<< Home Page | Oxford (Gibbs) Index

Aesop's Fables, translated by Laura Gibbs (2002)

254. THE YOUNG MAN AND THE PROSTITUTE
Perry 555 (Phaedrus App. 29)

A dishonest prostitute was trying to seduce a young man and he willingly gave himself over to her deceptions, even though she often caused him considerable pain and suffering. The scheming creature would say things like, 'Although many men vie for my favours with gifts, I value you the most of all.' Thinking about how often she had tricked him, the young man remarked, 'I am glad to hear it, my darling - not because I believe you, but because what you say pleases me.'

Note: There is a promythium appended to the fable in Perotti's Appendix: 'The things which bring us pleasure can often be hazardous as well.'

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.