Aesop's Fables: Townsend (1867)
113. The Three Tradesmen (Perry)
A GREAT CITY was besieged, and its inhabitants were called together to
consider the best means of protecting it from the enemy. A Bricklayer
earnestly recommended bricks as affording the best material for an effective
resistance. A Carpenter, with equal enthusiasm, proposed timber as a preferable
method of defense. Upon which a Currier stood up and said, 'Sirs, I differ
from you altogether: there is no material for resistance equal to a covering
of hides; and nothing so good as leather.'
Every man for himself.
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. |