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Barlow 20. DE CATTO ET VULPE

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Contrahebant inter se amicitias Cattus et Vulpes. Cui Vulpes astutiarum suarum grandem recensebat numerum. Cattus replicuit, “Ast ego uno tantum consilio et, quod natura ad meipsum praeservandum suggessit, contentus sum.” Inter haec, odoram Canum vim appropinquantium audiunt. Cattus confestim altissimos arboris scandebat ramos et secure despectans sedebat. Vulpes autem et hic et illic trepide currebat et, nulla aufugiendi spe relicta, nulla uspiam latebra inventa, a Canibus apprehensa laceratur.

Translation: A cat and a fox became friends. The fox recited to the cat the huge number of tricks that she, the fox, possessed. The cat replied, "But I am a cat with only one plan, and I am content with what nature has supplied to keep me safe." Meanwhile, they heard the keen-scented pack of dogs drawing near. The cat immediately climbed the tallest branches of the tree, and sat there in safety, looking down. The fox, however, terrified, ran here and there. There remained no hope of getting away, and no hiding place to be found, and so the fox was seized by the dogs and torn to pieces.

[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.]

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