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Group Three

21 The tortoise

22 A thin reed survives

23 The lion and the mouse

24 The goat and the lion

25 The mother lion

26 The donkey's shadow

27 The dove and the ant

28 The greedy boy's hand

29 The greedy woman

30 The tricky donkey

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26. The Donkey's Shadow Disappears

On a hot sunny day a traveler paid
For a donkey and driver to rent,
But half way to town, when stopping for lunch,
He decided he wasn't content.

I'll eat in the good donkey's shadow, he said,
No, you won't, said his driver and guide,
You paid for the donkey but not for the shadow
That falls on my good donkey's side.


Yes, I will! said the man. No, you won't! Said the guide.
They shouted like lunatic men.
And the donkey got frightened and ran for the hills,
And never was heard from again.

MORAL: In fighting over trifles, we may lose greater things.


from the book Prayers and Fables and the forthcoming book Aesop's Best: 80 Fables in Verse by William Cleary

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