Aesop

The Two Travelers and the Axe

Summary

The story focuses on two travelers who encounter a dilemma after finding an axe on their path. Initially, one traveler claims the discovery as his own, saying “I have found an axe.” However, when they see the owner chasing them, he tries to share the responsibility, saying “We are undone.” His companion points out the inconsistency in his words, reminding him to maintain the ownership he originally claimed. The narrative highlights themes of ownership, responsibility, and the consequences of claiming possessions or actions. It's a lesson about consistency in words and actions and the importance of sharing both success and blame equally.

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Two Men were journeying together. One of them picked up an axe that lay upon the path, and said, “I have found an axe.” “Nay, my friend,” replied the other, “do not say ‘I,’ but ‘We’ have found an axe.” They had not gone far before they saw the owner of the axe pursuing them, and he who had picked up the axe said, “We are undone.” “Nay,” replied the other, “keep to your first mode of speech, my friend; what you thought right then, think right now. Say ‘I,’ not ‘We’ are undone.”

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