M0314 (not in Perry). Source: Abstemius 79. This fable is not in Perry’s catalog; Perry omitted most of Abstemius’s fables. Compare the fable of the donkey who thought he could attack a lion, #235, or the wolf who thought he was a lion, #91.
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Image: Aries et Taurus
314. Aries et Taurus. Aries quidam inter lanigeros greges erat, tanta cornuum et capitis firmitate ut ceteros arietes statim facileque superaret. Quare, cum nullum amplius arietem inveniret qui occursanti sibi auderet obsistere, crebris elatus victoriis, taurum ausus est ad certamen provocare. Sed primo congressu, cum in taurinam frontem arietasset, tam atroci ictu repercussus est ut fere moriens haec diceret, “Stultus ego! Quid egi? Cur tam potentem adversarium ausus sum lacessere, cui me imparem creavit Natura?”
