Aesop's Fables: Townsend (1867)
219. The Fishermen (Perry 13)
SOME FISHERMEN were out trawling their nets. Perceiving them to be very
heavy, they danced about for joy and supposed that they had taken a large
catch. When they had dragged the nets to the shore they found but few
fish: the nets were full of sand and stones, and the men were beyond measure
cast down so much at the disappointment which had befallen them, but because
they had formed such very different expectations. One of their company,
an old man, said, 'Let us cease lamenting, my mates, for, as it seems
to me, sorrow is always the twin sister of joy; and it was only to be
looked for that we, who just now were over-rejoiced, should next have
something to make us sad.'
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. |