Translate: fable

A change of format for this one. Here is a fable from the book Ezopove basni (Aesop’s fables). Aesop was a Greek storyteller born about 620 BC. I got a wonderfully illustrated collection of his fables as a kid. Note that the English version below is not a verbatim translation of the Slovenian text.

Medved in čebele

Medved je naletel na podrto drevo, v katerem so imele čebele skrito svojo zalogo medu. Ko je tako vohljal za medom, je s cvetočega travnika priletela čebela. Dobro je vedela, kaj naklepa medved, zato ga je z vso močjo pičila in se skrila v votli hlod. Medved se je razjezil in s šapo udaril po hlodu, da bi uničil čebelje gnezdo. Tedaj pa je iz hloda privršal cel roj jeznih čebel in medved se je pognal v beg, kar so ga nesle noge. V strahu za svojo kožo je skočil v bližnjo mlako.

Nauk:
Bolj modro je tiho pretrpeti prvi udarec kot si z jezo nakopati tisoč sovražnikov.

The Bear and The Bees

A Bear roaming the woods in search of berries happened on a fallen tree in which a swarm of Bees had stored their honey. The Bear began to nose around the log very carefully to find out if the Bees were at home. Just then one of the swarm came home from the clover field with a load of sweets. Guessing what the Bear was after, the Bee flew at him, stung him sharply and then disappeared into the hollow log. The Bear lost his temper in an instant, and sprang upon the log tooth and claw, to destroy the nest. But this only brought out the whole swarm. The poor Bear had to take to his heels, and he was able to save himself only by diving into a pool of water.

Moral:
It is wiser to bear a single injury in silence than to provoke a thousand by flying into a rage.