The Ass in the Lion's Skin
The Ass in the Lion's Skin is one of Aesop's Fables, of which there are two distinct versions. There are also several Eastern variants, and the story's interpretation varies accordingly.
Fables
Of the two Greek versions of this story, the one catalogued as number 188 in the Perry Index concerns an ass that puts on a lion's skin, and amuses himself by terrifying all the foolish animals. At last coming upon a fox, he tries to frighten him also, but the fox no sooner hears the sound of his voice than he exclaims, "I might possibly have been frightened myself, if I had not heard your bray." The moral of the story is often quoted as, clothes may disguise a fool, but his words will give him away.[1] It is this version that appears as Fable 56 in the collection by Babrius.[2]
The second version is listed as number 358 in the Perry Index. In this the ass puts on the skin in order to be able to graze undisturbed in the fields, but he is given away by his ears and is chastised.[3] In addition to the Greek versions, there is a Latin version by Avianus, dating from the later fifth century. This version was adapted by William Caxton, with the moral cautioning against presumption. Literary allusions to this fable have been frequent since classical times[4] and into the Renaissance, such as in William Shakespeare's King John.[5] La Fontaine's Fable 5.21 (1668) also follows this version. The moral La Fontaine draws is not to trust to appearances, because clothes do not make the man.[6]
Folk motifs and proverbial use
In India, the same situation appears in Buddhist scriptures as the Sihacamma Jataka. Here the ass's master puts the lion's skin over his beast, and turns it loose to feed in the grain fields during his travels. The village watchmen are usually too terrified to do anything, but finally one of them raises the villagers. When they chase the ass, it begins to bray, betraying its true identity, and is then beaten to death. A related tale, the Sihakottukha Jataka, plays on the motif of being given away by one's voice. In this story, a lion sires a son on a she-jackal. The child resembles his father, but has a jackal's howl, and is therefore advised to remain silent.[7] A common European variant on this theme appears in the Ladino Sephardic proverb, asno callado, por sabio contado: "a silent ass is considered wise."[8] An English equivalent is "a fool is not known until he opens his mouth."
The story and its variants are alluded to idiomatically in various languages. In Latin it is leonis exuviae super asinum.[9][10] In Mandarin Chinese it is "羊質虎皮" (pronunciation:yang(2) zhi(4) hu(3) pi(2)), "a goat in a tiger's skin." In the Chinese story, a goat disguises itself as a lion, but continues to eat grass as usual. When it spies a wolf, instinct takes over and the goat takes to its heels.[11]
Later allusions
"The Ass in the Lion's Skin" was one of the several Aesop's fables put to use by American political cartoonist Thomas Nast, when it was rumoured in 1874 that Republican president Ulysses S. Grant intended to stand for election for an unprecedented third term in 1876. At the same time, there was a false report that animals had escaped from the Central Park Zoo, and were roaming the streets of New York. Nast combined the two items in a cartoon for the November 7 edition of Harpers Weekly. Titled "Third Term Panic", it depicts a donkey in a lion's skin, labelled "Caesarism", and scattering other animals that stand for various interests.[12]
In the twentieth century C. S. Lewis put the fable to use in The Last Battle, the final volume of The Chronicles of Narnia. A donkey named Puzzle is tricked into wearing a lion's skin, and then manipulated so as to deceive the simple-minded into believing that Aslan the lion has returned to Narnia. He then becomes a figurehead for a pseudo-government that works contrary to the interests of the Narnians. Kathryn Lindskoog identifies the Avianus version as the source of this episode.[13]
References
- ^ Aesopica
- ^ The Fables of Babrius, translated by Rev. John Davies, London 1860, p. 178
- ^ Aesopica
- ^ Francisco Rodríguez Adrados, History of the Graeco-Latin Fable, Brill 2003 pp. 259–262
- ^ Janet Clare, Shakespeare's Stage Traffic, Cambridge 2014, p. 33
- ^ "An English version is at Gutenberg". Gutenberg.org. 2008-05-06. Retrieved 2012-08-22.
- ^ Tales 188–189, The Jataka, tr. by W.H.D. Rouse, Cambridge 1895, Vol. II pp. 75–76; an online version
- ^ Concise dictionary of European proverbs, London 1998, proverb 146; available online
- ^ #407 in Laura Gibbs' Latin via Proverbs (2006)
- ^ Gibbs, Laura. "Latin Via Proverbs Errata". Latin Via Proverbs. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
- ^ Xianxia.com
- ^ "View online". Archived from the original on 2012-08-19. Retrieved 2012-08-22.
- ^ Kathryn Ann Lindskoog, Journey into Narnia (1998), p. 184.
External links
- 15th–20th century illustrations from books on Flickr
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Fables
- The Ant and the Grasshopper
- The Ass and his Masters
- The Ass and the Pig
- The Ass Carrying an Image
- The Ass in the Lion's Skin
- The Astrologer who Fell into a Well
- The Bear and the Travelers
- The Belly and the Members
- The Bird-catcher and the Blackbird
- The Bird in Borrowed Feathers
- The Boy Who Cried Wolf
- The Cat and the Mice
- The Cock and the Jewel
- The Cock, the Dog and the Fox
- The Crow and the Pitcher
- The Crow and the Snake
- The Deer without a Heart
- The Dog and Its Reflection
- The Dog and the Wolf
- The Dove and the Ant
- The Eagle and the Fox
- The Farmer and the Stork
- The Farmer and the Viper
- The Fir and the Bramble
- The Fisherman and the Little Fish
- The Fowler and the Snake
- The Fox and the Crow
- The Fox and the Grapes
- The Fox and the Lion
- The Fox and the Mask
- The Fox and the Sick Lion
- The Fox and the Stork
- The Fox and the Weasel
- The Fox and the Woodman
- The Frog and the Ox
- The Frogs Who Desired a King
- The Goat and the Vine
- The Goose that Laid the Golden Eggs
- The Honest Woodcutter
- The Horse and the Donkey
- The Horse that Lost its Liberty
- The Lion and the Mouse
- The Lion, the Bear and the Fox
- The Man with Two Mistresses
- The Mischievous Dog
- The Miser and his Gold
- The Moon and her Mother
- The Mountain in Labour
- The Mouse and the Oyster
- The North Wind and the Sun
- The Oak and the Reed
- The Old Man and Death
- The Old Woman and the Doctor
- The Rose and the Amaranth
- The Satyr and the Traveller
- The Sick Kite
- The Snake and the Crab
- The Snake in the Thorn Bush
- The Tortoise and the Hare
- Town Mouse and Country Mouse
- The Travellers and the Plane Tree
- The Trees and the Bramble
- The Two Pots
- The Walnut Tree
- Washing the Ethiopian White
- The Weasel and Aphrodite
- The Wolf and the Crane
- The Wolf and the Lamb
- The Woodcutter and the Trees
- The Young Man and the Swallow
- An ass eating thistles
- The Bear and the Gardener
- Belling the Cat (also known as The Mice in Council)
- The Blind Man and the Lame
- The Boy and the Filberts
- Chanticleer and the Fox
- The Dog in the Manger
- The drowned woman and her husband
- The Elm and the Vine
- The Fox and the Cat
- The Gourd and the Palm-tree
- The Hawk and the Nightingale
- The miller, his son and the donkey
- The Monkey and the Cat
- The Priest and the Wolf
- The Scorpion and the Frog
- The Shepherd and the Lion
adaptations
- Aesop's Film Fables
- The Grasshopper and the Ants
adaptations
- Demetrius of Phalerum
- Phaedrus
- Babrius
- Avianus
- Dositheus Magister
- Alexander Neckam
- Adémar de Chabannes
- Odo of Cheriton
- John Lydgate
- Kawanabe Kyōsai
- Laurentius Abstemius
- Roger L'Estrange
- Gabriele Faerno
- Hieronymus Osius
- Marie de France
- Robert Henryson
- Jean de La Fontaine
- Ivan Krylov
- Nicolas Trigault
- Robert Thom
- Zhou Zuoren