Æsop. (Sixth century B.C.) Fables.
The Harvard Classics. 1909–14. |
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| The Old Man and Death |
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| AN OLD labourer, bent double with age and toil, was gathering sticks in a forest. At last he grew so tired and hopeless that he threw down the bundle of sticks, and cried out: “I cannot bear this life any longer. Ah, I wish Death would only come and take me!” | 1 |
| As he spoke, Death, a grisly skeleton, appeared and said to him: “What wouldst thou, Mortal? I heard thee call me.” | 2 |
“Please, sir,” replied the woodcutter, “would you kindly help me to lift this faggot of sticks on to my shoulder?”
| | “WE WOULD OFTEN BE SORRY IF OUR WISHES WERE GRATIFIED.” |
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