Aesop's Fables, translated by Laura Gibbs (2002)
149. THE FOX, THE ROOSTER AND THE DOG
Perry 252 (Chambry
180 *)
A dog and a rooster had become friends and were making a journey together.
When night fell, they came to a place in the woods. The rooster took his
seat up in the branches of a tree while the dog went to sleep in a hollow
at the foot of the tree. The night passed and day was dawning when the
rooster crowed loudly, as roosters usually do. A fox heard the rooster
and wanted to make a meal of him, so she came running up and stood at
the foot of the tree and shouted to the rooster, 'You are an excellent
bird and so useful to people! Why don't you come down and we'll sing some
songs together, delighting in one another's company.' The rooster replied,
'Go over to the foot of the tree, my dear, and tell the watchman to let
you in.' When the fox went to announce herself, the dog suddenly leaped
up and grabbed the fox, tearing her to pieces.
The story shows that people are the same way: if you are wise, you
take up arms to save yourself whenever you run into trouble.
Source:
Aesop's Fables. A new translation by Laura
Gibbs.
Oxford University Press (World's Classics): Oxford, 2002.
NOTE: New
cover, with new ISBN, published in 2008; contents of book unchanged.
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