During a fiercely fought battle, the army's trumpeter was captured by an enemy soldier.
As the soldier dragged him away to be executed, the trumpeter begged him for mercy.
"Don't kill me, please!" he shouted. "I didn't fight in the battle. I don't know how to fight! I don't even have any weapons! Look: all I have is my trumpet."
The enemy soldier scoffed. "That is all the more reason for me to kill you, coward!" he said. "You rouse the rest of us to risk our lives on the field of battle, while you yourself stand on the sidelines."
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 864 in the book, which is Perry 370.
No comments:
Post a Comment