Irenaeus Fabula 38. De Vulpe et Gallina.

I've embarked on a new Latin fable project here at the Latin Via Fables blog: digitizing the 300 fables in the Mithologica sacro-profana, seu florilegium fabularum by P. Irenaeus, published in 1666, which has recently become available at GoogleBooks. For a complete index of the fables in the book, with links to the fables I've digitized so far, check out the Aesopus wiki page at Aesopus.PBwiki.com.

Today's fable is De Vulpe et Gallina, the story of how the hen avoided being fooled by the fox. In Perry's indexing system, this is Perry 7.

To make reading the fable easier, I've provided a segmented version of the story below.

Vulpes, Gallinae insidians, per rimulas portae cubantem conspicata, "Salve," dixit, "commater mea, quomodo te habes?" "Iaceo," respondit illa, "et male habeo. Et Vulpes, "Aperi quaeso; febris forsitan est; pulsum arteriae novi, novi et tuo morbo medicinam; sine tangm." Cui Gallina, "Febris quidem est, sed remittet cum abieris; quietis tantum nunc et somni egeo." Indicat ab hoste nil boni expectandum.

Vulpes,
Gallinae insidians,
per rimulas portae
cubantem conspicata,
"Salve," dixit,
"commater mea,
quomodo te habes?"
"Iaceo," respondit illa,
"et male habeo.
Et Vulpes,
"Aperi quaeso;
febris forsitan est;
pulsum arteriae novi,
novi et tuo morbo medicinam;
sine tangm."
Cui Gallina,
"Febris quidem est,
sed remittet
cum abieris;
quietis tantum nunc
et somni egeo."
Indicat
ab hoste
nil boni expectandum.

Here's an illustration for the fable (image source) - from China! It sounds like a quite similar fable, too!

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Aesop's Fables in Latin now available at Amazon.com.