The Two Crabs
An Aesop's Fable in verse….
The Two Crabs
Fable
"My dear," said old Mrs. Crab to her daughter,
"Of all awkward beasts on land or on water,
Though they walk, though they jump, though they hop or crawl,
You surely are the most awkward of all."
"O mother, I thought all the graces I knew,
For I've faithfully tried to walk just like you.
But if you will teach me a more graceful way,
I'll learn, for I'll practice by night and by day."
*
Moral
'Tis strange, very strange, how much plainer I see
The mistakes that you make, than those made by me.
Notes
Moral Simply Put:
Don't tell others how to act unless you can set a good example.
Thanks and Acknowledgements
The version of "The Two Crabs" comes from "Aesop in Rhyme" (1906) by Mary Leone Gilliam Thummel & Aesop.
Illustration by Milo Winter.
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