Perry 156: Wolf and Crane

Today's fable is Perry 156, the story of the wolf and the crane. At the del.icio.us, you can see a complete list of the versions of this fable type that I have collected. It is one of the fables which has a close parallel in the Buddhist jataka tradition, where the story involves a lion instead: The Lion and The Crane.

Here is the version from Steinhowel's Aesop. What is interesting about this version is that the wolf does not address the crane directly at the end (as in the classical version by Phaedrus), but instead waxes indignant while speaking about the crane in the third person, as if the poor crane were not even worthy of direct address!

Quicumque malo benefacit, satis peccat, de quo talem audi fabulam. Ossa lupus cum devoraret, unum ex illis in faucibus ei adhaesit transversum, graviter eum affligens. Invitavit lupus magno praemio qui ab hoc malo ipsum liberaret, os illud de faucibus extrahendo. Rogabatur grus collo longo, ut praestaret lupo medicinas. Id egit ut immitteret caput faucibus lupi et os laedens extraheret. Sanus cum esset lupus, rogabat grus promissa sibi praemia reddi. At lupus dixisse dicitur: O quam ingrata est grus illa, quae caput incolume e nostris faucibus extraxit nec dentibus meis in aliquo vexatum, et insuper mercedem postulat. Numquid meis virtutibus facit iniuriam? Haec fabula monet illos qui malis volunt benefacere.

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

Quicumque malo benefacit,
satis peccat,
de quo
talem audi fabulam.
Ossa
lupus cum devoraret,
unum ex illis
in faucibus ei adhaesit transversum,
graviter eum affligens.
Invitavit lupus
magno praemio
qui
ab hoc malo
ipsum liberaret,
os illud
de faucibus extrahendo.
Rogabatur
grus collo longo,
ut praestaret lupo medicinas.
Id egit
ut immitteret caput
faucibus lupi
et os laedens extraheret.
Sanus cum esset lupus,
rogabat grus
promissa sibi praemia
reddi.
At lupus dixisse dicitur:
O quam ingrata est
grus illa,
quae
caput incolume
e nostris faucibus extraxit
nec dentibus meis in aliquo vexatum,
et insuper mercedem postulat.
Numquid meis virtutibus facit iniuriam?
Haec fabula monet illos
qui malis volunt benefacere.

For an image of the story, here is an illustration by Walter Crane, which is unusual in that it shows the crane after she has pulled out the bone (you can see the bone if you look closely; you can click on the image for a larger view) - most illustrations of the story instead show the crane with her head plunged inside the mouth of the wolf (as you can see in these other illustrations):

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