| FABLE VIII. | FABLE VIII |
| THE WOLF AND THE CRANE. | LE LOUP ET LA GRUE |
| Phaedrus. | Phèdre. |
| He who expects a recompense for his services from the dishonest commits a twofold mistake; | Attendre des méchants la récompense d’un bienfait, c’est double faute : |
| first, because he assists the undeserving, | d’abord, on a obligé des indignes ; |
| and in the next place, because he cannot be gone while he is yet safe. | ensuite, on risque de ne pas s’en tirer sain et sauf. |
| A bone that he had swallowed stuck in the jaws of a Wolf. | Un Loup avala un os qui lui resta dans le gosier. |
| Thereupon, overcome by extreme pain, he began to tempt all and sundry by great rewards to extract the cause of misery. | Vaincu par la douleur, il demandait secours, promettant une récompense à qui le délivrerait de son mal. |
| At length, on his taking an oath, a Crane was prevailed on, | La Grue se laisse enfin persuader par ses serments ; |
| and, trusting the length of her neck to his throat, she wrought, with danger to herself, a cure for the Wolf. | elle hasarde la longueur de son cou dans la gueule du Loup, et fait cette dangereuse opération. |
| When she demanded the promised reward for this service, | Comme ensuite elle réclamait son salaire : |
| “You are an ungrateful one,” replied the Wolf, “to have taken your head in safety out of my mouth, and then to ask for a reward.” | « Ingrate, lui dit-il, tu as retiré ta tête saine et sauve de mon gosier, et tu demandes une récompense ! » |
