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Barlow 93. DE VULPE ET UVA

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Racemum dependentem frustra conata est Vulpecula iteratis saltibus attingere. Sed tandem conatibus cassis omnino defatigata, indignabunda recessit, inquiens, “Apage acerbas et immaturas istas uvas, quae sane tam sordidae sunt ut ne quidem humi iacentes attollerem, si mihi gratis offerrentur.”

Racēmum dēpendentem frustrā cōnāta est Vulpēcula iteratīs saltibus attingere. Sed tandem cōnātibus cassīs omnīnō dēfatīgāta, indignābunda recessit, inquiens, “Apage acerbās et immātūrās istās ūvās, quae sānē tam sordidae sunt ut nē quidem humī iacentēs attollerem, sī mihi grātīs offerrentur.”

Translation: A fox tried in vain to reach a hanging cluster, jumping up again and again. But when at last she was completely tired out, all her efforts having failed, she angrily went away and said, "To heck with those bitter grapes which not ready to eat; I swear, they are so nasty that even if they were lying on the ground I wouldn't pick them up if they were offered to me for free."

[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:

Docet

simulatum fastidium

conveniens esse

earum rerum

quas

nulla possimus arte comparare.

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