The Shepherd and the Sea

189. THE SHEPHERD AND THE SEA A Shepherd moved down his flock to feed near the shore, and beholding the Sea lying in a smooth and breathless calm, he was seized with a strong desire to sail over it. So he sold all his sheep and bought a cargo of Dates, and loaded a vessel, and set sail. He had not gone far when a storm arose; his ship was wrecked, and his Dates and everything lost, and he himself with difficulty escaped to land. Not long after, when the Sea was again calm, and one of his friends came up to him and was admiring its repose, he said, “Have a care, my good fellow, of that smooth surface; it is only looking out for your Dates.” [more info]

The Shepherd and the Sea

045. THE SHEPHERD AND THE SEA. You will find the fable in English on this page; scroll to see if there are multiple English versions. [more info]

The Shepherd Turned Merchant

187. THE SHEPHERD TURNED MERCHANT. A shepherd, that kept his sheep near the sea, one clear summer's day drove them close to the shore and sat down upon a piece of rock to enjoy the cool breeze that came from the water. The green element appeared calm and smooth; and Thetis, with her train of smiling beautiful nymphs, seemed to dance upon the floating surface of the deep. The shepherd's heart thrilled with secret pleasure, and he began to wish for the life of a merchant. “O how happy,” says he, “should I be to plough this liquid plain, in a pretty tight vessel of my own! And to visit the remote parts of the world, instead of sitting idle here, looking upon a parcel of senseless sheep, while they are grazing! Then what ample returns should I make in the way of traffic and what a short and certain path would this be to riches and honour!”
In short, this thought was improved into a resolution; away he posted with all expedition, sold his flock and all that he had; then he bought a bark, and fitted it out for a voyage: he loaded it with a cargo of dates, and set sail for a mart that was held upon the coast of Asia, five hundred leagues off.
He had not long been at sea, before the wind began to blow tempestuously, and the waves to rage and swell: the violence of the weather increased upon him, his ship was in danger of sinking, and he was obliged to lighten her, by throwing all his dates overboard: after this his vessel was driven upon a rock near the shore, and split to pieces; he himself hardly escaping with life.
Poor and destitute of subsistence, he applied himself to the man who had bought his flock, and was admitted to tend it as an hireling. He sat in the same place as before, and the ocean again looked calm and smooth. “Ah!” says he, “deceitful, tempting element, in vain you try to engage me a second time; my misfortunes have left me too poor to be again deluded the same way; and experience has made me so wise as to resolve, whatever my condition may be, never to trust to thy faithless bosom more.” [more info]

The Shepherd and the Sea

04.02: THE SHEPHERD AND THE SEA.
A shepherd, neighbour to the sea,
Lived with his flock contentedly.
His fortune, though but small,
Was safe within his call.
At last some stranded kegs of gold
Him tempted, and his flock he sold,
Turn'd merchant, and the ocean's waves
Bore all his treasure—to its caves.
Brought back to keeping sheep once more,
But not chief shepherd, as before,
When sheep were his that grazed the shore,
He who, as Corydon or Thyrsis,
Might once have shone in pastoral verses,
Bedeck'd with rhyme and metre,
Was nothing now but Peter.
But time and toil redeem'd in full
Those harmless creatures rich in wool;
And as the lulling winds, one day,
The vessels wafted with a gentle motion,
'Want you,' he cried, 'more money, Madam Ocean?
Address yourself to some one else, I pray;
You shall not get it out of me!
I know too well your treachery.'
This tale's no fiction, but a fact,
Which, by experience back'd,
Proves that a single penny,
At present held, and certain,
Is worth five times as many,
Of Hope's, beyond the curtain;
That one should be content with his condition,
And shut his ears to counsels of ambition,
More faithless than the wreck-strown sea, and which
Doth thousands beggar where it makes one rich,—
Inspires the hope of wealth, in glorious forms,
And blasts the same with piracy and storms.
[more info]

The Shepherd and the Sea

008. THE SHEPHERD AND THE SEA.
A shepherd, neighbour to the sea,
Lived with his flock contentedly.
His fortune, though but small,
Was safe within his call.
At last some stranded kegs of gold
Him tempted, and his flock he sold,
Turn'd merchant, and the ocean's waves
Bore all his treasure—to its caves.
Brought back to keeping sheep once more,
But not chief shepherd, as before,
When sheep were his that grazed the shore,
He who, as Corydon or Thyrsis,
Might once have shone in pastoral verses,
Bedeck'd with rhyme and metre,
Was nothing now but Peter.
But time and toil redeem'd in full
Those harmless creatures rich in wool;
And as the lulling winds, one day,
The vessels wafted with a gentle motion,
'Want you,' he cried, 'more money, Madam Ocean?
Address yourself to some one else, I pray;
You shall not get it out of me!
I know too well your treachery.'
This tale's no fiction, but a fact,
Which, by experience back'd,
Proves that a single penny,
At present held, and certain,
Is worth five times as many,
Of Hope's, beyond the curtain;
That one should be content with his condition,
And shut his ears to counsels of ambition,
More faithless than the wreck-strown sea, and which
Doth thousands beggar where it makes one rich,—
Inspires the hope of wealth, in glorious forms,
And blasts the same with piracy and storms.
[more info]