Æsop's Fables (V. S. Vernon-Jones)/The Bald Man and the Fly

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3908488Æsop's Fables: A New Translation — The Bald Man and the FlyVernon S. Vernon JonesAesop

THE BALD MAN AND THE FLY

A FLY settled on the head of a Bald Man and bit him. In his eagerness to kill it, he hit himself a smart slap. But the Fly escaped, and said to him in derision, “You tried to kill me for just one little bite; what will you do to yourself now, for the heavy smack you have just given yourself?” “Oh, for that blow I bear no grudge,” he replied, “for I never intended myself any harm; but as for you, you contemptible insect, who live by sucking human blood, I’d have borne a good deal more than that for the satisfaction of dashing the life out of you!”