The Flea and the Boxer
One day, a flea landed with one jump on to the toe of a sick boxer, and took a bite of it. In a rage, the fighter prepared his nails ready to crush the flea. But it took off and, with its usual hop, escaped him and avoided death. So the boxer said with a sigh:
‘Oh, Herakles! If that is the way you help me against a flea, what can I expect from you when I face my opponents?’
This fable teaches us that we too ought not to call upon the gods all the time for mere trifles, but for more urgent needs.
NOTE: This fable provides interesting evidence that the patron god of fighters and boxers may have been the deified strong-man, Herakles/ Hercules, although Herakles was also ‘the Protector’ in general to the common man.
357
The Flea and the Man
Once, a flea was irritating a man relentlessly. So he caught it and said to it:
‘Who are you, who makes a meal of all my limbs, biting me all over at random?’
The flea answered:
‘That’s the way we live. Don’t kill me, for I can’t do much harm.’
The man started to laugh and said:
‘You’re going to die now, and at my hands, for however great or small the harm it is imperative to stop you breeding.’
This fable shows that it is not necessary to take pity on the wicked, however strong or feeble he may be.
358
The Flea and the Ox
One day, the flea posed this question to the ox:
‘Why do you work all day long for men when you are so big and strong? I, on the other hand, tear their flesh pitilessly and drink my fill of their blood.’
The ox replied:
‘I have gratitude to the human race, for they love and cherish me and often rub my shoulders and my forehead.’
‘Alas!’ replied the flea, ‘for me this rubbing that you like is the worst of misfortunes, since when that happens I am accidentally crushed to death by their hands.’
Thus, through this fable a boaster and rather worthless person is made distraught.