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

540. THE BOYS AND THE BUTCHER
Perry 66 (Chambry 246 *)

Two young boys were standing next to the butcher. Then, when the butcher was occupied in some business of his own, one of the boys grabbed a piece of meat and hid it in the folds of the other boy's garment. When the butcher turned around and looked for the meat, the boy who had taken the meat swore he didn't have it, and the one who had the meat swore he hadn't taken it. When the butcher realized the wicked trick the boys had played, he said, 'Even if you manage to deceive me, you will never deceive the god by whom you have sworn falsely!'
The fable shows that even if we succeed in deceiving our fellows by swearing falsely, there is no way that we can deceive the gods.


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.