Tuesday, July 13, 2010

The Mouse in the Pot

The Mouse in the Pot. There was a pot full of soup which had no lid; a mouse fell in and, drowing in the fat, he was about to breathe his last breath. "I've had something to eat and something to drink," he said, "and now it's time for me to die."

Mus in Olla. In ollam iusculi plenam quae carebat operculo, Mus cecidit et, suffocatus adipe, iamque expirans animam "Edi" inquit "bibique, et cunctis implevi me cibis. Mihi tempus est mori."

Notes. This is Babrius 60, which is Perry 167 in Perry's classification scheme. The little mouse in the pot is an emblem of the "eat, drink and be merry - for tomorrow we die" motif that became so popular in the Middle Ages, nunc est bibendum...

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