Speaking of The Snake and the Crab in Ancient Greece was the equivalent of the modern idiom, 'Pot calling the kettle black'. A fable attributed to Aesop was eventually created about the two creatures and later still yet another fable concerning a crab and its offspring was developed to make the same point.
The first known mention of the snake and the crab is found in a drinking song dating from the late 6th or early 5th century BCE:
Since the movement of both creatures is far from direct, this is as much as to say that the pot should not call the kettle black.
A later fable, attributed to Aesop and numbered 196 in the Perry Index, [2] relates that the two were once friends. When the snake ignored the crab's advice to lead an honest life, it was killed by the crab. The snake then became rigid and the crab commented that if it had done so earlier it need not have died. The story only appeared in Greek sources until it was included in European collections of the fables during the Renaissance. In England it was recorded by Roger L'Estrange [3] and Samuel Croxall. [4] These portray the crab as honest and plain dealing, drawing the moral that one should be straightforward in behaviour and beware of friendship with those who are not. The story had therefore travelled a long way from being an illustration of hypocritical behaviour.
Scholars believe that the fable of "The Two Crabs", alternatively known as "The Young Crab and its Mother" (Perry Index 322), [5] also derives from the original Greek idiom. [6] In this version, a young crab is told to walk straight by its mother and asks for a demonstration of how that is done. The story, recorded by Babrius and Aphthonius of Antioch in Greek and by Avianus in Latin, was taken up by William Caxton and later made the subject of new Latin poems by the German Renaissance poets Hieronymus Osius (1564) [7] and Caspar Barth (1612). [8] It is given the moral that those who teach should first set a good example, which at least preserves the bite of the Greek original. In the following century, La Fontaine's Fables subtly subvert the story. He titles it L'écrevisse et sa fille (The lobster and her daughter, XII.10) [9] but begins with a eulogy of political deviousness:
before telling a fable of a mere five lines out of a total of thirty. The mother instructs her daughter to be straightforward and is answered by an appeal to the force of example, of which the ironical La Fontaine approves.
Illustrations in fable collections before the 19th century generally portrayed two crabs (or cuttlefish) together on a sandy shore. Vincent van Gogh's painting of Two Crabs is visually much the same, although the National Gallery speculates that it might "probably" be an imitation [10] of a Japanese woodblock print by Hokusai. [11] An alternative source of inspiration is the fable titled "Moeder en dochter krab" (Mother and daughter crab) in Dutch editions of Aesop's fables. [12] Certainly it was from Aesop that the artist Edward Bawden got the idea for his 1956 coloured linocut of "An old crab and a young crab". [13]
There have also been a few musical treatments of the fable, including Mabel Wood Hill's setting for piano and voice in Aesop's Fables Interpreted Through Music (1920) [14] and in Edward Hughes Songs from Aesop's fables for children's voices and piano (1965). The earlier fable was also set in German by Andre Asriel as Die Schlange und der Krebs for mixed a cappella voices as part of his 6 Fabeln nach Aesop in 1972. [15] [16]
Aesop's Fables, or the Aesopica, is a collection of fables credited to Aesop, a slave and storyteller who lived in ancient Greece between 620 and 564 BCE. Of varied and unclear origins, the stories associated with his name have descended to modern times through a number of sources and continue to be reinterpreted in different verbal registers and in popular as well as artistic media.
The Frog and the Ox appears among Aesop's Fables and is numbered 376 in the Perry Index. The story concerns a frog that tries to inflate itself to the size of an ox, but bursts in the attempt. It has usually been applied to socio-economic relations.
"The pot calling the kettle black" is a proverbial idiom that may be of Spanish origin, of which English versions began to appear in the first half of the 17th century. It means a situation in which somebody accuses someone else of a fault which the accuser shares, and therefore is an example of psychological projection, or hypocrisy. Use of the expression to discredit or deflect a claim of wrongdoing by attacking the originator of the claim for their own similar behaviour is the tu quoque logical fallacy.
Zeus and the Tortoise appears among Aesop's Fables and explains how the tortoise got her shell. It is numbered 106 in the Perry Index. From it derives the proverbial sentiment that 'There's no place like home'.
The Ass in the Lion's Skin is one of Aesop's Fables, of which there are two distinct versions. There are also several Eastern variants, and the story's interpretation varies accordingly.
The Two Pots is one of Aesop's Fables and numbered 378 in the Perry Index. The fable may stem from proverbial sources.
The Bird in Borrowed Feathers is a fable of Classical Greek origin usually ascribed to Aesop. It has existed in numerous different versions between that time and the Middle Ages, going by various titles and generally involving members of the corvid family. The lesson to be learned from it has also varied, depending on the context in which it was told. Several idioms derive from the fable.
The Crow or Raven and the Snake or Serpent is one of Aesop's Fables and numbered 128 in the Perry Index. Alternative Greek versions exist and two of these were adopted during the European Renaissance. The fable is not to be confused with the story of this title in the Panchatantra, which is completely different.
The Dog and the Wolf is one of Aesop's Fables, numbered 346 in the Perry Index. It has been popular since antiquity as an object lesson of how freedom should not be exchanged for comfort or financial gain. An alternative fable with the same moral concerning different animals is less well known.
The Fox and the Woodman is a cautionary story against hypocrisy included among Aesop's Fables and is numbered 22 in the Perry Index. Although the same basic plot recurs, different versions have included a variety of participants.
The Fox and the Mask is one of Aesop's Fables, of which there are both Greek and Latin variants. It is numbered 27 in the Perry Index.
Hercules and the Wagoner or Hercules and the Carter is a fable credited to Aesop. It is associated with the proverb "God helps those who help themselves", variations on which are found in other ancient Greek authors.
The Heron and the Fish is a situational fable constructed to illustrate the moral that one should not be over-fastidious in making choices since, as the ancient proverb proposes, 'He that will not when he may, when he will he shall have nay'. Of ancient but uncertain origin, it gained popularity after appearing among La Fontaine's Fables.
The Farmer and his Sons is a story of Greek origin that is included among Aesop's Fables and is listed as 42 in the Perry Index. It illustrates both the value of hard work and the need to temper parental advice with practicality.
The classical legend that the swan sings at death was incorporated into one of Aesop's Fables, numbered 399 in the Perry Index. The fable also introduces the proverbial antithesis between the swan and the goose that gave rise to such sayings as ‘Every man thinks his own geese are swans’, in reference to blind partiality, and 'All his swans are turned to geese', referring to a reverse of fortune.
The Fisherman and his Flute appears among Aesop's Fables and is numbered 11 in the Perry Index. Wide variations on the theme have existed over the centuries.
The fable of The Fox, the Flies and the Hedgehog is ascribed to Aesop's Fables. From its beginning it was applied satirically to political leaders and is numbered 427 in the Perry Index.
The man and the lion (disputing) is one of Aesop's Fables and is numbered 284 in the Perry Index. An alternative title is The lion and the statue. The story's moral is that the source of evidence should be examined before it is accepted.
The Weasel and Aphrodite, also known as Venus and the Cat is one of Aesop's Fables, numbered 50 in the Perry Index. A fable on the cynic theme of the constancy of one's nature, it serves as a cautionary tale against trusting those with evil temper, for even if they might change their body, they will not change their mind.
The Moon and her Mother is an ancient Greek fable doubtfully attributed to Aesop. It is number 468 in the Perry Index, and in Laura Gibbs's inclusive collection it is listed as number 16 in the Vernon Jones index (1912).
