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DE NUTRICE ET LUPO

 

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

 

Introduction: In this fable, you will not only meet "Mr. Wolf" but also "Mrs. Wolf," who wants to know why the wolf has come home empty-handed, so to speak, when he was supposed to have been out hunting for food. In an ancient Greek version of this fable, the moral of the story is "There is no point in hoping for things that are not going to happen." in Joseph Jacobs' version of the fable, the moral is: "Enemies' promises were made to be broken." What do you think is the lesson of this fable? For another fable about the wolf who went away empty-handed, see the story of the wise sow and the wolf. For another fable about words and deeds, see the story of the traveler in the house of the satyr.

 

Latin Text:

 

Nutrix minatur Puerum plorantem, ni taceat, se Lupo illum tradituram. Lupus praeteriens id forte audit et spe praedae manet ad fores. Puer tandem, obrepente somno, silescit. Regreditur Lupus in silvas, ieiunus et inanis. Lupa obviam illi habens sciscitatur, ubi sit praeda. Cui gemebundus Lupus: "Verba (inquit) mihi data sunt. Puerum plorantem abiicere Nutrix minabatur, sed fefellit."

 

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

 

Nutrix

minatur Puerum plorantem,

ni taceat,

se

Lupo illum tradituram.

Lupus praeteriens

id forte audit

et

spe praedae

manet ad fores.

Puer tandem,

obrepente somno,

silescit.

Regreditur Lupus in silvas,

ieiunus et inanis.

Lupa

obviam illi habens

sciscitatur,

ubi sit praeda.

Cui gemebundus Lupus:

"Verba (inquit) mihi data sunt.

Puerum plorantem abiicere

Nutrix minabatur,

sed fefellit."

 

Translation: A nurse threatened her crying boy that, unless he was quiet, she was going to hand him over to the wolf. A wolf passing by happened to hear this and, hoping for the booty, he waited by the door. Sleep finally crept upon the boy and he became quiet. The wolf went back into the woods, hungry and empty-handed. The she-wolf ran into him and asked where the booty was. The wolf sighed and said, "Somebody tricked me: a nurse threatened to throw out the boy because he was crying, but she wasn't telling the truth."

 

[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 158.

 

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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