Two men were travelling together. One of them, having found an axe, the other said, "We have found an axe." "Don't say, 'we have found,'" replied the first, "but, 'you have found.'" A few moments later, they were overtaken by those who had lost the axe, and the one who had it, seeing himself pursued, said to his fellow traveller, "We are done for." "Don't say, 'we are done for,'" replied the other, "but, 'I am done for'; for when you found the axe, you did not make me a partner in your find."
Those who refuse to share a friend's good fortune cannot expect loyalty in adversity.
Nº 254The Travellers and the BearTwo friends were walking along the same road. A bear suddenly appeared before them. One quickly climbed a tree and stayed there hidden; the other,…Read the fable →
Nº 17The Goatherd and the Wild GoatsA goatherd drove his goats to pasture and found wild goats mingled with them, and at nightfall he shut them all in his cave. The next day a great…Read the fable →
Nº 117The Viper and the Water-SnakeA viper used to come regularly to drink at a spring. A water-snake that lived there wanted to stop her, indignant that the viper, not content with…Read the fable →