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

68. THE HUNTING DOG AND THE WATCH DOG
Perry 92 (Chambry 175 *)

There was a man who had two dogs. He taught one to hunt and the other to be a watchdog. Whenever the hunting dog caught something, the watchdog would also share in the spoils. This made the hunting dog angry at the watchdog, since he had to work for everything he had while the watchdog lived off the fruits of his labour without doing anything. The watchdog retorted, 'Don't blame me! It's our master's fault. Since he didn't teach me how to work, I only know how to eat the food that others earn.'
This fable shows that the same is true of children: it is not their fault if they don't know how to do anything, since this is how their parents have raised them.

Note: A similar story is associated with the legendary Spartan lawgiver Lycurgus (in Plutarch, Sayings of the Spartans): Lycurgus took two dogs and raised them differently, one as a hunter and one as a house dog, in order to demonstrate the degree to which education determines excellence.


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.