Aesop's Fables: Townsend (1867)
133. The Swan and the Goose (Perry
399)
A CERTAIN rich man bought in the market a Goose and a Swan. He fed the
one for his table and kept the other for the sake of its song. When the
time came for killing the Goose, the cook went to get him at night, when
it was dark, and he was not able to distinguish one bird from the other.
By mistake he caught the Swan instead of the Goose. The Swan, threatened
with death, burst forth into song and thus made himself known by his voice,
and preserved his life by his melody.
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. |