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Barlow 76. DE ACCIPITRE ET LUSCINIA

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Comprehenderat Lusciniam Accipiter, quae misere clamabat ut se captivam demitteret. Cui Accipiter: “Frustra clamosas cies querimonias, nam licet omnes silvarum commoveris aviculas, non ab unguibus meis liberabunt.”

Comprehenderat Lusciniam Accipiter, quae miserē clāmabat ut sē captīvam dēmitteret. Cui Accipiter: “Frustrā clāmōsās ciēs querimōniās, nam licet omnes silvārum commōveris aviculās, nōn ab unguibus meīs līberābunt.”

Translation: A hawk had caught a nightingale. The nightingale piteously shrieked for the hawk to let her, his captive, go free. The hawk said to her, "You are are stirring up your squawking complaints in vain, for even if you were to arouse the emotions of all the little birds in the woods, they will not free you from my talons." 

[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:

Contra magnates

nil moliendum esse

ab impotentibus et homuncionibus pusillis.

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