Social Commentaries

I.24 The Proud Frog

by Phaedrus c. 15 BC - c. AD 50

Translated by Christopher Smart (1887 printing) · From Fables, Book I

Social Commentaries

When poor men to expenses run,
And ape their betters, they're undone.
An Ox the Frog a-grazing view'd,
And envying his magnitude,
She puffs her wrinkled skin, and tries
To vie with his enormous size:
Then asks her young to own at least
That she was bigger than the beast.
They answer, No. With might and main
She swells and strains, and swells again.
"Now for it, who has got the day?"
The Ox is larger still, they say.
At length, with more and more ado,
She raged and puffed, and burst in two.

MLA

Phaedrus. “I.24 The Proud Frog.” Translated by Christopher Smart. Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/phaedrus/23/.

Chicago

Phaedrus. “I.24 The Proud Frog.” Translated by Christopher Smart. Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/phaedrus/23/.

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