The Mouse and the Farmer. A farmer caught a mouse in a heap of figs, and the mouse bit the farmer on the finger so sharply that he had to let the mouse go, saying, "By Hercules, nothing is so tiny that it need give up hope of surviving, so long as it is ready to defens itself and fight off an attack."
Mus et Rusticus. Mus a rustico in caricarum acervo deprehensus, tam acri morsu eius digitos vulneravit ut ille eum dimitteret, dicens, "Nihil, mehercule, tam pusillum est quod de salute desperare debeat, modo se defendere et vim depulsare velit."
Notes. This is Via Latina 23, which is a fable not included in Perry's classification scheme. While there are many fables which are not very realistic in their natural portrayal of the animals, this is a quite realistic little story, teaching us a lesson that for all the difference in scale between a man and a mouse, we share the will to live!
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