The fables of Aesop by William Caxton (Jacobs)/Vol. II/Liber Quintus/Fable 10
¶ The x fable is of the wulf whiche made a fart
T is folye to wene more / than men
ought to doo / For what someuer a
foole thynketh · hit semeth to hym
that hit shalle be / As it appiereth
by this fable / of a wulf / whiche
somtyme rose erly in a mornynge / And after
that he was rysen vp fro his bedde / as he retched
hym self / made a grete fart / and beganne to saye
to hym self / blessed be god therfore / these ben
good tydynges / this daye / I shalle be wel fortunate
and happy / as myn ers syngeth to me /
And thenne he departed from his lodgys / and
biganne to walke and goo / & as he wente on his
way he fonde a sak ful of talowe / whiche a
woman had lete falle / and with his foote he
torned hit vpso doune / and sayd to hym / I shalle
not ete the / For thow sholdest hurte my tendre
stomak / and more is / I shall this day haue better
mete / and more delycious / For well I knowe
this by myn ers/ whiche dyd synge it to me /
And sayenge these wordes went his way / And anone after he fond a grete pyece of bakon wel
salted / the whiche he tourned and retourned vp
sodoune / And whan he had torned and returned
hit longe / ynough / he sayd / I dayne not to ete
of this mete / by cause that hit shold cause me
for to drynke moche / for it is to salte And as
myn ers songe to me last I shalle ete this same
day better and more delycious mete / ¶ And
thenne he beganne to walke ferther / And as he
entryd in to a fayr medowe / he sawe a mare /
and her yong foole with her / and sayd to hym
self alone / I rendre thankes and graces to the
goddes of the godes that they send me / For wel
I wyst and was certayne / that this daye I shold
fynde somme precious mete / And thenne he
came nyghe the mare and sayd to her / Certaynly
my suster I shalle ete thy child / And the mare
ansuerd to hym / My broder doo what someuer
hit shalle please the / But fyrst I praye the that
one playsyre thow wylt do to me / I haue herd
saye that thow art a good Cyrurgyen / wherfore
I praye the / that thou wylt hele me of my foote /
I saye to the my good broder / that yester daye
as I wente within the forest / a thorne entryd in
to one of my feet behynd / the whiche greueth
me sore / I praye the / that or thow ete my
fool / thow wylt drawe and haue it oute of my
foote / And the wulf answerd to the mare that
shalle I doo gladly my good suster/ shewe me thy foote / ¶ And as the mare shewed his foote
to the wulf / she gaf to the wulf suche a stroke
bytwexe bothe his eyen / that alle his hede was
astonyed and felle doune to the ground / and a
longe space was the wulf lyenge vpon the erthe /
as deed / And whanne he was come to hym self
ageyne / and that he coud speke / he sayd / I care
not for this myishap / For wel I wote that yet
this day I shalle ete / and be fylled of delycious
mete / And insayenge these wordes lyft hym
self vp / and wente aweye / ¶ And whanne he
had walked and gone a whyle / he fond two
rammes within a medowe whiche with theyr
homes lauched eche other / And the wulf sayd
to hymself / Blessed be god / that now I shal
be wel fedde / he thenne came nyghe the two
rammes / & said / Certaynly I shall ete the one
of you two And one of them sayd to hym /
My lord doo alle that it plese yow / but fyrst ye
must gyue vs the sentence of a processe of a
plee whiche is bytwixe vs bothe / And the wulf
ansuerd / that with ryght a good wylle he wold
doo hit / And after sayd to them / My lordes
telle my your resons and caas / to thende that the
better I may gyue the sentence of your dyferent
and question / And thenne one of them beganne
to say / My lord / this medowe was bylongynge
to our fader / And by cause that he deyde withoute makynge ony ordenaunce or testament / we
be now in debate and stryf for the partynge of
hit / wherfore we praye the that thow vouchesauf
to accorde oure dyferent / so that pees
be made bytwene vs / And thenne the wulf
demaunded of the rammes how theyr question
myght be accorded / Ryght wel sayd one of
them / by one manere / whiche I shal telle to
the / yf hit please to the to here me / we two
shalle be at the two endes of the medowe / and
thow shalt be in the myddes of it / And fro
thende of the medowe / we bothe at ones shalle
renne toward the / And he that fyrst shalle come
to the / shalle be lord of the medowe / And the
last shalle be thyn / Wel thene sayd the wulf /
thyn aduys is good and wel purposed / late see
now who fyrst shalle come to me / Thenne wente
the two rammes to renne toward the wulf / And
with alle theyr myght came and gaf to hym
suche two strokes bothe at ones ageynst bothe
his sydes / that almost they brake his herte within
his bely / & then fyll doune the poure wulf alle
aswowned / And the rammes wente theyr way /
¶ And whanne he was come ageyn to hym self /
he took courage and departed / sayenge to hym
self / I care not for alle this Iniurye and shame /
For as myn ers dyde synge to me/ yet shalle I
this day ete somme good and delycious mete / ¶ He had not long walked / whanne he fond a
sowe / and her smal pygges with her / And Incontynent
as he sawe her / he sayd / blessed be
god of that I shalle this daye ete and fylle my
bely with precious metes / and shalle haue good
fortune / And in that sayenge approched to the
sowe / & sayd to her / My suster I must ete
somme of thy yonge pygges And the sowe wente
and sayd to hym / my lord I am content of alle
that / whiche pleaseth to yow / But or ye ete
them / I praye yow that they maye be baptysed
and made clene in pure and fayre water / And
the wulf sayd to the sowe / Shewe me thenne
the water / And I shalle wasshe and baptyse
them wel / And thenne the sowe wente and
ledde hym at a stange or pond where as was a
fayr mylle ¶ And as the wulf was vpon the
lytyl brydge of the sayd mylle / and that he wold
haue take one pygge / the sowe threwe the wulf
in to the water with her hede / and for the swyftnesse
of the water / he must nedes passe vnder
the whele of the mylle / And god wote yf the
wynges of the mylle bete hym wel or not / And
as soone as he myght / he ranne away / And as
he ranne seyd to hym self / I care not for soo
lytyl a shame / ne therfore I shall not be bette /
but that I shalle yet this daye ete my bely full
of metes delycious / as myn ers dyd synge it erly to me / ¶ And as he passed thurgh the strete /
he sawe somme sheep / and as the shepe sawe
hym / they entryd in to a stable / ¶ And whan
the wuls came there he sayd to them in this
manere / God kepe you my susters / I must ete
one ot yow / to thende / that I may be fylled
and rassasyed of my grete honger / And thenne
one of them sayd to hym / Certaynly my lord /
ye are welcome to passe / For we ben comen
hyder for to hold a grete solempnyte / wherfore
we alle praye yow / that ye pontyfycally wylle
synge And after the seruyse complete and done /
doo what ye wyll of the one of vs / & thenne the
wulf for vayn glory / faynyng to be a prelate beganne
to synge and to howle before the sheep /
¶ And whanne the men of the toune herd the
voys of the wulf / they came to the stable with
grete staues and with grete dogges / and wonderly
they wounded the wulf / and almost brouoght
hym to deth / that with grete payne he coude
goo / neuertheles he scaped / and wente vnder
a grete tree / vpon the whiche tree was a man
whiche hewe of the bowes of the tree / The
wulf thenne beganne to syghe sore / and to make
grete sorowe of his euylle fortune / and sayd / Ha
Jupiter how many euyls haue I had and suffred
this daye / but wel I presume and knowe / that
hit is by me and by myn owne cause / and by my proud thoughte / For the daye in the mornynge
I fond a sak ful of talowe / the whiche I
dayned not but only smelle hit. And after I
fond a grete pycece of bakon / the whiche I wold
neuer ete for drede of grete thurst and for
my folysshe thought / And therfore yf euylle is
syn happed to me it is wel bestowed and employed
/ My fader was neuer medecyn ne leche /
and also I haue not studyed and lerned in the
scyence of medycyn or phisyke / therfore if it
happeth euylle to me / whanne I wold drawe
the thorne oute of the mares fote it is wel employed
/ ¶ Item my fader was neuer neyther
patryarke ne Bisshop / and also I was neuer
lettred / and yet I presumed / and toke on me
for to sacryfyce and to synge before the goddes /
faynyng my self to be a prelate / but after my
deserte I was wel rewarded / ¶ Item my fader
was no legist ne neuer knewe the lawes / ne also
man of Justyce / and to gyue sentence of a plee /
I wold entremete me / and fayned my self grete
Justycer / but I knewe neyther / a / ne / b /
¶ And yf therfore euylle is come to me / it
is of me as of ryght it shold be / O Jupyter I
am worthy of gretter punycyon whanne I haue
offensed in so many maners / sende thow now to
me from thyn hyghe throne a swerd or other vepen / wherwith I maye strongly punysshe and
bete me by grete penaunce / For wel worthy I
am to receyue a gretter desciplyne / And the
good man whiche was vpon the tree / herkened
alle these wordes and deuyses / and sayd no
word / ¶ And whanne the wulf had fynysshed
alle his syghes and complayntes / the good man
toke his axe / wherwith he had kytte awey the
dede braunches fro the tre / and cast it vpon the
wulf / and it felle vpon his neck in suche maner
that the wulf torned vpsodoun the feet vpward
and laye as had ben dede / And whan the wulf
myght releue and dresse hym self / he loked and
byheld vpward to the heuen / and beganne thus
to crye / Ha Jupiter I see now wel that thow
hast herd and enhaunced my prayer / and thenne
he perceyued the man whiche was vpon the tree /
& wel wende that he had ben Jupiter / And
thenne with alle his myght he fledde towards
the forest sore wounded / and rendred hym self
to humylyte / and more meke and humble he
was afterwards than euer before he had ben
fyers ne prowde / ¶ And by this fable men
may knowe and see that moche resteth to be
done of that / that a foole thynketh / And hit
sheweth to vs / that whan somme good cometh
to somme / it ought not to be reffused / For it maye not ben recouerd as men wyll / And also
it sheweth / hou none ought to auaunte hym to
doo a thynge whiche he can not doo / but therfore
euery man ought to gouerne and rewle
hym self after his estate and faculte /