Animal Tales

Three ancient Greek fables after the poet Aesop.

I.

Some apes once held a public meeting to discuss whether to found a city. They voted to go ahead with this plan and were about to start putting it into practice when an old ape stopped them in their tracks: He intervened and implored them with the following words: ‘please consider that you will be more easily captured inside walls.’ (after Fabulae Aesopicae Collectae 361 (Halm) = p.518/464)

II.

A passenger on a ship once had a pet monkey travelling with him. The ship had an accident and sank which left the ape struggled to stay afloat. A dolphin saw the scene and – mistaking the ape for a human – swam underneath him and lifted him up on his back. When they reached the harbour of Athens, the dolphin asked the ape whether he was an Athenian citizen by birth. The ape confirmed that this was indeed the case and added that he was a member of an old and distinguished local family. ‘Do you know Piraeus?’ the dolphin asked him. ‘Oh yes, very well’, the ape replied, adding, ‘he is one of my closest friends.’ The dolphin was disgusted by the ape’s trickery, swam away, and left the ape to drown. (after Fabulae Aesopicae Collectae 363 (Halm) = p.434/73)

III.

An ape was once sitting on a tree watching some fishermen casting their net into a nearby river. When they brought it up again and sat down together to enjoy their meal the ape descended from the tree and tried to imitate the men’s course of action. Alas, when he got hold of the net, he quickly became ensnared in the ropes and concluded: ‘I deserve this suffering. Why did I think it was possible for me to take on the fishermen’s craft myself, something I have never learnt?’ (after Fabulae Aesopicae Collectae 362 (Halm) = p. 460/203)