213. Mus et Elephantus. Mus, corporis exigui praeter solitum, elephantum praestantem, mole insolita, cernebat. Ridebat, quod belua altae cervicis passibus tardis iret, sarcina gravi onusta. Sublimi dorso eius sultana augusta sedebat, et simia, feles, anus, psittacus atque canis, et comites mulier quotcumque secum trahebat; quippe sultana peregre ibat vota Deo solvere. Mus, attonita quod turba frequens colossum tarda mole vastum aspiciat, “Ego miror,” ait, “minor est an maior virtus et gloria nobis, ut quisque nostrum plusve minusve loci implet? Haec fera, O mortales, quid habet mirabile? An corpus magnum, unde pavor pueris nascitur? Elephantus haud nobis, licet exiguis, praeponderat vel uno momento!” Plura dicere parat. Ecce feles, sua cavea erumpens, hunc subito dedocet mures elephantis pares esse.
Click here for a
SLIDESHOW of all the Billinghurst images. Notice the cat; the poor mouse, of course, does not notice the cat! The artist has not chosen to show us the lady sultan and her entourage on top of the elephant: for that you have to use your imagination. :-)
M0213 (not in Perry). Source: La Fontaine 8.15 (translated by Giraud, adapted into prose and shortened). This fable is not in Perry’s catalog. For a different fable about a mouse’s grand sense of himself, see the story of the mouse seeking a bride, #212.
