Irenaeus Fabula 28. De Vulpe et Trago, seu Hirco

I'm embarking 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 Trago, seu Hirco, the story of the fox and the goat in the well. In Perry's indexing system, this is Perry 9.

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

Deficientibus aquis prae siccitate, Hircus et Vulpes descendunt in puteum; largiter poti; difficultas erat in regressu sive ascensu non modica. Tandem cauta Vulpes socio: Bono sis animo (ait). Quid enim sit facto opus ut hinc evadamus, probe novi: sta igitur rectus, pedibus anterioribus muro adhaerens, ut in humeros tuos conscendens, tuis cornibus quasi scalae gradibus adiuta, emergam; deinde libera, ut evadas, iuvabo ascensum tuum. Credidit Vulpi Hircus; evasit Vulpes extra puteum; sed fraudulenta bestia negavit vicem rependere: sed benefactori suo illudens et subsannans, dicebat: Si tantum sapientiae in animo fuisset, quantum barbae in mento, non fidisses Vulpi, malignae et crudeli, nec hostem tuum adiuvasses.

Deficientibus aquis prae siccitate,
Hircus et Vulpes
descendunt in puteum;
largiter poti;
difficultas erat
in regressu sive ascensu
non modica.
Tandem cauta Vulpes
socio:
Bono sis animo (ait).
Quid enim sit facto opus
ut hinc evadamus,
probe novi:
sta igitur rectus,
pedibus anterioribus
muro adhaerens,
ut
in humeros tuos conscendens,
tuis cornibus quasi scalae gradibus
adiuta,
emergam;
deinde libera,
ut evadas,
iuvabo ascensum tuum.
Credidit Vulpi
Hircus;
evasit Vulpes extra puteum;
sed fraudulenta bestia
negavit vicem rependere:
sed benefactori suo
illudens et subsannans,
dicebat:
Si tantum sapientiae
in animo fuisset,
quantum barbae in mento,
non fidisses Vulpi,
malignae et crudeli,
nec hostem tuum adiuvasses.

Here's an illustration for the fable (image source) from an edition illustrated by Milo Winter; this image is based on a version of the story where the fox gets trapped first, and then lures the goat down to help her to get out.:

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