Schleicher's Fable

A sheep sees three horses at work. The horses answer by showing the sheep what its missing wool has become. August Schleicher wrote this small fable in reconstructed Proto-Indo-European in 1868 and supplied his own German rendering beside it. That German is stored in texts/sources/schleicher_1868.txt; the controlled English at texts/sources/schleicher_1868_english.txt contains every claim and explanatory parenthesis used here.

The complete Phi translation follows every claim in that English source. Schleicher's master title and the unequal burdens remain visible beside the language's material account of wool, work, and flight. Each aligned passage begins with Phi and its exact lexicon gloss, followed by natural English derived from that frozen Phi and the corresponding source lines. A continuous Phi reading and a table of translation limits follow.

Translation

The source leans on shearing, not cutting in general. Ecological and Work mophiku names the removal of an animal's fleece by cutting; kati alone would leave the removal unsaid. Base tupeka keeps the great load with its living bearer, and base phesari keeps escape apart from ordinary departure. Commons phenori gives the translation a practical relation inside Schleicher's title "master," while the exact title remains in the English witness.

The sheep sees

whu mophi to ma phelu nela to ki se mophiku mophira tha ta shao kalora nai nela nu ta kalora tumoa rolutha to si natu nela nu wi kalora ta whalo tupeka to si kolua nela nu ta shao kalora miona to si reshi kolua tho to nila.

Word-by-word gloss: REL wool PST NEG hold COORD PST PFV PASS shear sheep DECL.COMP one three-group horse be COORD ORD one horse heavy wagon PST IPFV pull COORD ORD two horse one large burden PST IPFV carry COORD ORD one three-group horse person PST IPFV fast carry DECL.COMP.CLOSE PST see.

Literal English: (A sheep that had no wool and had been shorn saw that there were three horses: the first was pulling a heavy wagon, the second was carrying one large burden, and the third was quickly carrying a person.)

schleicher-en: A sheep on which there was no wool (a shorn sheep) saw horses:
one pulling a heavy wagon,
one carrying a great load,
and one swiftly carrying a human being.

The sheep speaks

mophira wei lo kalora sha whau mia tha miona lo kalora si ka wepu tho nila mia korua se peki. mia ru nuhe phaelo sho to haolu.

Word-by-word gloss: sheep DAT PL horse QUOT.COMP SIMUL 1SG DECL.COMP person PL horse IPFV CAUS go DECL.COMP.CLOSE see 1SG heart PASS squeeze. 1SG INTS sadness feel QUOT.COMP.CLOSE PST speak.

Literal English: (The sheep said to the horses, "While I see that a person is making the horses go, my heart is squeezed. I feel deep sadness.")

schleicher-en: The sheep said to the horses:
"My heart is constricted in me (I am deeply grieved) as I see the human being driving the horses."

The horses answer

lo kalora wei mophira sha kona mophira. no sheluo. lo mia ha ki nila. lo mia korua se peki. lao lo mia ha sano lo mia ru nuhe phaelo. ha miona lo mophira phenori phelu. ha miona wei miso lo mophira mophi sulae wethalu ka kelu. sheno wei lo mophira mawha mophi nai. whekai lo mophira mophi to te phelu. lo mophira se mophiku. sheno lo kalora sheo lo mophira mo towe nai sho to haolu.

Word-by-word gloss: PL horse DAT sheep QUOT.COMP VOC sheep. IMP listen. PL 1SG PROX PFV see. PL 1SG heart PASS squeeze. BECAUSE PL 1SG PROX know PL 1SG INTS sadness feel. PROX person PL sheep ownership hold. PROX person DAT REFL PL sheep wool warm garment CAUS become. ADD DAT PL sheep NONE wool be. CONTR PL sheep wool PST CESS hold. PL sheep PASS shear. ADD PL horse THAN PL sheep CMPR well be QUOT.COMP.CLOSE PST speak.

Literal English: (The horses said to the sheep, "Sheep, listen. We have seen this. Our hearts are squeezed. Because we know this, we feel great sadness. This person holds ownership over the sheep. This person turns the sheep's wool into warm clothing for themself. In addition, the sheep have no wool. Yet the sheep stopped having wool. The sheep are shorn. The horses, moreover, are better off than the sheep.")

schleicher-en: The horses said:
"Listen, sheep.
The heart is constricted in us who have seen (we are deeply grieved, because we know):
the human being, the master, makes the sheep's wool into a warm garment for himself,
and the sheep have no wool.
(The sheep, however, no longer have any wool; they are shorn;
they fare even worse than the horses.)"

The sheep flees

pheo mophira ha to ki hea mophira wea kosha to rato nela kau ra kosha to reshi phesari.

Word-by-word gloss: POST sheep PROX PST PFV hear sheep TOWARD field PST turn COORD ALL DIST field PST fast flee.

Literal English: (After the sheep had heard this, it turned toward a field and quickly fled to that field.)

schleicher-en: Having heard this, the sheep turned aside (escaped) into the field. (It made off.)

Complete translation

mophira nela lo kalora

mophira wei lo kalora sha whau mia tha miona lo kalora si ka wepu tho nila mia korua se peki. mia ru nuhe phaelo sho to haolu.

pheo mophira ha to ki hea mophira wea kosha to rato nela kau ra kosha to reshi phesari.

Translation limits

Schleicher's English	Phi rendering	Remaining difference
sheep on which there was no wool	sheep that did not hold wool	Phi uses ordinary possession rather than German's locative existence.
pulling a heavy wagon	`tumoa rolutha natu`	The ordinary pull verb does not specify harness or traction.
great load	`ta whalo tupeka`, one large burden	`tupeka` centres what the horse bears; the source's broad load is slightly wider.
driving the horses	causing the horses to go	The causative preserves external agency but leaves its method unstated.
constricted heart and deep grief	squeezed heart and intense sadness	Phi separates the bodily image from Schleicher's emotional explanation.
Listen, sheep	Sheep, listen	Phi's extra-clausal vocative announces the addressee before the directive.
the master	this person holds ownership over the sheep	The exact domination title stays in the source; Phi states the practical relation it contributes here.
for himself	`wei miso`, for themself	Phi carries the reflexive benefit without grammatical gender.
fare even worse than the horses	horses are more well than sheep	Phi reverses the comparison because generic bad and worse are absent; additive `sheno` carries emphasis without marking scalar even.
turned aside, escaped, made off	turned towards a field and quickly fled to that field	Phi combines Schleicher's descriptions of one departure instead of making them separate departures.