44. Vulpes et Avis Terraneola. Avis, quam rustici terraneolam dicunt, scilicet quia in terra nidum componit, forte vulpeculae improbae occucurrit. Qua visa, pennis altius se sustulit. “Salve,” inquit illa; “cur, obsecro, me fugisti? Quasi non abunde mihi cibus in prato sit, grilli, scarabaei, locustarum copia. Nihil est quod metuas. Ego, propter mores quietos tuos et vitam probam, multum te diligo.” Respondit cantrix, “Tu quidem bene praedicas. In campo non par; sublimis tibi par sum. Quin sequere; hic salutem meam tibi committo.”
Image Source:
Tails from Quail Trail.
M0044 = Perry557. Source: Phaedrus, Perotti’s Appendix 6.32 (adapted into prose). This is Perry 557. Phaedrus has given us a folk-name for the bird, “ground-bird,” but this name is not attested in any other source, making it impossible to identify just what species of bird this might be. Compare the fable of the wolf trying to lure a goat down from her place of safety, #322.
