aesopica.
ENFRESDEITPT
FableNº 11

The Man and the Ethiopian

A man had bought an enslaved Ethiopian, imagining that the colour of his skin was only dirt left by a careless former owner. He took him home and subjected him to every kind of scrubbing and washing to lighten his skin; but he could not change his colour at all, and only made him ill with all the treatment.

A person's true nature stays as it first appeared.
Moral

Similar fables

  1. Illustration for Aesop’s fable “The Blind Man and the Cub”Nº 54The Blind Man and the CubA blind man was used to recognising by touch any animal put into his hands, and to telling what kind it was. One day a wolf cub was held out to him;…Read the fable →
  2. Illustration for Aesop’s fable “The Horse, the Ox, the Dog, and Man”Nº 139The Horse, the Ox, the Dog, and ManWhen Zeus created man, he granted him only a short life. But man, making use of his intelligence, when winter came, built himself a house and lived…Read the fable →
  3. Illustration for Aesop’s fable “Prometheus and Men”Nº 322Prometheus and MenPrometheus, on Zeus's orders, had modelled men and beasts. But Zeus, having noticed that the beasts were far more numerous, ordered him to do away…Read the fable →
The newsletter

One fable, every Sunday, in your inbox.