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Barlow 40. DE HERINACEIS VIPERAS HOSPITES EIICIENTIBUS

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Herinacei, hiemem adventare praesentientes, blande Viperas rogaverunt ut in propria illarum caverna adversus vim frigoris locum sibi concederent. Quod cum illae fecissent, Herinacei, huc atque illuc se provolventes, spinarum acumine Viperas pungebant et vehementi dolore torquebant. Illae, male secum actum videntes, blandis verbis orabant Herinaceos ut exirent, quandoquidem tam multis locus esset angustus nimis. Cui Herinacei: “Exeant (inquiunt) qui hic manere non possunt.” Quare Viperae, sentientes ibi locum non esse, cesserunt hospitio.

Translation: The hedgehogs, anticipating that winter was about to arrive, sweetly asked the vipers to make room for them in their own hole, against the force of the cold. When the vipers did this, the hedgehogs rolled here and there, and they poked the vipers with the sharp points of their spines and tortured the vipers with violent pain. When the vipers saw the trouble that they were in, with sweet words they asked the hedgehogs to leave, since the place was too cramped for so many inhabitants. The hedgehogs said to the vipers, "Let those depart who cannot stand to remain here." Consequently, the vipers, realizing that there was no room there, withdrew from the quarters.

[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.