Russian Fable
Krylov and his fables
Russian Literature – Children Books – Russian Poetry – Ivan. A. Krylov – Contents
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The Slanderer And The Snake
ON the occasion of some triumphal procession in the realms below, the Snake and the Slanderer refused to yield each other precedence, and began a noisy quarrel as to which of the two had the best right to go first.
Now, in the infernal regions, as is well known, he takes precedence who has done most harm to his fellow-creatures. So in this hot and serious dispute, the Slanderer showed his tongue to the Snake ; and the Snake boastingly talked to the Slanderer about its sting, hissed out that it was unable to put up with an affront, and strove hard to crawl past him. The Slanderer actually found himself being left behind. But Beelzebub could not allow this : he himself took the Slanderer’s part, and drove the Snake back, saying,
“Although I recognise your merit, yet I justly assign precedence to him. You are excessively venomous, and dangerous in the extreme to everything which is near you ; your sting is fatal, and you sting — which is no small merit — without provocation. But can you wound from afar, like the deadly tongue of the Slanderer, from whom there is no escape, even though mountains or oceans intervene ? It is clear, then, that he is more deadly than you ; so give place to him, and in future behave more quietly.”
Since that time, Slanderers have been honoured more than Snakes in hell.
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Russian Literature – Children Books – Russian Poetry – Ivan. A. Krylov – Contents
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