When people go on a voyage they often take with them lap-dogs or monkeys as pets to wile away the time. Thus it fell out that a man returning to Athens from the East had a pet Monkey on board with him. As they neared the coast of Attica a great storm burst upon them, and the ship capsized. All on board were thrown into the water, and tried to save themselves by swimming, the Monkey among the rest. A Dolphin saw him, and, supposing him to be a man, took him on his back and began swimming towards the shore. When they got near the Pir?us, which is the port of Athens, the Dolphin asked the Monkey if he was an Athenian. The Monkey replied that he was, and added that he came of a very distinguished family. “Then, of course, you know the Pir?us.” continued the Dolphin. The Monkey thought he was referring to some high official or other, and replied, “Oh, yes, he's a very old friend of mine.” At that, detecting his hypocrisy, the Dolphin was so disgusted that he dived below the surface, and the unfortunate Monkey was quickly drowned.
航海的时候，人们总是会带着哈巴狗或是猴子做宠物，以消磨时间。有一个人从东方回雅典，船上便带着一只猴子。他们靠近阿提卡海岸的时候，遇到了一场猛烈的暴风雨，船沉了。船上的一切都掉到了水里，人们都努力游泳求生。猴子也是。有一只海豚看到了猴子，以为他是一个人，便把他驮在自己的背上，向海岸游去。当他们靠近雅典的港口城市比雷埃夫斯的时候，海豚问猴子是不是雅典人。猴子回答说是的，并且说自己出身于一个显贵的家族。“那你肯定很熟悉比雷埃夫斯了。”海豚说。猴子以为他说的是一个高官之类的人，便回答：“是啊，他是我的一个老朋友。”一听到这话，海豚便识破了他的伪装，恼怒异常，于是潜下水面。很快，不幸的猴子就被淹死了。