'The Snake and his Tail', an illustration by John Vernon Lord
in Aesop's Fables, Jonathan Cape, 1989, page 65.
The text:
The Snake and His Tail
A snake's tale once decided
there was no need
For the head to go first.
'It's my turn to lead.'
'Be quiet,' the snake's other
members said.
'Wretched appendage, how could
you go first
Without the eyes or nose or
ears
By which each living creature
steers?'
But their arguments didn't
prevail
And the rational head lost out
to the mindless tail,
The roles were reversed,
And, dragging them blindly
along, the tail went first.
When the snake fell into a
rocky pit and was almost killed,
The tail which was so
self-willed
Began humbly apologising,
pleading:
'Save us, please, O head, our
master!
The mutiny I raised has ended
in disaster.
Put me back at the rear
And I'll obey and you needn't
fear
Any more accidents with me
leading.'
Moral: Leaders need to have a
sense of direction.
Text: James Michie (p65, 1989).
Selected Parallels: Babrius 134. La Fontaine 7/17.
Perry 362. Daly 362. Chambry 228. TMI
J461.1.1.
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