De asino leonis pelle induto: The Donkey Dressed in a Lion's Skin
Source: Aesop's Fables, 1687 (illustrated by Francis Barlow).
Parallels: For parallel versions, see Perry 358.
Latin Text:
Asinus in silvam veniens, exuvias Leonis offendit, quibus indutus in pascua redit, greges et armenta territans fugansque. Herus autem qui vagum fallacemque Asinum perdiderat, occurrit. Asinus viso Hero cum rugitu obviam fecit. At Herus, prehensis quae extabant auriculis, "Alios licet," inquit, "fallas; ego te probe novi."
Here is a segmented version to help you see the grammatical patterns:
Asinus
in silvam veniens,
exuvias Leonis offendit,
quibus indutus
in pascua redit,
greges et armenta
territans fugansque.
Herus autem
qui
vagum fallacemque Asinum
perdiderat,
occurrit.
Asinus
viso Hero
cum rugitu
obviam fecit.
At Herus,
prehensis
quae extabant auriculis,
"Alios licet," inquit, "fallas;
ego te probe novi."
Translation:
A donkey went into the woods and came across the skin of a lion. He put it on, and went back to the pasture, and he terrified the flocks and herds, driving them away. Meanwhile, the master who had lost the wandering and deceitful donkey, ran up. The donkey, when he saw the master, brayed and went to meet him. But the master grabbed the donkey's ears that were sticking out from under the skin, and said: "Of course you can fool others, but I know you all too well!"
[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.]
This edition of Aesop's fables was published in French, Latin, and English, so here it the English poem that accompanies this fable (I've modernized some of the 17th-century spelling):
The Ass puts on the lion's fierce disguise,
And does the herd with awful fear surprise,
But when the master came, the Ass's ears
Betrayed the cheat, and rid them of their fears.
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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