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Barlow 13. DE LUPO ET SUE

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Parturiebat Sus; pollicetur Lupus se custodem fore fetus. Respondet Puerpera Lupi obsequio se non egere, oratque, si velit pius haberi, longius abeat; Lupi enim benevolentia constabat non praesentia, sed absentia.

Parturiēbat Sūs; pollicētur Lupus sē custōdem fore fētus. Respondet Puerpera Lupī obsequiō sē nōn egēre, ōratque, sī velit pius habērī, longius abeat; Lupī enim benevolentia constābat nōn praesentiā, sed absentiā.

Translation: A sow was giving birth and a wolf promised that he would be a guardian to her offspring. The expectant mother answered that she had no need of the wolf's services and asked him to move farther away if he wanted to be considered a devoted fellow - this was because the good will of the wolf consisted not in his presence but in his absence. 

[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.]

The Moral of the Story:

Non sunt cuncta cunctis credenda;

multi enim

suam operam pollicentur

non tui amore,

sed sui,

suum quaerentes commodum,

non tuum.

Illustration: Here is an illustration from this edition, by the renowned artist Francis Barlow; click on the image for a larger view.