The Birdcatcher and the Finch

The Birdcatcher and the Finch. A birdcatcher had stretched out his nets for the birds and scattered grain over a large area of ground for them. As the birds were feeding, however, he did not catch any of them since he thought they looked small. After these had eaten and flown away, other birds came to eat which he also failed to capture on account of their small size. The same pattern was repeated all day long, with some birds coming, other birds going, with the birdcatcher always waiting for bigger prey until finally it began to grown dark. Then the birdcatcher, lost all hope of capturing any big birds, since it was by now time to quit work. He gathered up his nets and caught just one little finch who had unluckily remained there on the spot. This fable shows that someone who wants to grab everything often ends up being able to catch only a little.

Auceps et Fringilla. Auceps tetenderat volucribus retia largamque illis in area effuderat escam, pascentes tamen aves non capiebat, quia sibi videbantur paucae. Quibus pastis ac avolantibus, aliae pastum adveniunt quas quoque propter paucitatem capere neglexit. Hoc per totum diem ordine servato, ac aliis advenientibus, aliis abeuntibus, illo semper maiorem praedam expectante, tandem advesperascere coepit. Tunc auceps, amissa spe multas capiendi, cum iam tempus esset quiescendi, attrahens retia, unam tantum fringillam, quae infelix in area remanserat, cepit. Morale. Haec fabula indicat qui omnia comprehendere volunt, saepe pauca vix capere posse.

Notes. This is Abstemius 39. As usual with Abstemius, it is not found in Perry's inventory. I'm definitely not someone with any objection to settling for second best, especially if I might run the risk of ending up with nothing at all, or close to nothing, like this poor birdcatcher.