A serpent crept up to a ploughman's child and killed him. The ploughman felt terrible grief; so, taking an axe, he went to lie in wait by the serpent's hole, ready to strike it the moment it came out. When the serpent put its head out, the ploughman brought down his axe, but missed and split the nearby rock in two. Afterwards, fearing the serpent's revenge, he urged it to make peace with him; but the serpent replied, "We can no longer hold kind feelings, neither I for you, when I see the gash in the rock, nor you for me, when you look on your child's grave."
Great hatreds hardly lend themselves to reconciliation.
Nº 331The Wasp and the SerpentOne day a wasp settled on a serpent's head and tormented it, stinging it relentlessly with its sting. The serpent, mad with pain and unable to be…Read the fable →
Nº 3The Eagle and the FoxAn eagle and a fox became friends and chose to live near one another. But the eagle, from her high nest, swooped down, carried off the fox's cubs,…Read the fable →
Nº 4The Eagle and the BeetleAn eagle was chasing a hare, who in his terror begged a lowly dung beetle for protection. The beetle pleaded for the hare's life, but the eagle,…Read the fable →