Perry's Index to theAesopicaFables exist in many versions; here is one version in English: THE KITE AND HIS MOTHER If someone is always blaspheming, what can he expect in times of trouble? Let us consider the fable on this subject proposed by our author.
The kite was sick and had spent many months in bed. When there was no longerany hope of his recovery, he tearfully asked his mother to make the rounds ofall the shrines and to offer great vows for his recovery. 'I will do what youwant, my son, but I am afraid that I will not succeed. It scares and worriesme, my child: since you pillaged all the temples and polluted all the altars,showing no reverence for the holy sacrifices, what can I pray for now on yourbehalf?'
This is a fable that should be heeded by those criminals who dare to visitthe holy shrines while still bearing the stains of their sin. They need to busythemselves with good works, making every effort to efface their evil deeds. |
 Source:Aesop's Fables.A new translation by Laura Gibbs.Oxford University Press (World's Classics): Oxford, 2002.
NOTE: Newcover, with new ISBN, published in 2008; contents of book unchanged.
Perry 324:Caxton 1.19 [English]
Perry 324:Gibbs (Oxford) 370 [English]
Perry 324:L'Estrange 18 [English]
Perry 324:Townsend 102 [English]
Perry 324: Steinhowel 1.19 [Latin, illustrated]Mannheim University Library
Perry 324:Babrius 78 [Greek]
Perry 324:Chambry 168 [Greek]
Perry 324:Rom. Anglicus 71 [Latin]
Perry 324:Walter of England 19 [Latin]
 You can find a compilation of Perry's index to theAesopica in the gigantic appendix to his edition ofBabrius and Phaedrus for the Loeb Classical Library (Harvard University Press: Cambridge, 1965). This book is an absolute must for anyone interested in the Aesopic fable tradition. Invaluable.
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