466. Noctua et Quercus. Aves ad noctuam convenerunt eamque rogarunt ut ex aedium foraminibus emigraret, adque arbores, sicut et ipsae, harumque ramos nidum conglutinaret, unde clarius canere liceret; quin etiam quercui, tum primum nascenti, cum adolevisset, commode insidere posse atque viridi frui coma. At noctua aves admonuit, ne laeterentur super illius plantae germinatione, quae viscum procreare soleret, unde pernicies avibus oriretur. Illae vero noctuae consilium non approbarunt sed, contra, quercu crescente gavisae sunt et super illam adultam factam sedere atque cecinere. Nato autem visco, cum iam facile ab hominibus caperentur, sero paenitentiam egere noctuamque de consilio sunt admiratae. Ad illam accedunt, at accedunt frustra, accepto malo.
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M0466 = Perry437. Source: De Furia 385 (shortened). This is Perry 437. Mistletoe can grow on many trees, including the oak tree. In a longer version of this story told by Dio Chrysostom, the owl warns the other birds not just about the mistletoe (used for birdlime) that will grow on the oak tree, but also about the planting of flax, which would end up being made into bird nets. For a fable about the swallow and the planting of flax, see #482. For another fable about the wise owl, see #449.
