THE MONKEY AND THE DOLPHIN

It is common to take Maltese dogs and pet monkeys on long sea voyages in order to relieve the boredom of the passage. A man who was planning to make such a voyage had brought his monkey along with him but when the ship had reached Cape Sounion (which is a sea promontory near Athens), they were met by a fierce winter storm. The ship was capsized and everyone was thrown into the water. The monkey also started swimming and was spotted by a dolphin, who thought the monkey was a man. The dolphin swam up under the monkey and carried him through the water. When they were approaching Piraeus, the Athenian harbor, the dolphin asked the monkey if he was originally from Athens. The monkey said that he was, and that he happened to be from an illustrious family. The dolphin then asked if he knew Piraeus. The monkey thought that Piraeus must be a person's name, so he said that, yes, Piraeus was a near and dear friend of his. The dolphin was infuriated by the monkey's lying words, so he plunged the creature into the water and killed him.
This fable is suitable for a man who tells lies.