Zeuxis et Parrhasius pictōrēs celeberrimī fuērunt. Hī ōlim inter sē dē arte contendēbant. Zeuxīs prīmō ūvās pīnxit. Avēs in tabulam advolābant, ūvās comedere cupientēs. Tum Parrhasius pannum pīnxit. Zeuxis autem artificiī huius modī ignārus, Parrhasiō dīxit: "Aufer pannum; tabulam vidēre volō." Mox intellēctō errōre dīxit: "Ā tē victus sum: ego enim avēs dēcēpī, tū autem ipsum Zeuxin."
artificium, -ī [2/n]: various meanings [i] skill; knowledge; talent [ii] (negative) cunning; trick
auferō, auferre, abstulī, ablātus: take away; ferō, ferre and its compounds has an irregular imperative: aufer(te)!
ignārus, -a, -um: ignorant, unaware; artificiī [genitive] ¦ huius modī ignārus│ unaware of a trick ¦ of this kind
intellēctō errōre │ literally: with the mistake having been understood; an ablative absolute (with X having been Y-ed), but how would it more neatly translate into English? There are several possibilities.
Avēs in tabulam advolābant │ Literally: the birds were flying towards the painting; a reasonable enough translation of the imperfect tense, but in what other ways can the imperfect be rendered?
pannus, -ī [2/m]: cloth
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Zeuxis and Parrhasius were very famous painters. These (men) / they once competed with each other in their art. Zeuxis first painted grapes. Birds flew / started flying / kept on flying towards the painting, wanting to eat the grapes. Then Parrhasius painted a cloth. But Zeuxis, unaware of this kind of trick, said to Parrhasius: "Take away the cloth; I want to see the painting." Soon, having realised his mistake / realising his mistake / after he’d realised the mistake, he said: "I have been defeated by you: for I deceived birds, but you (have deceived) Zeuxis himself."
