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The Cock, the Ass and the Lion; The Ass and the Lap Dog

Crane, Walter, 1900, Publisher's print
The Cock, the Ass and the Lion; The Ass and the Lap Dog
The Cock, the Ass and the Lion; The Ass and the Lap Dog
The Cock, the Ass and the Lion; The Ass and the Lap Dog
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Category
Library Item
Item no
40086
Title
The Cock, the Ass and the Lion; The Ass and the Lap Dog. Illustrated page from 'Baby's Own Aesop'
Description
In the top left of the page a donkey lifts its head to the sky to bray. Behind it, on the ledge of an outbuilding, a cockerel spreads its wings and is framed by the light. The rhyme is inset in a banner-like form, and above it runs a lion. The rhyme reads:
"The Cock, the Ass and the Lion

The ass gave a horrible bray,
Cock crowed; lion scampered away;
Ass judged he was scared
By the bray, and so dared
To pursue; lion ate him they say.

Don't take all the credit to yourself."

In the lower half of the page, a man with a dog on his lap is pushing away a donkey that is attempting to climb up on him too. Approaching the couch is a second man, who is reaching for the donkey's tail and holding a stick. Cropped on the left of the picture is a large vase with leaves - and leaf motifs also fan out from behind the donkey and the man on the couch. The rhyme reads:
"The Ass and the Lap Dog

"How master that little dog pets!"
Thinks the ass; and with jealousy frets,
So he climbs master's knees,
Hoping dog-like to please,
And a drubbing is all that he gets.

Asses must not expect to be fondled."
Artist / maker
Date
1900
Size
17.8 x 18.8 cm
Location
Art and Design Library
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