me to believe it. But do you not think it would still be possible to improve my form?"
"And how do you propose to improve it? Speak, for I am open to suggestions," returned Jupiter, smiling graciously.
"Perhaps," returned the Horse, "I might have more speed if my legs were longer and more slender; a long swan-like neck would add to my beauty; a broader chest would increase my strength; and since you have destined me to carry upon my back your favourite, man, it might be well if the saddle, which my kind rider provides me with, should once for all be made a part of my body."
"Excellent," replied Jupiter, "wait a moment!"
And then, with a solemn air, he spoke the Word of Creation. The dust received the breath of life, matter took on its appointed form; and suddenly there stood before the throne the ungainly Camel. The Horse saw, shrank back, and shuddered in disgust and fear.
"Here," said Jupiter, "are longer and more slender legs; here is a long swan-like neck, a broader chest, a ready-made saddle. Is this the form you wish in place of your own?"
The Horse continued to shudder in silence.
"Go," concluded Jupiter, "and this time the warning shall be sufficient without further punishment. But in order to remind you from time to time of the folly of your audacity, this new creation shall continue to exist!" Then, casting a sustaining glance upon the Camel, he added, "And no Horse shall ever look upon the Camel without fear and trembling."
(Lessing, Fables, Book I, No. 5. Translated by G. Moir Bussey.)
