A house was overrun with rats. A cat heard of it, came, and caught them one by one and ate them. The rats, finding themselves steadily taken, kept to their holes. Unable to reach them any longer, the cat decided to lure them out by a trick: he climbed onto a wooden peg, hung from it, and played dead. But one of the rats, poking out his head to look, saw through it and said, "Friend, even if you turned into a sack, I would not come near you."
Sensible people who have experienced someone's malice are not deceived by that person's playacting.
Nº 14The Weasel and the HensA weasel heard that the hens on a farm were sick. She disguised herself as a doctor, took up the instruments of the trade, and went there. Standing…Read the fable →
Nº 40The Fox and the GoatA fox fell into a well and found herself stuck there. A goat, driven by thirst, came to the same well and, spotting the fox, asked whether the water…Read the fable →
Nº 122Zeus and the SerpentWhen Zeus was getting married, all the animals brought him presents, each according to its means. The serpent crawled up to him with a rose in its…Read the fable →