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DE VULPE SINE CAUDA

 

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

 

Introduction: You could consider this fable to be an example of the English saying "Misery loves company." In Joseph Jacobs' version of the fable, he applies this moral: "Distrust interested advice." In some versions of this fable, the other foxes are, in fact, wise enough to rejected the "interested advice" of the tail-less fox. They do not do what the tail-less fox urges them to do, declaring instead: "If you had not yourself lost your tail, my friend, you would not thus counsel us." Unfortunately, the other foxes in the version of the fable you are about to read are not so wise! For another fable about how misery loves company, see the story of the dolphin and the little fish (). For a fable where the fox is instead concerned with inner beauty rather than physical appearance, see the debate between the fox and the leopard.

 

Latin Text:

 

In foveam incidit Vulpecula inde, cauda detruncata, occurrit multis Vulpeculis. Quas cum indignabunde conspexerat, inquit, "Fraterculi, quo vaditis?" "Ad Leonis basilicam eundum est nobis," respondebant. "Ad Leonis basilicam?" inquit Vulpes. "Profecto ego ab ea nuperrime redii et mos iamiam novellus est, ut omnes ferae detruncent caudas." Quibus auditis, illico detruncabant illae suas caudas. Quas cum vidit Vulpes, irrisit et se consolabat se socios, si non periculi, saltem pudoris, creavisse.

 

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

 

In foveam

incidit Vulpecula

inde,

cauda detruncata,

occurrit multis Vulpeculis.

Quas cum indignabunde conspexerat,

inquit,

"Fraterculi, quo vaditis?"

"Ad Leonis basilicam

eundum est nobis,"

respondebant.

"Ad Leonis basilicam?"

inquit Vulpes.

"Profecto

ego

ab ea nuperrime redii

et mos iamiam novellus est,

ut omnes ferae detruncent caudas."

Quibus auditis,

illico detruncabant illae

suas caudas.

Quas cum vidit Vulpes,

irrisit

et se consolabat

se

socios, si non periculi, saltem pudoris,

creavisse.

 

Translation: A fox fell into a pit fall. Her tail got cut off, and then she ran into a bunch of other foxes. When she had looked at them indignantly, she said, "Brothers, where are you going?" They answered, "We've got to go to the lion's palace." The fox said: "To the lion's palace? As a matter of face I'm just coming back from there and the latest fashion these days is for all the animals to cut their tails off." When they heard this, right on the spot they cut off their tails. When the fox saw them, she laughed and was consoled because she had found some partners if not in danger at least in embarrassment. It's a comfort to the wretched to have companions in their sorrow.

 

[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 17.

 

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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