Irenaeus Fable 62. Boves Somniantes.

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 Bobus Somniantibus, the story of some oxen made hopeful by their auspicious dreams. This is not a fable in the Perry index, and I am not familiar with it from any other source. If anyone has information about this fable, please let me know!

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

Bubulcus mane ingressus stabulum et solvens Boves, ut adaquatum duceret, invenit eos solito hilariores. Interrogavit quid esset et quae causa ipsis laetitiae? Illi, non sine causa, inquiunt, "Exultanmus; scimus enim nos hodie vacaturos." "Vacaturos? (ait) Sed unde hoc scitis?" Respondent, "Quia sic fore hac nocte somniavimus. Nec tantum feriaturos, sed et in optimis pascuis diem acturos." "Si somniastis (inquit), male somniastis; aut ego aliter etiam somniavi; scilicet hanc diem integram vos araturos. Et experimento probabitis vana esse vestra, et plerumque aliorum, somnia." Moxque coepit eos subiugum mittere et vomerem aratro aptare. Quo illi tristes effecti, "Heu (dicebant), quam subito spes nostrae, mendacio fultae, vanuerunt; quis credat deinceps in somniis?"

Bubulcus
mane ingressus stabulum
et solvens Boves,
ut adaquatum duceret,
invenit eos solito hilariores.
Interrogavit
quid esset
et quae causa
ipsis laetitiae?
Illi, non sine causa, inquiunt,
"Exultanmus;
scimus enim nos hodie vacaturos."
"Vacaturos? (ait)
Sed unde hoc scitis?"
Respondent,
"Quia sic fore
hac nocte somniavimus.
Nec tantum feriaturos,
sed et in optimis pascuis diem acturos."
"Si somniastis (inquit),
male somniastis;
aut ego aliter etiam somniavi;
scilicet hanc diem integram
vos araturos.
Et experimento
probabitis
vana esse
vestra, et plerumque aliorum, somnia."
Moxque coepit eos subiugum mittere
et vomerem aratro aptare.
Quo illi tristes effecti,
"Heu (dicebant),
quam subito
spes nostrae, mendacio fultae,
vanuerunt;
quis credat deinceps in somniis?"

Here's an illustration for the fable (image source), showing some cattle, asleep:

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