618. Serpens et Rosa. Serpens erat qui ferebat pulchram rosam in ore. Quidam, attendens tantam rosae pulchritudinem, coepit eam palpare et odorem cum naso attrahere. Et, quia venenum non attendit, infestus veneno periit. Ita adulator pulchra verba habet exterius, sed latet venenum interius.
M0618 (not in Perry). Source: De Vitry 147. This fable is not in Perry’s catalog; Perry was not systematic in his coverage of medieval sources. Compare this medieval fable with the traditional Aesop’s fable about Jupiter and the snake with a rose, #773.
