L'Estrange's translation (1692)
A BOY AND A SNAKE
A Boy was groping for Eels, and laid his hand upon a Snake, but the Snake, finding that it was pure Simplicity, and not Malice, admonish’d him of his Mistake: Keep your self well while you are well, says the Snake; for if you meddle with me, you’ll repent your Bargain.
THE MORAL. ‘Tis the Intention, morally speaking, that makes the Action good or bad; and even Brutes themselves, will put a Difference betwixt Harms of Ill-Will and Mischance.
Townsend's translation (1887)
The Boy Hunting Locusts
A boy was hunting for locusts. He had caught a goodly number, when he saw a Scorpion, and mistaking him for a locust, reached out his hand to take him. The Scorpion, showing his sting, said: "If you had but touched me, my friend, you would have lost me, and all your locusts too!"
