Aesop's Fables, translated by Laura Gibbs (2002)
174. THE SHEEP, THE DOG AND THE WOLF
Perry 478 (Phaedrus
1.17)
Wicked liars generally get their just deserts.
A dog made false accusations against the sheep, demanding that she pay
him back a loaf of bread which, he insisted, the sheep had supposedly
borrowed from him. The dog summoned the wolf as his witness and the wolf
testified that the sheep didn't owe the dog just one loaf of bread: he
swore that she owed him ten! Based on this false evidence, the sheep was
found guilty and was sentenced to pay what she did not owe. A few days
later the sheep found the same wolf lying dead in a ditch. 'This,' said
the sheep, 'is the reward that gods give to liars.'
Note: For a less rousing conclusion, see Fable 175
(following).
 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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