Aesop's Fables: Townsend (1867)
212. The Dog, the Cock, and the Fox (Perry
252)
A DOG and a Cock being great friends, agreed to travel together. At nightfall
they took shelter in a thick wood. The Cock flying up, perched himself
on the branches of a tree, while the Dog found a bed beneath in the hollow
trunk. When the morning dawned, the Cock, as usual, crowed very loudly
several times. A Fox heard the sound, and wishing to make a breakfast
on him, came and stood under the branches, saying how earnestly he desired
to make the acquaintance of the owner of so magnificent a voice. The Cock,
suspecting his civilities, said: 'Sir, I wish you would do me the favor
of going around to the hollow trunk below me, and waking my porter, so
that he may open the door and let you in.' When the Fox approached the
tree, the Dog sprang out and caught him, and tore him to pieces.
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. |