Ancient Wisdom Atlas

Motif

powerful creature afraid of something small

powerful_creature_afraid_of_something_small

A motif of the Trickster and Boundary Crosser family, within the sub-family Animal Rivalries, Imitation, and Small-over-Large Victories. Every row below is a tagged passage; each rests on a quote in its source text.

1 occurrences

1 traditions


greek

  • Aesop's Fables; a new translation THE GOATHERD AND THE GOAT / THE SHEEP AND THE DOG / THE SHEPHERD AND THE WOLF / THE LION, JUPITER, AND THE ELEPHANT; lines 4249-4268 confidence: high

    The lion is described as large and strong, with sharp teeth and claws, yet he cannot bear a cock crowing and runs away when he hears it.

    The lion is strong but fears a cock's crowing, and the huge elephant fears a gnat entering his ear.

    read in the book