The Zither Player

092. THE ZITHER PLAYER. You will find the fable in English on this page; scroll to see if there are multiple English versions. [more info]

The Harper

108. THE HARPER. A fellow that used to play upon his harp, and sing to it, in little alehouses, and made a shift, by the help of those narrow confined walls, to please the dull sots who heard him, from hence entertained an ambition of showing his parts upon the public theatre, where he fancied he could not fail of raising a great reputation and fortune in a very short time. He was accordingly admitted upon trial; but the spaciousness of the place, and the throng of the people, so deadened and weakened both his voice and instrument, that scarce either of them could be heard; and where they could, it sounded so poor, so low, and wretched, in the ears of his refined audience, that he was universally exploded and hissed off the stage. [more info]

The Harper

40. THE HARPER
A harper, accustomed to sing and to play
In beer shops and wine shops, by night and by day,
By the rounds of applause which he received there,
Had such a swelled head that he went off elsewhere.
Said he to himself: "Such great talents as mine,
In lofty, grand theaters, surely would shine."
With harp in his hand, by searching all day,
He found a theater wherein he could play.
With a smile and a bow he stepped forth in pride,
But the crowd, when it heard him, began to deride.
Then, as he sang louder, they all, in a rage,
Jeered at him, and chased him quite off the stage.
This in your minds must be plain as can be:
A small, babbling brook cannot roar like the sea.
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