A Peasant freed an Eagle from a trap. Later, Eagle seeing the Peasant under an unsafe wall made Peasant chase him. When he returned, the wall had fallen.
Return favors.
Townsend version
A peasant found an Eagle captured in a trap, and much admiring the bird, set him free. The Eagle did not prove ungrateful to his deliverer, for seeing the Peasant sitting under a wall which was not safe, he flew toward him and with his talons snatched a bundle from his head. When the Peasant rose in pursuit, the Eagle let the bundle fall again. Taking it up, the man returned to the same place, to find that the wall under which he had been sitting had fallen to pieces; and he marveled at the service rendered him by the Eagle.
JBR Collection
A Husbandman, who was out walking one fine day, met with an Eagle caught in a snare. Struck with the beauty of the bird, and being a kind-hearted fellow, he let the Eagle fly. The sun was shining fiercely, and the Man soon after sought out a cool spot in the shadow of an old wall, and sat down upon a stone. He was surprised, in a few moments, by the Eagle making a descent upon his head and carrying off his hat. The bird bore it off to some distance, and let it fall. The Man ran after his hat and picked it up, wondering why an Eagle to which he had shown so much kindness should play him such a mischievous trick in return. He turned round to go back again to his seat by the wall, and great was his astonishment and thankfulness to see, where the wall had stood, nothing but a heap of stones.
Aquila et Agricola
Agricola, venatu aquilam nactus, eius pulchritudinem admiratus, liberam dimisit. Illa vero se beneficii non immemorem ostendit, sed cum eum sub muro iamiam casuro sedentem vidisset, advolans, fascem lignorum quem capite impositum gestabat agricola unguibus arreptum sustulit. Ille excitatus persequitur aquilam, quae statim fascem ex unguibus deiecit. Quem cum ille iterum sibi imposuisset, eo reversus, parietem sub quo antea quiescebat humi lapsum invenit, eamque sibi ab aquila gratiam relatam fuisse est admiratus.
Moral
Qui nos beneficiis affecere, omnino remunerandi sunt.
Perry #296
