191. Castor et Venator. Castor est animal in paludibus sese nutriens, cuius testiculi variis medelis utiles esse dicuntur. Itaque cum quispiam eum sequitur, venationis causam non ignorans, fugit ad speluncam ubi, ab hominum conspectu canumque odoratu securus, testes dentibus exscindit et venatoribus appropinquantibus relinquit, et hoc pacto se securum praestat. Sapiens, ut a periculis se eripiat, nihil intentatum relinquit.
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M0191 = Perry118. Source: Barlow’s Aesop 19. This is Perry 118. For another fable about the beaver, see #117. The legend of the beaver biting off its testicles dates back to ancient Greece and Rome and it also formed part of the medieval bestiary tradition.
