'The Goat and the Goatherd'

'The Goat and the Goatherd', an illustration by John Vernon Lord 

in Aesop's Fables; 1989, page 128.

The Text:

The Goatherd who threw a Stone at the She-Goat

A BOY, whose business it was to look after some Goats, as night began to fall, gathered them together to lead them home. One of the number, a She-Goat, alone refused to obey his call, and stood on a ledge of a rock, nibbling the herbage that grew there. The boy lost all patience, and taking up a great stone, threw it at the Goat with all his force The stone struck one of the horns of the Goat, and broke it off at the middle. The Boy, terrified at what he had done and fearing his master’s anger, threw himself upon his knees before the Goat, and begged her to say nothing about the mishap, alleging that it was far from his intention to throw the stone so well. “Tush!” replied the Goat. “Let my tongue be ever so silent, my horn is sure to tell the tale.”

Moral:  It is difficult to conceal the truth when it is already staring you in the face.

Text: Joseph Benjamin Rundell (p91, 1869).

Selected Parallels: Babrius 3. Chambry 15. Perry 280. TMI J1082.1.