Prevod
A snake, trampled on by many people, appealed to Zeus. Zeus said to him, “If you had bitten the first person who stepped on you, the second would not have dared to do the same.” The fable shows that those who stand up to their first aggressors make others fear them.
Izvirnik
Ὄφις, ὑπὸ πολλῶν ἀνθρώπων πατούμενος, τῷ Διὶ ἐνετύγχανεν. Ὁ δὲ Ζεὺς πρὸς αὐτὸν εἶπεν· ,,ἀλλʼ εἰ τὸν πρότερον πατήσαντα ἔπληξας, οὐκ ἂν ὁ δεύτερος ἐπεχείρησε τοῦτο ποιῆσαι.“
Ὁ μῦθος δηλοῖ, ὅτι οἱ τοῖς πρότερον ἐπιβαίνουσιν ἀνθιστάμενοι τοῖς ἄλλοις φοβεροὶ γίνονται.