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DE VULPE IN PUTEO

 

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Source: Aesop's Fables, 1687 (illustrated by Francis Barlow).

 

Introduction: In this fable, a goat and a fox are trapped in a well. These two animals did not "look before leaping," as the English proverb goes. How will they get out? The fox has a great idea: she can jump up on the horns of the goat, leap out of the well, and then help the goat to get out. As you will see, however, the fox has no intention of helping the goat to get out. Instead, after the fox makes her escape, she makes fun of the goat for being such a fool. What do you think is the most foolish mistake that the goat made in this story, and what is the lesson we can learn from that mistake? For another story about the fox in the well, see the story of the wolf and the fox. For a fable where the fox is not able to use her tricks to get out of trouble, see the story of the cat and the fox.

 

Latin Text:

 

Vulpes et Caper sitibundi in quendam puteum descendebant. In quo cum perbibissent, Vulpes dixit circumspicienti reditum Capro, "Bono animo esto, Caper! Excogitavi etenim quo pacto uterque reduces simus." Obtemperavit consilio Caper et Vulpes, ex puteo prosiliens, prae gaudio in margine cursitabat. Ceterum, cum ab Hirco ut foedifraga incusaretur, respondit, "Enimvero, Hirce, si tantum tibi sensus esset in mente, quantum est saetarum in mento, non prius in puteum descendisses, quam de reditu exploravisses."

 

Here is a segmented version to help you see the grammatical patterns:

 

Vulpes et Caper

sitibundi

in quendam puteum descendebant.

In quo cum perbibissent,

Vulpes

dixit circumspicienti reditum Capro,

"Bono animo esto, Caper!

Excogitavi etenim

quo pacto

uterque reduces simus."

Obtemperavit consilio Caper

et Vulpes, ex puteo prosiliens,

prae gaudio in margine cursitabat.

Ceterum,

cum ab Hirco ut foedifraga incusaretur,

respondit,

"Enimvero, Hirce,

si tantum tibi sensus esset

in mente,

quantum est saetarum

in mento,

non prius in puteum descendisses,

quam de reditu exploravisses."

 

Translation: The fox and the goat were thirsty and went down into a well. After they had drunk their fill down in the well, the fox said to the goat, who was looking around for a way out: Cheer up, Goat! For I have invented a way that we can both get out. The goat agreed to this plan, and the fox leaped out of the well [by standing on the goat's horns] and joyrfully ran around the edge of the well. But when the goat accused the fox of breaking their pact, the fox replied: Well, Billy-Goat, if the brains in your head were as abundant as the beard on your chin, you would not get down into a well before you had a plan for how to get out.

 

[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.]

 

Parallels: The Latin story on this page is the story of the fox and the goat; see Perry 9. The English poem, however, is the story of the fox in the well and the wolf, which is similar to Perry 211, although the fable cited by Pery is about a boy and a man, not about a fox and a wolf, as in the poem here. The illustration on this page matches the English poem, not the Latin story. For the Latin text that matches the English poem, see Barlow 42.

 

Related Links: Crossword Puzzle

 

Illustration: Here is an illustration from this edition, by the renowned artist Francis Barlow. Click on the image for a larger view. Note that this is actually the illustration printed for Fable 60.

 

 

Here is an illustration from this edition for the story of the fox and the wolf; click on the image for a larger view. This is the illustration printed with the story on this page. It matches the English poem on this page; for the Latin story that goes with this poem, see Barlow 42.

 

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