There was a Huge Bear-Dog, and an Ass laden with Bread upon a Long Journey together: They were Both very Hungry, and while the Ass was Grazing upon Thistles by the Way-side, the Dog would fain have been Eating too for Company, and Begg'd a Bit of Bread of him. The Ass made him Answer, that if he were Hungry, he might e'en do as he did; for he had no Bread to spare. While this pass'd, up comes a Wolf toward them. The Ass fell a Trembling, and told the Dog, he hop'd he would stand by him if the Wolf should set upon him. No, says the Dog, that they will Eat Alone, shall e'en Fight Alone too, for me: And so he left his Fellow-Traveller at the Mercy of the Wolf.
Common Defence and Preservation, is the Main End of Society, and the Great Benefit we receive by Joining in't: We Love One Another, because we are the better for One Another; and it is the Interest that Supports us in the Duty; when that Reciprocal Kindness fails, as we see here in the Dog and the Ass, the League drops to Pieces. Source:
L'Estrange 491.
Click here for a
SLIDESHOW of all the Desandre-Freeman images. This is actually an illustration for a different fable, but I thought this made a good fit!
M0354 (not in Perry)
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