The Crocodile & the Sturgeon
Poet and fabulist Jean-Pierre Claris de Florian wrote the fable “The Crocodile and the Sturgeon” in 1792.
In this fable, the crocodile embodies cruelty, while the sturgeon represents kindness.
Florian observes that the wicked are without scruples or remorse, and that it is idealistic to believe moral speeches alone can change human hearts.
One day, on the banks of the Nile, two lovely children
Were amusing themselves upon the water,
Using flat, round, light, and skipping stones
To make the finest ricochets in the world.
A dreadful crocodile appeared beneath the surface,
Suddenly lunged forward and snatched one of the boys,
Who screamed before vanishing into its gaping jaws.
The other fled, weeping for his poor companion.
An honest and noble sturgeon,
Witness to this tragedy,
Recoiled in horror and hid in the depths below;
But soon he heard the guilty amphibian
Groaning and sobbing aloud:
“The monster feels remorse,” he thought. “O Providence,
You so often avenge innocence —
Why do you not save it instead?”
“At least this villain weeps for his crimes;
Surely now is the perfect moment
To preach repentance to him.”
And so, filled with compassion,
Our saintly sturgeon
Approached the crocodile:
“Weep,” he cried, “weep for your crime!
Surrender your pitiless soul
To remorse, that final gift of the gods,
The sole mediator between them and the guilty.
Wretched creature — to devour a child!
My heart trembled at the sight; I hear yours groaning too…”
“Yes,” replied the murderer,
“I weep at this very moment
Because I regret having missed the other one.”
Such is the remorse of the wicked.