Waltey

Prevod

A fox whose tail had been cut off in a trap felt so ashamed that she thought life was no longer worth living. She decided to persuade the other foxes to suffer the same fate, so that their common misfortune would conceal her own defect. Gathering them all together, she urged them to cut off their tails, saying that a tail was not only unsightly but also a needless burden to carry. But one of the foxes spoke up: “My dear, if this were not to your own advantage, you would never have advised us to do it.” The fable is aimed at those who offer advice to others not out of goodwill, but for their own benefit.

Izvirnik

Ἀλώπηξ ὑπό τινος παγίδος τὴν οὐρὰν ἀποκοπεῖσα, ἐπειδὴ διʼ αἰσχύνην ἀβίωτον ἡγεῖτο τὸν βίον ἔχειν, ἔγνω δεῖν καὶ τὰς ἄλλας ἀλώπεκας εἰς τὸ αὐτὸ προσαγαγεῖν, ἵνα τῷ κοινῷ πάθει τὸ ἴδιον ἐλάττωμα συγκρύψη. Καὶ δὴ ἁπάσας ἀθροίσασα παρῄνει αὐταῖς τὰς οὐρὰς ἀποκόπτειν, λέγουσα, ὡς οὐκ ἀπρεπὲς μόνον τοῦτο, ἀλλὰ καὶ περισσόν τι αὐταῖς βάρος προσήρτηται. Τού- των δέ τις ὑποτυχοῦσα ἔφη· ,,ὦ αὕτη, ἀλλʼ εἰ μή σοι τοῦτο συνέφερεν, οὐκ ἂν ἡμῖν αὐτὸ συνεβούλευσας.“

Ὁ λόγος πρὸς ἐκείνους, οἳ τὰς συμβουλίας ποιοῦνται τοῖς πέλας οὐ διʼ εὔνοιαν, ἀλλὰ διὰ τὸ ἑαυτοῖς συμφέρον.

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