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

414. THE PIG, THE DONKEY AND THE BARLEY
Perry 526 (Phaedrus 5.4)

There was a man who had vowed that he would sacrifice a pig in honour of Hercules if the god agreed to rescue him from danger. When the man fulfilled his vow and sacrificed the pig, he then ordered that the pig's leftover barley be given to the donkey. The donkey, however, refused to touch it. 'This is the kind of food that would normally arouse my appetite,' said the horse, 'but not when it is the result of the previous diner having had his throat cut!'
This fable taught me caution and I have avoided risky business ventures ever since - but you say 'those who grab wealth get to keep it.' Just remember how many of them are eventually caught and killed! Clearly, the ones who have been punished constitute the larger crowd. A few people may profit from reckless behaviour, but many more are ruined by it.


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.