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THE FISHERMAN AND THE LITTLE FISH

Aesop's Fable


A Fisherman who lived on the produce of his nets, one day caught a single small Fish as the result of his day's labor. The Fish, panting convulsively, thus entreated for his life:

"O Sir, what good can I be to you, and how little am I worth? I am not yet come to my full size. Pray spare my life, and put me back into the sea. I shall soon become a large fish fit for the tables of the rich, and then you can catch me again, and make a handsome profit of me."

The Fisherman replied,

"I should indeed be a very simple fellow if, for the chance of a greater uncertain profit, I were to forego my present certain gain."



Illustration by  Harrison Weir, John Tenniel and Ernest Griest, 1884.


Translated by George Fyler Townsend (1887).


Aesop. Aesop's Fables. Content is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.