Aesop's Fables (Joseph Jacobs)
Jacobs 32. The Horse, Hunter, and Stag (Perry
269)
A quarrel had arisen between the Horse and the Stag, so the Horse came
to a Hunter to ask his help to take revenge on the Stag. The Hunter agreed,
but said: "If you desire to conquer the Stag, you must permit me
to place this piece of iron between your jaws, so that I may guide you
with these reins, and allow this saddle to be placed upon your back so
that I may keep steady upon you as we follow after the enemy." The
Horse agreed to the conditions, and the Hunter soon saddled and bridled
him. Then with the aid of the Hunter the Horse soon overcame the Stag,
and said to the Hunter: "Now, get off, and remove those things from
my mouth and back."
"Not so fast, friend," said the Hunter. "I have now got
you under bit and spur, and prefer to keep you as you are at present."
If you allow men to use you for your own purposes, they will use you
for theirs.
The
Fables of Aesop, by Joseph Jacobs with illustrations by
Richard Heighway (1894). The page images come from Google
Books. The digitized text comes from Project
Gutenberg. You can purchase this inexpensive Dover edition, The
Fables of Aesop by Joseph Jacobs from amazon.com.
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