Irenaeus Fable 81: Asinus, Simia et Talpa

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 Asino, Simia et Talpa, the story of what the mole said when the donkey and the monkey were complaining about their lots in life. This is another fable you can find in Abstemius.

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

Asinus et Simia simul aliquando confabulantes, coeperunt de Natura omnium parente conqueri, ille quod erga se illiberalis cornua non dedisset, suae defensionis necessaria. Haec vicissim quod caudam non esset largita nudis natibus operiendis oportunam. Audiebat talpa colloquentes, ad quos: Tacete (inquit) ambo, et cessate murmurare, cum me oculis captam patienter sustinere videtis. Eos arguit qui fundunt inanes querelas, qui, si proximorum sortem penderent, felices se reputarent, aut aequabilius suam tolerarent.

Asinus et Simia
simul aliquando confabulantes,
coeperunt
de Natura omnium parente
conqueri,
ille quod
erga se illiberalis
cornua non dedisset,
suae defensionis necessaria.
Haec vicissim quod
caudam non esset largita
nudis natibus operiendis
oportunam.
Audiebat talpa
colloquentes,
ad quos:
Tacete (inquit) ambo,
et cessate murmurare,
cum me oculis captam
patienter sustinere
videtis.
Eos arguit
qui
fundunt inanes querelas,
qui,
si proximorum sortem penderent,
felices se reputarent,
aut aequabilius suam tolerarent.

Here's an illustration for the fable (image source), showing a real mole:

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