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Musca et Mula

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The story of The Fly and The Mule is a poem by Walter of England. It is written in elegiac couplets. You can find this poem, Walter 36, along with other poems by Walter, at the aesopica.net website. The Perry number for this fable is Perry 498. You can see a 1501 woodcut illustration for this fable at the University of Mannheim website. You can find a translation of a different version of this fable in Aesop's Fables, by Laura Gibbs (Oxford University Press, 2003).

   Use this Study Guide to organize your learning activities.

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

Mula rapit cursum: nam mulam mulio cogit.
Mulae musca nocet vulnere sive minis:

Cur pede sopito cursum tempusque moraris?
Te premo, te pungo: pessima, curre levis.

Mula refert: Quia magna tonas vis magna videri.
Nec tua facta nocent, nec tua verba mihi,

Nec te sustineo, sed eum, quem sustinet axis,
Qui mea frena tenet, qui mea terga ferit.

Audet in audacem timidus fortique minatur
Debilis, audendi dum videt esse locum.

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

Mula rapit cursum: nam mulio cogit mulam.	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.
Musca nocet mulae vulnere sive minis:
Cur pede sopito cursum tempusque moraris?
Te premo, te pungo: pessima, curre levis.
Mula refert: Quia magna tonas, vis magna videri.
Nec tua facta nec tua verba nocent mihi.
Nec te sustineo, sed eum, quem sustinet axis, qui mea frena tenet, qui mea terga ferit.
Audet timidus in audacem et debilis forti minatur, dum videt audendi esse locum.