Aesop's Fables

An Eagle made her nest at the top of a lofty oak; a Cat, having found a convenient hole, moved into the middle of the trunk; and a Wild Sow, with her young, took shelter in a hollow at its foot. The Cat cunningly resolved to destroy this chance-made colony. To carry out her design, she climbed to the nest of the Eagle and said, “Destruction is being prepared for you, and for me too, unfortunately. The Wild Sow, whom you see digging up the earth every day, wishes to uproot the oak, so that when it falls she may seize our families as food for her young.” Having thus frightened the Eagle out of her senses, she crept down to the cave of the Sow and said, “Your children are in great danger, for as soon as you go out with your litter to find food, the Eagle is prepared to pounce on one of your little pigs.” Having instilled these fears in the Sow, she went and pretended to hide herself in the hollow of the tree. When night came, she went out on silent feet and obtained food for herself and her kittens, but, feigning to be afraid, she kept a lookout all through the day. Meanwhile, the Eagle, full of fear of the Sow, sat still on the branches, and the Sow, terrified by the Eagle, did not dare to go out of her cave. And thus they both, along with their families, perished from hunger and provided ample food for the Cat and her kittens.