M0550 (not in Perry). Source: Abstemius 106. This fable is not in Perry’s catalog; Perry omitted most of Abstemius’s fables. Compare the fable about the old horse and the new horse, #266.
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Image: Psittacus et Turtur
550. Psittacus et Turtur. Psittacus, ex oriente in occidentem delatus, ubi huiusmodi aves nasci non consueverunt, admirabatur sese in maiori pretio et honore haberi quam in natali consuevisset solo, nam caveam eburneam argenteis contextam virgis incolebat suavissimisque alebatur cibis, quod ceteris avibus occidentalibus, quae neque in forma, neque exprimendis humanis vocibus erant inferiores, non contingebat. Tunc turtur, in eadem cavea conclusus, “Hoc,” inquit, “nulla est admiratione dignum; nulli enim in patria meritus honor exhiberi solet.”
