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DE RANA ET BOVE

 

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

 

Introduction: This fable takes the idea of being "puffed up with pride" and applies the idea literally to a frog who is so puffed up with pride that she thinks she can equal an ox in size! In his 17th-century version of the fable, Sir Roger L'Estrange added this moral: "Betwixt pride, envy and ambition, men fancy themselves to be bigger than they are, and other people to be less." Joseph Jacobs gives the moral "Self-conceit may lead to self-destruction." If you were to have the little frog state the moral at the end of the story, what do you think he would say? For another story about a foolish frog, see the story of the frog who wanted to be a physician. For another story about an animal puffed up with pride, see the story of the peacock and the crane.

 

Latin Text:

 

Rana, cupida aequandi Bovem, se distendebat. Filius hortabatur Matrem coepto desistere; nihil enim esse Ranam ad Bovem. Illa autem, posthabito consilio, secundum intumuit. Clamitat Natus: "Crepes licet, Mater, Bovem nunquam vinces." Tertium autem cum intumuisset, crepuit.

 

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

 

Rana,

cupida aequandi Bovem,

se distendebat.

Filius

hortabatur Matrem

coepto desistere;

nihil enim

esse Ranam

ad Bovem.

Illa autem,

posthabito consilio,

secundum intumuit.

Clamitat Natus:

"Crepes licet, Mater,

Bovem nunquam vinces."

Tertium autem cum intumuisset,

crepuit.

 

Translation: A frog, eager to equal the ox, puffed herself up. Her son urged his mother to put aside the task she began, saying that a frog was nothing compared to an ox. The frog, however, after the advice had been put aside, swelled herself again. The son shouted: "The fact is, you're going to burst, Mother! You will never beat the ox." The third time when she puffed up, she burst.

 

[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: For parallel versions, see Perry 376.

 

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.

 

 

 

 

 

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