Aesop's Fables, translated by Laura Gibbs (2002)
158. AESOP AND THE HOOLIGAN
Perry 497 (Phaedrus
3.5)
Success has been the ruin of many a man.
There was a hooligan who struck Aesop with a stone. Aesop said, 'Well
done!' and he even gave the boy a coin. Then he added, 'Confound it, that's
all the cash I've got, but I'll show you more where that came from. Look,
the man coming this way is a wealthy and important person; if you can
hit him with a stone the same way you hit me, you'll get the reward you
deserve.' The hooligan was convinced and did as Aesop told him, but his
hope for a reward brought his reckless daring to ruin: he was arrested
and paid the price for his crime on the cross.
Note: For another example of the Roman punishment of crucifixion, see
Fable 577.
 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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