Aesop's Fables · Chapter
The Eagle and His Captor explained
A man catches an eagle, clips its wings, and keeps it in his henhouse.
What happens
A man catches an eagle, clips its wings, and keeps it in his henhouse. The eagle is sold to a neighbor who lets its wings grow back. The eagle then hunts a hare and gives it to the neighbor. A fox advises the eagle to instead give gifts to the original captor to avoid being caught again.
Themes in this chapter
Wisdom and Foolishness
The fox's advice highlights the wisdom of strategic generosity versus the foolishness of rewarding a stranger over a known enemy.
Justice and Consequence
The eagle's choice to reward the neighbor rather than the captor raises questions about fairness and the consequences of misplaced gratitude.
Characters to notice
Key passages
“A Man once caught an Eagle, and after clipping his wings turned him loose among the fowls in his henhouse, where he moped in a corner, looking very dejected and forlorn.”
A man captured an eagle, cut its flight feathers, and left it in the henhouse, where it sat sadly in a corner.
Describes the eagle's initial captivity and humiliation.
“As soon as he had recovered the use of them, the Eagle flew out and caught a hare, which he brought home and presented to his benefactor.”
Once his wings grew back, the eagle flew off, caught a hare, and gave it to the man who had freed him.
Shows the eagle's gratitude and the act of gift-giving.
“Don’t waste your gifts on him! Go and give them to the man who first caught you; make him your friend, and then perhaps he won’t catch you and clip your wings a second time.”
Don't give presents to that man; instead, give them to the one who originally captured you, so he might spare you in the future.
The fox's pragmatic advice to the eagle.