Fable 116 - The Adder and the File

An adder slithered into a blacksmith’s workshop and begged the gift of some alms from the tools. Having had something from
some of them, she then went over to a file and begged it to give her something too.
‘You’re a fine one,’ replied the file, ‘believing that you can get something from me. For I am in the habit of taking
from everyone, not giving.’

This fable goes to show that it is folly to expect to extract anything from the miserly.