The Foxes by the Meander

One day some foxes gathered on the banks of the river Meander, meaning to drink. But the water rushed by with such a roar that, urge one another as they might, none dared venture in. Then one of them, to shame the rest, mocked their cowardice; and, boasting that he was braver than the others, he leapt boldly into the water. As the current swept him towards the middle, the others called from the bank, "Don't abandon us! Come back, and show us the place where we can drink safely." And he, carried off by the current, called back, "I have a message for Miletus, and I mean to deliver it; I'll show you the way on my return."