~ 189. The Hermit and his Disciple ~

Laura Gibbs · 189. The Hermit and his Disciple

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A hermit, wanting to test his disciple, put a mouse under a bowl.
"I'm going out," he said. "You stay here, and whatever you do, don't look under that bowl."
The disciple was curious, of course. "Why does my master not want me to know what is there?" he wondered.
He approached the bowl, lifted it carefully, and thus let loose the mouse that had been trapped there.
When the hermit returned, he asked his disciple if he had seen what was under the bowl.
"I saw," he said, "but it would have been better if I had not seen."

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Inspired by: Mille Fabulae et Una, a collection of Latin fables that I've edited, free to read online. I am not translating the Latin here; instead, I am just telling a 100-word version of the fable.
Notes: This is fable 897 in the book, which is Perry 664.