FableNº 312

The Shepherd and the Dog That Fawns on the Sheep

A shepherd who had a very big dog used to throw it the stillborn lambs and the sheep that happened to die. Now one day when the flock had stayed in the fold, the shepherd saw his dog approaching the ewes and fawning on them. "Hey, you," he cried out to it, "may the fate you wish on these fall on your own head!"

Flattery may conceal a wish for the very misfortune it pretends to lament.

Moral

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