The Ancient Romans also wrote books of "fables." One story went like this.
There was a comedian, somewhat like a modern stand-up comic, who made audiences laugh with his quick wit and amusing words. Then one day, he was challenged by a farmer to see who could make the audience laugh louder. The comedian accepted.
On the first day, the comedian performed as usual and won the audience's cheers and applause. Then it was the farmer's turn.
The farmer waddled onto the stage with a huge belly, then began imitating a pig. The audience burst into laughter.
"You lost," the farmer told the comedian.
The comedian was unwilling to admit defeat. Although the farmer's pig imitation had drawn louder laughter than he had, he asked the audience to judge.
The audience also thought the comedian was more entertaining, so the two agreed to compete again the next day.
When the comedian returned home, his wife told him, "Why don't you imitate a pig tomorrow too?"
"How could I do that?" the comedian instinctively refused.
"When you lose and no one comes to watch you anymore, don't blame me for not warning you," his wife said.
The comedian hesitated all night. The next day, he really did imitate a pig onstage, and the audience laughed so hard they doubled over.
When it was the farmer's turn, he did the same thing as yesterday. But the audience thought his imitation was worse than the comedian's, so they threw him off the stage.
When he landed on the ground, a pig ran out from inside the farmer's belly. It turned out he had really hidden a pig beneath his clothes, twisting its ears whenever he wanted it to squeal.
The farmer caught the pig at the audience's feet, then held it high for