<div style="background:#fff;border:#bbb dashed 1px;padding:5px"><a href="http://en.citatepedia.ro/comments.php?id=499111" style="color:#000;text-decoration:none"><div style="margin:10px 0"><strong>A Fable</strong></div><div style="margin:10px 0">Securely sunning in a forest glade, <br>A mild, well-meaning snake<br>Approved the adaptations he had made<br>For safety’s sake.</div><div style="margin:10px 0">He liked the skin he had—<br>Its mottled camouflage, its look of mail,<br>And was content that he had thought to add<br>A rattling tail.</div><div style="margin:10px 0"><br>The tail was not for drumming up a fight;<br>No, nothing of the sort.<br>And he would only use his poisoned bite<br>As last resort.</div><div style="margin:10px 0"><br>A peasant now drew near,<br>Collecting wood; the snake, observing this,<br>Expressed concern by uttering a clear<br>But civil hiss.</div><div style="margin:10px 0"><br>The simple churl, his nerves at once unstrung, <br>Mistook the other’s tone<br>And dashed his brains out with a deftly-flung<br>Pre-emptive stone.</div><div style="margin:10px 0">Moral</div><div style="margin:10px 0">Security, alas, can give<br>A threatening impression;<br>Too much defense-initiative<br>Can prompt aggression.</div><div style="margin:10px 0"><br /></a><br />poem by <a href="http://en.citatepedia.ro/by.php?a=Richard+Wilbur">Richard Wilbur</a><div class=q> <img src="https://www.citatepedia.ro/g/32share.png" style="float:left" alt="Share"> <script type="text/javascript" src="//s7.addthis.com/js/300/addthis_widget.js#pubid=citatepedia" async="async"></script><div style="display:inline-block" class="addthis_sharing_toolbox" data-url="http://en.citatepedia.ro/comments.php?id=499111" data-title="A Fable de Richard Wilbur" data-description="Securely sunning in a forest glade, A mild, well-meaning snake Approved the adaptations he had made For safety’s sake. He liked the skin he had— Its mottled camouflage, its look of mail, And was content that he had thought to add A rattling ..."></div> </div> </div>

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