Arion and the Dolphin

Arion the musician traveled to Sicily where he won a valuable prize in a singing competition.
On his way home, pirates attacked Arion's ship. "You may choose to die and we shall bury you properly on land," they said, "or we shall throw you overboard to drown in the sea!"
"Let me sing my funeral song before I jump," pleaded Arion.
He sang, and then he jumped into the sea.
A dolphin who had heard Arion's singing swam to his rescue and carried him ashore.
Apollo, god of music, placed Arion's dolphin in the stars; it is the constellation Delphinus.


Inspired by: Fables of Aesop and Other Eminent Mythologists by Roger L'Estrange, 382.
Notes: This fable is not part of the classical Aesop tradition; you can read more about Arion at Wikipedia.

Here is an illustration by Bouguereau:




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