Fantastic Fables by Ambrose Bierce: The Man with No Enemies

The Lion and the Rattlesnake

The Alderman and the Raccoon

The Man with No Enemies

AN Inoffensive Person walking in a public place was assaulted by a Stranger with a Club, and severely beaten.

When the Stranger with a Club was brought to trial, the complainant said to the Judge:

"I do not know why I was assaulted; I have not an enemy in the world."

"That," said the defendant, "is why I struck him."

"Let the prisoner be discharged," said the Judge; "a man who has no enemies has no friends. The courts are not for such."

Contents

The Lion and the Rattlesnake

The Alderman and the Raccoon