Fable 19 - Aesop in a Dockyard

One day, Aesop the fable-teller, having some time to spare, went to a dockyard. The workmen tease him and provoked him to reply.
So he said to them:
‘In the beginning there was only chaos and water. But Zeus, wanting another element, the earth, to appear, required it to swallow the
sea three times. The earth set to work and swallowed once, resulting in the mountains being formed. Then she swallowed once,
resulting in the mountains being formed. Then she swallowed the sea a second time, and she bore the plains. If she decides to swallow the
sea the third time, you chaps will be without a job.’

This fable shows that if you try and mock those who are smarter than you are, the retort will be that much sharper.