The Ass and the Lyre

Phaedrus
Retold* by Rohini Chowdhury

An Ass saw a Lyre lying in a meadow. Curious, he went up to it and tried the strings with his hoof, and they sounded at his touch. “Oh, what a pretty thing,” he said, and sighed. “Unfortunately, I do not know how to play this instrument! Now if anyone with the skill had found this lyre, he might have made wonderful music with it!”

Thus is genius wasted through bad luck.

*Based on the 1887 translation of Phaedrus’ fables by Henry Thomas Riley: The FABLES of PHÆDRUS. Literally Translated into English Prose with Notes, by HENRY THOMAS RILEY, B.A. Late Scholar Of Clare Hall, Cambridge. This work is in the public domain.