Demades the orator 1 was once speaking in the assembly at Athens; but the people were very inattentive to what he was saying, so he stopped and said," Gentlemen, I should like to tell you one of Aesop's fables 2." This made every one listen intently. Then Demades began:" Demeter, a swallow, and an eel 3 were once travelling together, and came to a river without a bridge: the swallow flew over it, and the eel swam across", and then he stopped. " What happened to Demeter?" cried several people in the audience. " Demeter," he replied," is very angry with you for listening to fables when you ought to be minding public business."
有一次，演说家狄马德斯在雅典的一次集会上演讲，但是没有一个人认真听，他便停下来，说：“先生们，我很想告诉你们一个伊索寓言里的故事。”这话受到了人们的重视。接着，他开始说：“有一次，德墨忒尔（掌管农业，结婚，丰饶的女神）和一只燕子，一只鳗鱼同行，他们要穿过一条没有桥的河，燕子飞过去，鳗鱼游过去了。”讲到这里，他便停下来，不再讲了。听众中有几个人问他：“那么德墨忒尔怎么过去的呢？”他回答说：“德墨忒尔正在生你们的气呢，因为你们对公共事务毫无兴趣，一心只喜欢听伊索寓言。”
