FABLE XXIV
by Unknown · from Favourite Fables in Prose and Verse
Adapted Version
A little Viper was very hungry. He looked for food. He crawled into a big, dark shop. The shop had many tools. It was quiet inside. The Viper moved slowly. He looked left and right. He wanted a good meal. He saw many hard things.
The Viper saw a long, metal File. It lay on a wooden table. "This is my food!" thought the Viper. "I will eat this File." Viper was happy. He was very sure. He moved closer to the File. He wanted to bite it. He thought it was a soft thing. This was a big mistake.
The Viper spoke to the File. "Now I have you!" he said. "You are my food, little File." "I will eat you up." "You cannot escape." The Viper felt very strong. He was very proud. He opened his mouth wide. He moved to bite the File. He thought it would be easy. "I will make a fine meal."
The File was not scared. It was very hard. The File spoke back. Its voice was rough and deep. "Silly Viper!" said the File. "Leave me alone now." "Go away." "You will get nothing." "I am not your food." The File stood very still. It was not afraid at all. "Do not touch me."
The File continued to speak. "I bite hard iron," it said. "I bite strongest metal." "I am very strong." "You are not strong." "You get no food." "You will get pain." "You will get trouble." The Viper did not listen well. He still wanted to eat. He thought he was smarter. He was wrong.
The File gave a last warning. "If you bite me," it said. "I will hurt your mouth." "I will break your teeth." "Your teeth will be gone." "You will have no teeth." "You will be very sad." The Viper stopped. He looked at the File. The File was truly hard. The Viper understood. He left the File alone. He crawled away fast.
The File was very strong. The Viper learned a lesson. Do not fight with those who are too strong.
Original Story
FABLE XXIV.
THE VIPER AND THE FILE.
A Viper, crawling into a smith's shop to seek for something to eat, cast her eyes upon a File, and darting upon it in a moment, "Now I have you," said she, "and so you may help yourself how you can; but you may take my word for it that I shall make a fine meal of you before I think of parting with you." "Silly wretch!" said the File, as gruff as could be, "you had much better be quiet, and let me alone; for, if you gnaw for ever, you will get nothing but your trouble for your pains. Make a meal of me, indeed! why, I myself can bite the hardest iron in the shop; and if you go on with your foolish nibbling I shall tear all the teeth out of your spiteful head before you know where you are."
MORAL.
Take care that you never strive with those who are too strong for you, nor do spiteful things, lest you suffer for it.
Story DNA
Moral
Take care that you never strive with those who are too strong for you, nor do spiteful things, lest you suffer for it.
Plot Summary
A hungry viper enters a smith's shop and, mistaking a file for food, boasts that it will devour it. The file, however, gruffly warns the viper that it is too strong, capable of biting the hardest iron, and threatens to tear out the viper's teeth if it persists in its foolish attempt. The fable concludes with the moral to avoid striving with those too strong or acting spitefully.
Themes
Emotional Arc
arrogance to potential defeat
Writing Style
Narrative Elements
Cultural Context
Fables often feature talking animals to convey universal moral lessons, a tradition dating back to ancient Greece (Aesop).
Plot Beats (6)
- A hungry viper crawls into a smith's shop.
- The viper sees a file and decides it will make a meal of it.
- The viper boasts to the file about its impending meal.
- The file, gruffly, tells the viper to leave it alone.
- The file explains that it can bite the hardest iron and the viper will get nothing but trouble.
- The file threatens to tear out the viper's teeth if it continues nibbling.
Characters
The Viper
A medium-sized viper, sleek and muscular, with a dark, scaly body that shimmers with an oily sheen. Its scales are a mottled pattern of dark greens and browns, allowing for camouflage. Its body is capable of quick, darting movements.
Attire: None, as it is an animal.
Wants: Hunger and a desire to assert dominance; to find a meal and prove its strength.
Flaw: Overconfidence and underestimation of its opponent, leading to foolish actions.
Does not change; its arrogance leads to a quick defeat and a lesson learned (or should have learned) about choosing battles.
Arrogant, overconfident, predatory, foolish, and quick to boast.
The File
A sturdy, elongated metal file, made of dark, hardened steel. Its surface is covered in sharp, abrasive teeth, designed for grinding and shaping metal. It is heavy and unyielding.
Attire: None, as it is an inanimate object.
Wants: To be left alone and continue its purpose, which is to bite and shape hard iron.
Flaw: Its immobility; it cannot initiate conflict or move away.
Does not change; it remains a strong, unyielding tool, proving its inherent nature against a foolish attacker.
Gruff, unyielding, pragmatic, and confident in its own strength. It is not aggressive but will defend itself with blunt honesty.
Locations
Smith's Shop Interior
A dark, cluttered interior of a traditional European smith's shop, filled with tools and metalworks. The air is likely dusty and smells of coal smoke and iron. Light filters in from a small window or open doorway, illuminating motes of dust.
Mood: grimy, industrious, potentially dangerous
The Viper enters seeking food and encounters the File, leading to their confrontation.