Irenaeus Fable 89: Rana et Bos

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 Rana et Bove, the story of a frog who wanted to be as big as an ox. In Perry's indexing system, this is Perry 376.

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

Veniebat potum in stagno Bos crassus et pinguis, et multoties visus Ranis, cuidam Ranae desiderium incussit grandiorem fieri et crescere instar Bovis. Reputare se felicem, si ad eam molem posset pervenire; multo potu id fieri posse reputans, coepit ultra solitum et captum bibere, matre filiam frustra increpante, ac dicente, fore potius ut creparet rumpereturque, quam Bovis mensuram aequaret, etiam si totam paludem ebiberet. Crepem licet, mater mea, si possum, grandior fiam. Quid tandem? Paulo post bibendo crepuit media. Exemplo aliis quemque intra sortes suae terminos se continere debere.

Veniebat potum in stagno
Bos crassus et pinguis,
et multoties visus Ranis,
cuidam Ranae
desiderium incussit
grandiorem fieri
et crescere instar Bovis.
Reputare se felicem,
si ad eam molem
posset pervenire;
multo potu
id fieri posse reputans,
coepit
ultra solitum et captum
bibere,
matre
filiam frustra increpante,
ac dicente,
fore potius
ut creparet rumpereturque,
quam Bovis mensuram aequaret,
etiam si totam paludem ebiberet.
Crepem licet,
mater mea,
si possum,
grandior fiam.
Quid tandem?
Paulo post
bibendo crepuit media.
Exemplo aliis
quemque
intra sortes suae terminos
se continere debere.

Here's an illustration for the fable (image source) by Arthur Rackham:

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