The Herdsman and the Lost Bull

: Aesop's Fables

A HERDSMAN tending his flock in a forest lost a Bull-calf from

the fold. After a long and fruitless search, he made a vow that,

if he could only discover the thief who had stolen the Calf, he

would offer a lamb in sacrifice to Hermes, Pan, and the Guardian

Deities of the forest. Not long afterwards, as he ascended a

small hillock, he saw at its foot a Lion feeding on the Calf.

Terrified at the sight, he lifted his eyes and his hands to

heaven, and said: "Just now I vowed to offer a lamb to the

Guardian Deities of the forest if I could only find out who had

robbed me; but now that I have discovered the thief, I would

willingly add a full-grown Bull to the Calf I have lost, if I may

only secure my own escape from him in safety."



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