Perry 142: Lion, Fox, and Footsteps

Today's fable is Perry 142, the story (made famous by Horace) of the lion who pretended to be sick in order to lure his loyal subjects into his cave. The fox, not surprisingly, does not fall for this trick! At the Aesopus wiki, you can see a complete list of the versions of this fable type that I have collected.

Here is the version from Steinhowel's Aesop. What is interesting about this version is that it tells that the foxes, plural, came to stand outside the lion's cave, although it is just one fox - una - who talks with the lion and supplies the witty comeback:

Leo, iam deficiens, languorem fingebat et per eam fallaciam ceterae bestiae ad visitandum regem introibant; leo vero continuo occidebat eas. Vulpes autem, venientes ante speluncam, steterunt, salutantes eum. Una a leone interrogata: Quare non intrasti? Respondit: Quoniam video introeuntium vestigia, exeuntium vero non video. Sic quorundam pericula doctrinae nobis esse debent nostrae salutis. Quia in domum potentis facile intrat quisquam, exire autem tarde est.

Here it is written out in segmented style to make it easier to follow, while respecting the Latin word order:

Leo,
iam deficiens,
languorem fingebat
et per eam fallaciam
ceterae bestiae
ad visitandum regem
introibant;
leo vero
continuo occidebat eas.
Vulpes autem,
venientes ante speluncam,
steterunt,
salutantes eum.
Una
a leone interrogata:
Quare non intrasti?
Respondit:
Quoniam video
introeuntium vestigia,
exeuntium vero
non video.
Sic
quorundam pericula
doctrinae nobis esse debent
nostrae salutis.
Quia
in domum potentis
facile intrat quisquam,
exire autem
tarde est.

For an image of the story, here is an illustration from Milo Winter's Aesop showing a not-very-happy-looking lion!

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