Aesop's Fables

#268 The Swallow, the Serpent, and the Court of Justice

A Swallow, returning from abroad and especially fond of dwelling with men, built herself a nest in the wall of a Court of Justice and there hatched seven young birds.

A Serpent gliding past the nest from its hole in the wall ate up the young unfledged nestlings. The Swallow, finding her nest empty, lamented greatly and exclaimed; "Woe to me a stranger! that in this place where all others' rights are protected, I alone should suffer wrong."