The fables of Aesop by William Caxton (Jacobs)/Vol. II/Liber Quintus/Fable 9
¶ The ix fable is of the foxe / of the wulf / and of the lyon /
F hit be soo that ony hath ben
adommaged by other he ought
not to take vengeaūce by the
tong in gyuyng Iniuryous wordes /
and the cause why / is by cause /
that suche vengeaunce is dishonest. As to us reherceth this present fable / Somtyme was a foxe /
that ete fysshe in a Ryuer / ¶ It happed / that
the wulf came that waye / ¶ And whanne he
sawe the foxe / whiche ete with so grete appetyte
/ He beganne to saye / My broder gyue me
somme fysshe / And the foxe ansuerd to hym /
Allas my lord / It behouveth not that ye ete the
releef of my table / but for the worship of your
persone I shall counceylle yow wel / Doo soo
moche to gete yow a basket / And I shalle teche
yow how men shalle take fysshes / to thende /
that ye may take somme whan ye shalle be
hongry / And the wulf wente in to the streete /
and stalle a basket / whiche he brought with
hym / the foxe tooke the basket / and bound
it with a cord at the wulfs taylle / ¶ And whanne he was wel bounden / the foxe sayd
to the wulf / goo thow by the Ryuer / and I
shalle lede and take hede to the basket / And
the wulf dyde as the foxe had hym do / ¶ And
as the wulf was goynge within the water / the
foxe fylled the basket fulle of stones by his
malyce / ¶ And whan the basket was full /
the foxe sayd to the wulf / Certaynly my lord /
I maye no more lyfte ne hold the basket / so full
it is of fysshe / ¶ And the wulf wenynge that
the foxe had sayd truthe / profered such wordes /
sayenge / I render graces and thankes to god /
that I maye ones see thyn hyghe and excellente
wysedome in the arte and crafte of fysshynge /
¶ And thenne the foxe sayd to hym / My lord
abyde me here / And I shalle fetche some to
helpe vs for to haue and take the fysshe oute
of the basket / And in sayenge these wordes /
the foxe ranne in to the strete / where he fond
men / to whome he sayd in this manere / My
lordes what doo ye here / why are yow werkless
/ see yonder the wulf / which ete your sheep /
your lambes / and your beestes / and yet now he
taketh your fysshes oute of the Ryuer / and
ete them / ¶ And thenne alle the men came to
gyder / somme with slynges / and somme with
bowes / and other with staues vnto the Ryuer /
where they fond the wulf / whiche they bete outragyoussly / ¶ And whanne the poure wulf
sawe hym thus oppressed / it vexed with strokes
beganne with alle his strengthe & myghte to
drawe / and supposed to haue caryed the fysshe
awey / but so strongly he drewe / that he drewe
and pulled his taylle fro his ers / and thus he
scaped vnnethe with his lyf / ¶ In the menewhyle
thenne happed / that the lyon whiche was
kynge ouer alle beestes selle in a grete sekenesse /
for the whiche cause euery beest wente for to see
hym / as theyr lord / ¶ And when the wulf
would haue gone thyder / he salewed his lord /
saying thus to hym / My kynge I salewe yow /
please it you to knowe that I haue gone round
aboute the countre and prouynce / and in alle
places of hit for to serche somme medycynes
prouffitable for yow / and to recowere your
helthe / but nothyng I haue found good for
your sekenesse / but only the skynne of a foxe
fyers and prowde and malycious / whiche is
youre body medycynal / but he dayneth not to
come hyther to see you But ye shalle calle
hym to a counceylle / and whanne ye hold
hym / lete his skynne be taken from hym /
And thenne lete hym renne where he wylle /
and that fayr skynne which is so holsome / ye
shalle make hit to be sette and bound vpon
your bely / And within fewe dayes after hit shalle rendre yow in as good helthe / as euer ye
were / ¶ And whanne he had sayd these wordes /
he departed fro the lyon and toke his leue / but
neuer he had supposed / that the foxe had
herd hym / but he had / For he was within
a terryer nyghe to the lodgys of the lyon /
where he herd alle the proposycion of the
wulf / to the whiche he dyd put remedye and
grete prouysyon / For as soone as the wulf was
departed fro the lyon / the foxe wente in to the
feldes / And in a hyghe way he fond a grete
donghyll / within the whiche he put hym self /
¶ And as he suppofed after his aduys to be defowled
and dagged ynough / came thus arayed
in to the pytte of the lyon / the whiche he
salewed as he oughte to haue done to his lord /
sayenge to hym in this manere / Syre kynge god
yeue good helthe / And the lyon ansuerd to hym
God salewe the swete frend / come nyghe me
and kysse me / & after I shalle telle to the somme
secrete / whiche I wylle not that euery man
knowe / to whome the foxe sayd in this maner
Ha a syre kynge be not displeasyd / for I am to
fowle arayed and al to dagged / by cause of the
grete way / whiche I haue gone / sekynge al
aboute somme good medycyne for you / wherfore it behoueth not me / for to be so nyghe your
persone For the stenche of the donge myght wel greue you for the grete sekenesse that ye
haue / but dere syre / yf hit please to the or euer
I come nerer to your Royal mageste I shalle goo
bathe me and make me fayre and clene / And
thenne I shall come ageyne to presente my self
byfore thy noble persone / And notwithstondynge
al this / also er I goo / please the to wete
& knowe that I come from alle the contrees here
aboute / and from alle the Royalmes adiacent
to this prouynce / for to see yf I coude fynde somme
good medycyn dusynge and nedeful to thy sikenesse
/ and for to recouere thy helthe / but certaynly
I haue foūd no better coūceylle than the
coūceylle of an aūcycent greke with a grete &
long berd / a man of grete wysdom / sage &
worthy to be praysed / the whiche sayd to me /
how in this prouynce is a wulf withoute taylle /
the whiche hath lost his taylle by the vertue of
the grete medycyn whiche is within hym / For
the whiche thynge it is nedeful and expedyent /
that ye doo make this wulf to come to yow for
the recoueraunce of the helthe of your fayr and
noble body / And whan he is come dyssymylle
and calle hym to counceylle / sayenge that it
shalle be for his grete worship & proffite / & as
he shal be nyghe vnto yow cast on hym your
armed feet / and as swetely as ye maye pulle the
skynne fro the body of hym & kepe it hoole / sauf only that ye shalle leue the heed and the
feet / And thenne lete hym gone his way to seche
his auenture / And forthwith whan ye shalle
haue that skynne / al hot and warme ye shal do
bynd hit al aboute your bely / And after that or
lytyll tyme be passed / your helthe shalle be
restored to yow / and ye shal be as hole as euer
in your lyf ye were / ¶ And thenne the foxe
toke his leue of the kynge / and departed / and
wente ageyne in to his terryer / ¶ Soone after
came then the wulf for to see the lyon / And
Incontynent the lyon called hym to counceylle /
and castynge softly his feet vpon hym dyspoylled
the wulf of his skynne sauf the skynne of his hede
and of his feet / And after the lyon bound it al
warme about his bely / ¶ And the wulf ranne
aweye skynles / wherfore he had ynough to doo
to defende and put from hym the flyes / whiche
greued hym sore / And for the grete destresse
that he felte by cause of the flyes / that thus ete
his flesshe / he as wood beganne to renne / and
passyd vnder an hylle / vpon the whiche the foxe
was / ¶ And after whanne the foxe sawe hym /
he beganne to crye / and calle / lawhyng after
the wulf / and mocked / and sayd to hym / who
arte thow that passest there before with suche a
fayre hood on thy heed and with ryght fayr
glouues in thyn handes / Herke herke / what I shalle saye to the / whan thow wente & camest
by the kynges hows / thow werte blessed of the
lord / & whan thou were at the Court thow herkenest and also sayest many good wordes and
good talkynge of al the world /
¶ And therfore my godsep be it euyl or good / thow muste al lete passe / and goo / and haue pacyence in thyn aduersyte /
¶ And thus this table sheweth vnto vs / that yf ony be hurted or dommaged / by somme other he must not auenge hym self by his tonge lor to make ony treson / ne for to say of other ony harme ne open blasphemye / For he ought to consydere / that who so euer maketh the pytte redy for his broder / ofte it happeth that he hym self falleth in the same / and is beten with the same rodde that he maketh for other