Aesop's Fables: Townsend (1867)
251. The Fox and the Crane (Perry 426)
A FOX invited a Crane to supper and provided nothing for his entertainment
but some soup made of pulse, which was poured out onto a broad flat stone
dish. The soup fell out of the long bill of the Crane at every mouthful,
and his vexation at not being able to eat afforded the Fox much amusement.
The Crane, in his turn, asked the Fox to sup with him, and set before
her a flagon with a long narrow mouth, so that he could easily insert
his neck and enjoy its contents at his leisure. The Fox, unable even to
taste it, met with a fitting requital, after the fashion of her own hospitality.
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. |