Prevod

When Zeus made man, he gave him a short life. But man, using his own ingenuity, built himself a house when winter came and took shelter there. Once, when the cold was bitter and Zeus sent down rain, a horse, unable to endure the weather, came running to the man and begged him for shelter. The man said he would grant it only if the horse gave him some of his own years of life. The horse gladly agreed. Not long afterward an ox arrived, likewise unable to bear the winter. Again the man refused to take him in unless he gave up a certain number of his own years; so he too gave a portion of his life and was welcomed inside. Last of all came a dog, perishing with cold, and he too obtained shelter by surrendering part of his allotted span. And so it came about that human beings, during the years Zeus gave them, are innocent and good; when they reach the horse’s years, they become boastful and proud; when they enter the ox’s years, they grow domineering; and those who live through the dog’s years become ill-tempered and snappish.

This fable might be told to an old man who is irascible and ill-natured.