Section 151
The Stag with One Eye explained simply
Aesop's Fables by Aesop
Original excerpt
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A Stag, blind of one eye, was grazing close to the sea-shore and kept his sound eye turned towards the land, so as to be able to perceive the approach of the hounds, while the blind eye he turned towards the sea, never suspecting that any danger would threaten him from that quarter. As it fell out, however,...
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A Stag, blind of one eye, was grazing close to the sea-shore and kept
his sound eye turned towards the land, so as to be able to perceive
the approach of the hounds, while the blind eye he turned towards the
sea, never suspecting that any danger would threaten him from that
quarter. As it fell out, however, some sailors, coasting along the
shore, spied him and shot an arrow at him, by which he was mortally
wounded. As he lay dying, he said to himself, "Wretch that I am! I
bethought me of the dangers of the land, whence none ailed me: but
I feared no peril from the sea, yet thence has come my ruin."
Misfortune often assails us from an unexpected quarter.
Public-domain original text shown for study context. Underlined terms can be tapped for simple reader notes.
What happens here
A one-eyed stag watches land danger but is struck from the sea.
Why this scene matters
This fable shows that danger can come from the direction we neglect.
Characters in this scene
- Stag with One Eye: A central figure in the fable’s conflict and lesson.
Simple story version
The stag grazes near the sea and watches the land with his good eye. A hunter in a boat shoots him.