Irenaeus Fabula 53. Vulpes et Tintinnabulum

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 Vulpes et Tintinnabulum, the story of the fox and the drum. This is not a fable found in Perry's Aesop, and it derives from the ancient Indian tradition via the Panchatantra.

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

Vulpes iuxta flumen habebat cavum suum, propter arborem, e cuius ramo pendebat Tintinnabulum, quod cum ventus agitaret, loca circum vicina sono resonabant, quo, mirum quantum Vulpes terrebatur, ignorans cuius ea vox esset animalis, et qualitate vocis immane reputabat, quousque propius accedens, et videns vas esse inane et vacuum, vitae ac virium expers, coepit incusare sese ac dicere: Heu nos miseros mortales et ignaros, ut saepius vana opinione aut rumore fallimur; putabam a voce monstrum aliquod immane et erat cymbalum inane.

Vulpes
iuxta flumen
habebat cavum suum,
propter arborem,
e cuius ramo
pendebat Tintinnabulum,
quod cum ventus agitaret,
loca circum vicina
sono resonabant,
quo,
mirum quantum Vulpes terrebatur,
ignorans
cuius ea vox esset animalis,
et qualitate vocis immane reputabat,
quousque propius accedens,
et videns
vas esse inane et vacuum,
vitae ac virium expers,
coepit incusare sese ac dicere:
Heu nos miseros mortales et ignaros,
ut saepius vana opinione aut rumore
fallimur;
putabam a voce
monstrum aliquod immane
et erat cymbalum inane.

Here's an illustration for the fable (image source), from a YouTube video showing the old Indian fable:

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