The fables of Aesop by William Caxton (Jacobs)/Vol. II/Liber Quartus/Fable 12
¶ The xij fable is of the foxe / and of the lyon
Ayre doctryne taketh he in hym self / that chastyseth hym by the perylle of other / As to vs reherceth this prefent fable / Of a lyon whiche somtyme faygned hym self seke / ¶ And whanne the beetles knewe that the lyon was seke / they wold goo alle to vysyte and see hym as theyr kynge / ¶ And Incontynent as the beestes entryd in to his hows for to see and comforte hym / he deuoured and ete them / ¶ And whan the foxes were come to the yate for to haue vysyted[errata 1] the lyon / they knewe wel the fallace and falshede of the lyon and salewed hym at the entre of the yate / And entryd not within / ¶ And whan the lyon sawe that they wold not entre in to his hows / he demanded of them / why they wold not come within / And one of the foxes sayd to hym / we knowe wel by thy traces / that alle the beestes whiche haue entryd in to thy hows came not oute ageyne / And also yf we entryd within / nomore shold we come ageyne ¶ And therfor he is wel happy that taketh ensample by the dommage of other / ¶ For to entre in to the hows of a grete lord / it is wel facyle / but for to come oute of hit ageyne it is moche dyffycyle /