# The Farmer and the Viper explained — Aesop's Fables

> Chapter companion for Aesop's Fables by Aesop.

## What happens

A farmer finds a frozen viper and, out of pity, warms it in his bosom. Revived, the viper bites him fatally. The dying farmer acknowledges he deserved his fate for showing kindness to a villainous creature. The moral warns that kindness is wasted on the evil.

## Themes in this chapter

### Justice and Consequence

The farmer's death is framed as deserved punishment for aiding a malicious creature, emphasizing that actions have fitting outcomes.

### Human Nature and Vice

The viper's treacherous behavior exemplifies inherent vice, warning against expecting goodness from evil beings.

## Character check-ins

### The Farmer

Shows compassion by warming the frozen viper, but suffers a fatal bite as a consequence.

### The Snake

A viper that, once revived, turns on its benefactor and delivers a deadly bite.

## Key lines

> Kindness is thrown away upon the evil.

Showing compassion to those who are inherently wicked is futile and dangerous.

_The moral explicitly states the fable's lesson._

> I have only got what I deserved, for taking compassion on so villainous a creature.

The farmer admits his fate is just because he pitied a wicked being.

_The farmer's dying words reinforce the theme of consequence._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/fables_se/chapters/the-farmer-and-the-viper
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/fables_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/fables_se/chapters