Aesop's Fables, translated by Laura Gibbs (2002)
521. HERMES AND THE ARABS
Perry 309 (Babrius
57)
Hermes filled a cart with lies and dishonesty and all sorts of wicked
tricks, and he journeyed in this cart throughout the land, going hither
and thither from one tribe to another, dispensing to each nation a small
portion of his wares. When he reached the land of the Arabs, so the story
goes, his cart suddenly broke down along the way and was stuck there.
The Arabs seized the contents of the cart as if it were a merchant's valuable
cargo, stripping the cart bare and preventing Hermes from continuing on
his journey, although there were still some people he had not yet visited.
As a result, Arabs are liars and charlatans, as I myself have learned
from experience. There is not a word of truth that springs from their
lips.
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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