Van Noordt depicts a scene from the ancient text of Aesop’s Fables. In the darkness, the satyr jumps from his seat in shock on learning that his host is able to blow both hot and cold from his mouth, warming his hands and cooling his soup. He thus delivers a humorous moral about avoiding deceptive people. The comic note is completed by the oblivious figure of the young girl in bright red in the foreground. Van Noordt studied under Jacob Adriaensz. Backer and followed his pursuit of Flemish style for the Amsterdam market.