Aesop's Fables

A Cobbler, unable to make a living by his trade and made desperate by poverty, began to practice medicine in a town where he was not known. He sold a drug, pretending that it was an antidote to all poisons, and won a great name for himself through long-winded boasting and advertisements. When the Cobbler himself happened to fall seriously ill, the Governor of the town decided to test his skill. For this purpose he called for a cup, and while filling it with water, he pretended to mix poison with the Cobbler’s antidote, ordering him to drink it with the promise of a reward. The Cobbler, in fear of death, confessed that he had no knowledge of medicine and had been made famous only by the stupid clamor of the crowd. The Governor then called a public assembly and addressed the citizens: “What folly have you been guilty of? You did not hesitate to entrust your heads to a man whom none of you would hire to make even the shoes for your feet.”