Fable of the Day: De anu et ancillis (Barlow)

[Laura Gibbs]

Title: De Anu et Ancillis: The Old Lady and Her Maids, by Francis Barlow

Anus quaedam domi habebat complures Ancillas, quas quotidie, antequam lucesceret, ad Galli gallinacei, quem domi alebat, cantum excitabat ad opus. Ancillae tandem, quotidiani negotii commotae taedio, Gallum obtruncant, sperantes iam, necato illo, sese in medios dormituras dies. Sed haec spes miseras frustrata est. Hera enim, ut interemptum Gallum rescivit, Ancillas intempesta nocte surgere deinceps iubet.

Here is a segmented version to help you see the grammatical patterns:

Anus quaedam domi habebat
complures Ancillas,
quas quotidie,
antequam lucesceret,
ad Galli gallinacei,
quem domi alebat,
cantum
excitabat ad opus.
Ancillae tandem,
quotidiani negotii commotae taedio,
Gallum obtruncant,
sperantes iam,
necato illo,
sese in medios dormituras dies.
Sed haec spes
miseras frustrata est.
Hera enim,
ut interemptum Gallum
rescivit,
Ancillam
intempesta nocte surgere
deinceps iubet.

Parallels: For parallel versions, see Perry 55.

Translation:
A certain old lady had in her house several maids. Every day, before it was light out, she roused them to work at the song of the rooster whom
she kept at the house. Finally the maids, prompted by the weariness of their daily tasks, cut off the rooster's head, hoping that now, with the rooster dead, they would be able to sleep until noon. But this hope deceived the wretched maids. For when their mistress learned the rooster had been killed, she then ordered the maids to wake up in the dead of night.

[This translation is meant as a help in understanding the story, not as a "crib" for the Latin. I have not hesitated to change the syntax to make it flow more smoothly in English, altering the verb tense consistently to narrative past tense, etc.]

Illustration:
Here is an illustration from this edition, by the renowned artist Francis Barlow: