Aesop's Fables, translated by Laura Gibbs (2002)
596. THE HARE AND THE FOX
Perry 333 (Chambry
192)
The hare said to the fox, 'They say you are very artful, fox. What art
is it that you practice exactly?' The fox replied, 'If you don't know
my arts, I will have you to dinner so that you can get a taste of my art.'
The hare followed the fox to her den but the fox had nothing there to
eat except for the hare himself. The hare exclaimed, 'I have learned to
my cost that your name does not derive from any kind of artistry but from
fraud!'
The fable shows that overly curious people often pay a very high price
for recklessly indulging their curiosity.
Note: The Greek fable relies on wordplay involving a nickname for the
fox, kerdo, which is related to trickery and profit-making.
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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