The Sanctuary · A fable from Phaedrus

The Unstrung Bow

Aesop plays a game with nuts and children while an adult passerby watches.

A man from Athens found Aesop and a group of children playing a game with nuts.

The man stopped and laughed at him. Surely someone of his age had better things to do.

Aesop places an unstrung wooden bow on the paving before the puzzled passerby.

Aesop laid an unstrung bow in the road and asked the man to explain what it meant.

People gathered around. The man thought for a while, but could make nothing of it. At last, he gave up.

An intact wooden bow rests with its string loose beside a few nuts as Aesop explains.

Aesop pointed to the bow. Kept bent under constant strain, he explained, it would eventually break.

Let it rest with its string loosened, and it would be ready when it was needed again.

Read as text

A man from Athens found Aesop and a group of children playing a game with nuts.

The man stopped and laughed at him. Surely someone of his age had better things to do.

Aesop laid an unstrung bow in the road and asked the man to explain what it meant.

People gathered around. The man thought for a while, but could make nothing of it. At last, he gave up.

Aesop pointed to the bow. Kept bent under constant strain, he explained, it would eventually break.

Let it rest with its string loosened, and it would be ready when it was needed again.

About this story & sources

An Alrewaq retelling of Phaedrus, Fables, III.14, Aesop at Play. This is a literary tale about Aesop, not a verified event in his life. The words and illustrations are an adaptation, not a quotation or a historical reconstruction.