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Aesop's Fables: Townsend (1867)121. The Bee and Jupiter (Perry 163) A BEE from Mount Hymettus, the queen of the hive, ascended to Olympus
to present Jupiter some honey fresh from her combs. Jupiter, delighted
with the offering of honey, promised to give whatever she should ask.
She therefore besought him, saying, 'Give me, I pray thee, a sting, that
if any mortal shall approach to take my honey, I may kill him.' Jupiter
was much displeased, for he loved the race of man, but could not refuse
the request because of his promise. He thus answered the Bee: 'You shall
have your request, but it will be at the peril of your own life. For if
you use your sting, it shall remain in the wound you make, and then you
will die from the loss of it.' 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. |
