Fable No. 169 — "A Complaint Filed Against the Pike,"

A denunciation was filed against the Pike in court, That because of her there was no living in the pond; A whole cartload of evidence was presented, And the guilty one, as expected, Was brought to court in a large basin. The judges gathered not far off; They grazed on their nearby meadow; Yet their names remained in the archive: They were two Donkeys, Two old nags, and two or three Goats; For proper oversight of the proceedings A Fox was assigned to them as Prosecutor. And rumor ran among the people That the Pike had been supplying the Fox's fish table; Nevertheless, there was no partiality in the judges, And it must be said that the Pike's tricks Could not be hushed up this time. So there was nothing for it: it was time to write a decree To subject the guilty one to a shameful execution And, as a warning to others, to hang her on a branch. "Honorable judges!" the Fox here began: "Hanging is not enough: I would assign her a punishment Such as has not been seen here in our lifetime: So that in future rogues would be both frightened and in danger — So drown her in the river." — "Excellent!" The judges shouted. They all decided unanimously on that. And the Pike was thrown — into the river!