Aesop's Fables: Townsend (1867)
104. The Lion and the Boar (Perry 338)
ON A SUMMER DAY, when the great heat induced a general thirst among the
beasts, a Lion and a Boar came at the same moment to a small well to drink.
They fiercely disputed which of them should drink first, and were soon
engaged in the agonies of a mortal combat. When they stopped suddenly
to catch their breath for a fiercer renewal of the fight, they saw some
Vultures waiting in the distance to feast on the one that should fall
first. They at once made up their quarrel, saying, 'It is better for us
to make friends, than to become the food of Crows or Vultures.'

George Fyler Townsend's translation of the fables, first published in 1867, is
in the public domain and can be found at many websites, including Project
Gutenberg.
Illustrations come from: Aesop's Fables, by George Fyler Townsend, with
illustrations by Harrison Weir, 1867, at Google
Books. |