little help, please?

[ppfuf]

Some months ago, the BBC had a tiny article on a set of dessert trenchers that were made by coloring prints and pasting them onto the wooden dishes. One of them is a "Aesop" print, and I have not been able to identify it. Does any one know a fable involving a monkey (or ape) under a tree, possibly holding a baby monkey?  It may not have been an actual Aesop fable, but probably is from the early 17th century.

eta: yes, it's an actual "Aesop" fable from at least the 15th century. Here's Caxton's 1484 version.

eta2: If consistent with the others of this set, the print this roundel is based on, t'Schermijnckel en zijn jonghen (The Monkey and its young), is in the British Museum as reg number 1868,0612.198.

Comments

[gurdymonkey.livejournal.com]

Ah, found it. Monkey mothers and their babies are a theme in medieval bestiaries: http://bestiary.ca/beasts/beast148.htm

Nasty Aesop. Apes don't come off well in some of his fables either.

[ppfuf.livejournal.com]

Ah, thanks! That would explain why she's holding the baby so awkwardly, and the other baby under the tree.

I still haven't found this particular print on google, but I'll keep looking.

[ppfuf.livejournal.com]

Dutch proverb: 'Ghy zult u gheensins spoeden, Om Kinderen leckerlick voeden.'. (as quoted on Brit Mus site)

Thou shall by no means hurry, for children plentifully feed.