A rich man had two daughters. One of them having died, he hired mourning women for pay. The other daughter said to her mother, "How unlucky we are: it is we whom the mourning concerns and we don't know how to make the lamentations, while these women, who are nothing to us, beat themselves and weep with such violence." The mother replied, "Do not be surprised, my child, if these women make such pitiful lamentations: they make them for money."
Some people are willing to profit from the grief of others.Moral
Nº 2The Statue SellerA man carved a wooden statue of the god Hermes and took it to the market, but no buyer came near. Hoping to attract one, he began to call out that he…Read the fable →
Nº 292The Child Who Eats the OffalSome shepherds sacrificing a goat in the country invited their neighbours. Among them was a poor woman who brought her child with her. As the feast…Read the fable →
Nº 10The Athenian DebtorIn Athens a debtor, pressed by his creditor to pay, first begged for more time, pleading hardship. When that failed, he brought out the one sow he…Read the fable →One fable, every Sunday, in your inbox.