1884 is the date of translation I presume this is George Fyler Townsend's translation. This story is much older, from ancient Greece. There is nothing new under the sun.
Discussion
i don't know, perhaps it was a translated publication by Josephs Jacobs in 1884 but you are right, Aesop fables are from the 4th century BC. This line stuck by 'The tyrant will always find a pretext for his tyranny'
Yeah I looked at my copy and the words weren't an exact match so I missed the translator.