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Barlow 4. DE RANA ET VULPE

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Rana, paludibus valedicens, novo vivendi genere acquisito, in silvam gloriabunda sese tulit et, bestiarum coronis circumstipata, medicinae artem publice profitebatur, et in herbis, quae ad corpora curanda pertinent, nobiliorem se vel Galeno vel Hippocrate esse clamitabat. Credula Bestiarum gens fidem facile adhibebat, Vulpe solummodo excepta, quae sic glorianti irridebat: “Insulsum vagumque animal! Quid tam vana blatteras? Quid artem nobilem prae te fers, quam minime calles? Livida pallidaque illa tua labra respice! Quin domi abi et teipsum cura, medice! Deinde ad nos redeas, meliora forsan de te speraturos.” Nihil respondente Rana sed tacitis secum gemente suspiriis, tota Bestiarum cachinnis resonabat silva.

Translation: The frog said goodbye to her swamp and adopted a new mode of life, and quite puffed up with pride she went into the forest. Surrounded by the circling crowd of animals, she professed publicly the art of medicine, shouting that she was more worthy of honor than Galen or Hippocrates when it came to the herbs which serve to heal the body. The gullible animal kingdom easily put their trust in the frog - except only for the fox, who laughed at the boasting frog. "You witless and giddy creature! Why do you babble such foolish things? Why do you assume this worthy art which you know absolutely nothing about? Sickly green and pale - look at your own lips: why don't you just go home and cure yourself, doctor! Only then you might come back to us, when we may perhaps expect something more useful from you." The frog said nothing in response, but groaned with quiet sighs, and all the woods resounded with the laughter of the beasts.

[This translation is meant as a help in understanding the story, not as a "crib" for the Latin. I have not hesitated to change the syntax to make it flow more smoothly in English, altering the verb tense consistently to narrative past tense, etc.]

Illustration: Here is an illustration from this edition, by the renowned artist Francis Barlow; click on the image for a larger view. You can see here all the different kinds of animals who were apparently fooled by the frog, including the monkey and the squirrel up in the tree, looking down on the fox and the frog as they face-off over the frog's claims to medical fame. Meanwhile, here's a close-up of the frog.