Perry's Index to the Aesopica
Fables exist in many versions; here is one version in English:
THE DONKEY AND THE LION GO HUNTING
By boasting about his prowess, the coward is able to fool
strangers but he remains a laughing-stock to all who know him.
A lion chose a donkey as his hunting companion and hid him in the bushes, ordering
the donkey to frighten the wild animals with his unfamiliar voice while the lion
ambushed the fleeing animals. Following the lion's instructions, our long-eared
friend immediately began to bray with all his might. The animals were startled
by this strange and amazing sound and they ran in terror toward their familiar
hiding places, thus falling victim to the lion's violent attack. When the lion
was exhausted by the slaughter, he summoned the donkey and told him to be quiet.
The insolent creature then said to the lion, 'And what did you think of my vocalizing
efforts?' 'Truly remarkable,' said the lion. 'In fact, if I didn't know already
that you were a donkey born and bred, I also would have fled in fear.' |
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.
Perry 151: Caxton 4.10 [English]
Perry 151: Gibbs (Oxford) 217 [English]
Perry 151: Steinhowel 4.10 [Latin, illustrated] Mannheim
University Library
Perry 151: Chambry 208 [Greek]
Perry 151: Phaedrus 1.11 [Latin]
Perry 151: Rom. Anglicus 83 [Latin]
Perry 151: Rom. Nil. (metrica) 40 [Latin]
Perry 151: Rom. Nil. (rhythmica) 2.26
[Latin]
You can find a compilation of Perry's index to the Aesopica in the gigantic appendix to his
edition of Babrius and Phaedrus for the Loeb Classical Library
(Harvard University Press: Cambridge, 1965). This book is an absolute must for anyone interested
in the Aesopic fable tradition. Invaluable.
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