Legenda: Canis et Corcodillus

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Canis et Corcodillus

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Scroll down to find: Overview, Study Guide, Verse, Audio, and Segmented Prose Text

The story of The Dog and The Crocodile is a poem by Phaedrus. It is written in iambic trimeter.

You can find this poem, Phaedrus 1.25, along with other poems by Phaedrus, at the aesopica.net website. The Perry number for this fable is Perry 482.

You can find a translation of this poem by Phaedrus in Aesop's Fables, by Laura Gibbs (Oxford University Press, 2003).

There is also a translation of this poem into English verse by Christopher Smart which you can also read at the aesopica.net website.

Use this Study Guide to organize your learning activities.

Here is the poem (click "play" icon for brief audio sample):

Consilia qui dant prava cautis hominibus
et perdunt operam et deridentur turpiter.
Canes currentes bibere in Nilo flumine,
a corcodillis ne rapiantur, traditum est.
Igitur cum currens bibere coepisset canis,
sic corcodillus 'Quamlibet lambe otio,
noli vereri'. At ille 'Facerem mehercules,
nisi esse scirem carnis te cupidum meae'.

The following version puts the words in a more prose-like order so that it will be easier for you to read:

Hi, qui dant prava cautis hominibus, et perdunt operam et deridentur turpiter.	Additional grammar commentary to be added... meanwhile, if you have questions, use the Comments? Questions? Suggestions? link at the top or bottom of this page if you have a query. You might also want to look at these Tips on Using Segmented Texts.
Traditum est canes bibere in Nilo flumine currentes, ne rapiantur a corcodillis.
Igitur cum canis bibere coepisset currens sic corcodillus:
Quamlibet lambe otio; noli vereri.
At ille: Facerem mehercules, nisi scirem te esse cupidum carnis meae.