'The Ass, the Cock and the Lion', an illustration by John Vernon Lord
in Aesop's Fables, Jonathan Cape, 1989, page 31
The Text:
The Ass, the Cock and the Lion
AN Ass and a
Cock lived in a farm-yard together. One day a hungry Lion passing by and seeing
the Ass in good condition, resolved to make a meal of him. Now, they say that
there is nothing a Lion hates so much as the crowing of a Cock; and at that
moment the Cock happening to crow, the Lion straightway made off with all haste
from the spot. The Ass, mightily amused to think that a Lion should be
frightened at a bird, plucked up courage and galloped after him, delighted with
the notion of driving the king of beasts before him. He had, however, gone no
great distance, when the Lion turned sharply round upon him, and made an end of
him in a trice.
Moral: When the powerful are humbled it is only the
foolish who presume to think that it
will last for long.
Text: Thomas James (182, 1848).
Selected parallels: L’Estrange 1/150. Chambry
269. Perry 82. TMI J952.2.
.
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