Fables of Æsop and Other Eminent Mythologists/Fable CCXVI
Fab. CCXVI.
A Fisherman and a Little Fish.
AS an Angler was at his Sport, he had the Hap to Draw up a very Little Fish from among the Fry. The Poor Wretch begg'd heartily to be thrown in again; for says he, I’m not come to my Growth yet, and if you'l let me alone till I am Bigger, Your Purchase will turn to a Better Account. Well! says the Man, but I'd rather have a Little Fish in Possession, then a Great One in Reversion.
The Moral.
'Tis Wisdom to take what we May, while 'tis to be Had, even if it were but for Mortality sake.
REFLEXION.
THERE’s no Parting with a Certainty for an Uncertainty. But This Fable is abundantly Moraliz’d Elsewhere.