Aesop's Fables

A sailor, setting out on a long voyage, took a Monkey with him to amuse him while on board the ship. As he sailed off the coast of Greece, a violent tempest arose in which the ship was wrecked, and he, his Monkey, and all the crew had to swim for their lives. A Dolphin saw the Monkey struggling with the waves and, supposing him to be a man (whom dolphins are always said to befriend), came and placed himself under him to carry him safely on his back to the shore. When the Dolphin, with his burden, came within sight of land not far from Athens, he asked the Monkey if he was an Athenian. The latter replied that he was, and that he was descended from one of the noblest families in that city. The Dolphin then asked if he knew the Piraeus (the famous harbor of Athens). Supposing that the Dolphin meant a man, the Monkey answered that he knew him very well and that he was a close friend. The Dolphin, indignant at these falsehoods, dipped the Monkey under the water and drowned him.