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Agnus et Capra

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The story of The Lamb and The She-Goat is a poem from a medieval Romulus (rhymed). It is written in the Goliardic meter. You can find this poem, Romulus 2.6, along with other fables from the Romulus collections, at the aesopica.net website. The Perry number for this fable is Perry 506. What is interesting about this story is just how the storyteller poses this moral: is the lamb allowed to choose its own allegiances (so the dog looks silly pointing out the "mistake," since as far as the lamb is concerned there is no mistake...), or is the lamb being foolish, betraying its own nature by abandoning its own kind (meaning that the dog is the typical fable figure, pointing out the foolish mistake that another animal has made). There is a version of this story in prose form here: : Agnus et Capra (prose). 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 (based on the Latin poet Phaedrus) in Aesop's Fables, by Laura Gibbs (Oxford University Press, 2003).

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Here is the poem in verse form:

Inter capras extitit    Agnus educatus,
A matris uberibus    ibi collocatus.
Quem Canis aggrediens    sic sic est affatus:
Quid sine matre tua facis hic capris sociatus?

Agnus ait: Propria    mater me portavit
In suis visceribus     et mundo donavit.
Sed suis uberibus     Capra me lactavit,
Et mihi carior est bona quae mihi tanta patravit.

Canis ait: Attamen    vere comprobaris
Ovis esse filius     per quam nascebaris,
Licet inter hispidas    capras nutriaris.
Agnus ait: Sic est ut dicis; non verearis.

Mater, me concipiens,    naturae complebat
Legem, cum me peperit;    sed hinc nesciebat
Utrum mas vel femina     foret quod ferebat,
Quae nec notitiam venturae sortis habebat.

Moralitas.
Ista nos historia    dat intelligentes,
Quod alumni carnis    amant nutrientes.
Mirum, cum despiciunt     proprios parentes,
Aestimo; naturam transcendunt sic facientes.

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

Extitit Agnus educatus inter capras, ibi collocatus a matris uberibus.	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.
Canis, Agnum aggrediens, sic affatus est:
"Quid hic facis, sine matre tua, capris sociatus?"
Agnus ait: "Propria mater me portavit in suis visceribus, et mundo donavit.
Sed Capra suis uberibus me lactavit, et mihi carior est ea, quae mihi tanta bona patravit."
Canis ait: "Attamen vere comprobaris filius esse ovis per quam nascebaris, licet nutriaris inter hispidas capras."
Agnus ait: "Sic est, ut dicis; non verearis.
Mater, me concipiens, complebat naturae legem cum me peperit,
sed hinc nesciebat, utrum mas vel femina foret hoc, quod ferebat, nec habebat notitiam quae venturae sortis.
Moralitas. Ista historia dat nos intelligentes quod alumni carnis amant nutrientes.
Aestimo mirum, cum despiciunt proprios parentes; sic facientes, naturam transcendunt.