The fables of Aesop by William Caxton (Jacobs)/Vol. II/Alfonce/Fable 1
¶ The fyrst fable maketh mencion of thexhortacion of sapyence or wysedome and of loue
Rabe of Lucanye sayd to his sone in
this maner / My sone beware &
loke that the formyce be not
more prudent or wyser / than
thy self / the whiche gadreth &
assembleth to gyder in the somer all that to
her nedeth to haue in the wynter / and beware
that thow slepe no lenger / than the Cocke
doth the whiche watcheth and waketh atte matyns
tyme / and that he be not wyser and more sage
than thy self / the whiche rewleth and gouerneth
wel ix hennes / but hit suffyseth wel / that thow
rewle and gouerne one wel / And also that the
dogge be not more noble than thy self / the
whiche forgeteth neuer the good whiche is done
to hym / but euer he remembryth it / ¶ Item my
sone suppose it not a lytyll thynge to haue a good
Frend but doubte not to haue a thowsand frendes /
¶ And whanne A rabe wold deye / he demaunded
of his sone / My sone how many good frendes
hast thow / And his sone answerd to hym / My
fader I haue as I suppose an honderd frendes / And the fader ansuerd to hym / beware and loke
wel that thow suppose none to be thy frendes
withoute that thow hast assayed & proued hym /
For I haue lyued lenger than thy self haste /
& vnnethe I haue gete half a frend / wherfore
I meruaylle moche how thow hast geten so
many frendes / And thenne the sone seynge the
admyracion or wonder of his fader / demaunded
of hym / My fader . I praye yow that ye wylle
gyue to me counceil how I shalle mowe preue
and essaye my frend / And his fader sayd to hym
/ goo thou and kylle a calf / and putte it in a sak
al blody / and bere hit to thy fyrst frend / and
saye to hym that hit is a man whiche thou hast
slayne / And that for the loue of whiche he
loueth the / that he wylle kepe thy mysdede
secretely and burye hit / to thende that he may
saue the / the which counceylle his sone dyd / to
whome his frend sayd / retorne ageyne to thy
hows / For yf thow hast done euylle / I wylle
not here the payne for the / For within my hows
thow shalt not entre / And thus one after other
he assayed alle his frendes / and euery of them
made to hym suche an ansuere as the fyrst dyd /
wherof gretely he was abasshed / And thenne
he retorned ageyn to his fader / and told hym /
how he had done / And his fader ansuerd to
hym / Many one ben frendes of wordes only / but fewe ben in fayth or dede / but I shalle telle
to the what thow shalt doo / Goo thou to my
half frende / and bere to hym thy calf / and
thow shalt here and see what he shalle saye to
the / And whanne the sone came to the half
frende of his fader / he sayd to hym as he dyd
to the other / And whanne the half frende vnderstode
his fayt or dede / he anone toke hym
secretely in to his hows / and ledde hym in to
a sure and obscure place / where he dyd burye
his dede calf / wherof the sone knewe the trouthe
of the half frendes loue / Thenne the sone of
a Rabe[errata 1] torned ageyne toward his fader / and told
to hym all that his half frende had done to
hym / And thenne the fader sayd to his sone /
that the philosopher saith that the very and
trewe trend is fond in the xtreme nede / Thenne
asked the sone of his fader / sawest thou neuer
man whiche in his lyf gate a hole frend / &
his fader said to hym / I sawe neuer none / but
wel haue I herd it say / And the sone ansuered /
My fader I praye the that thow wylt reherce hit
to me / to thende / that by aduenture I maye
gete suche one / And the fader sayd to hym /
My sone / som tyme haue I herd of two marchaunts
whiche neuer had sene eche other / the
one was of Egypte / and the other was of Baldak
but they had knowleche eche of other by theyr lettres / whiche they sente and wrote frendly one
to the other / hit befelle thenne that the merchaunt
of Baldak came in to egypte for to chepe
& bye somme ware or marchaundyse / wherof
his frend was moche gladde / and wente to mete
hym and brought him benyngly in to his hows /
And after that he had chered and festyed hym
by the space of xiiij dayes / the same marchaunt
of baldak wexed and became seke / wherof his
frend was sorowfull and ful heuy / and Incontynent
sente for phisycyens or leches thurugh
alle egypte for to recouere his helthe / And whan
the medecyns had sene and vysyted hym / and
his vryne also / they sayd that he had no bodyly
sekeness / but that he was rauysshed by loue / And
whan his Frend herd these wordes / he came
to hym / and sayd / My frende I pray the / that
thou wilt shewe and telle to me thy sekenes /
And his frend said to hym I praye the / that thow
wylt make to come hyder alle the wymmen
and maydens whiche ben in thy hows / for to
see / yf she whiche my herte desyreth is emonge
them / And anone his Frend made to come before
hym bothe his owne doughters & seruants
Emonge the whiche was a yonge mayde / whiche
he had nourysshed for his playsyre / And whan
the pacyent or seke man sawe her / he sayd to
his frend / the same is she whiche maye be cause of my lyf or my deth / the whiche his frend gaf
to hym for to be his wyf with alle suche goodes
as he had of her / the whiche he wedded / and
retorned with her in to baldak. with grate Joye /
but within a whyle alter it happed and fortuned
so that this marchaunt of egvpte fylle in pouerte /
and for to haue somme consolacion and comforte
he tooke his way toward baldak / and supposed
to goo and see his frend / And aboute one euen
he arryued to the Cyte / And for as moche that
he was not well arayed ne clothed / he had
shame by daye lyȝt to go in to the hows of his
Frend / but wente and lodged hym withynne a
Temple nyghe to a Frendes hows
¶ It happed thenne that on that same nyght that he laye there a man slewe another man before the yate or entre of the sayd Temple / wherfore the neyghbours were sore troubled / And thenne all the peple moeued therof came in to the Temple / wherin they fond no body sauf only thegypcyen / the whiche they toke / and lyke a murderer Interroged hym why he had slayne that man whiche lay dede before the portall or gate of the temple / He thenne seynge his Infortune and pouerte / confessed / that he had kylled hym / For by cause of his euyll fortune he wold rather deye than lyue ony more / wherfore he was had before the Juge / and was condempned to be hanged / And whan men ledde hym toward the galhows / his frend sawe and knewe hym / and beganne to wepe sore / remembryng the bienfayttes whiche he had done to hym / wherfore he went to the Justyce and sayd / My lordes this man dyd not the homycyde / For hit was my self that dyd hit / And therfore ye shold do grete synne yf ye dyd put this Innocent and gyltles to dethe / And anone he was take for be had vnto the galhows / And thenne the Egypcyen sayd / My lordes / he dyd hit not / And therfore euylle shold ye doo to put him to dethe / And as the two frendes wold haue been hanged eche one for other / he whiche had done the homycyde came and knewe and confessyd there his synne / and adressed hym self before the Justyce and sayd / My lordes / none of them bothe hath done the dede / And therfore punysshe not ye these Innocents / For I allone ought to bere the payne / whereof all the Justyse was gretely meruaylled / And for the doubte whiche therin was grete / the Justyce toke them al thre / & ledde them before the kyng And when they had reherced to the kynge all the maner / after enquest theupon made / and he knewe the very trouthe of hit / graunted his grace to the murderer / and so alle thre were delyuerd / And the frend brought his frend in to hys hows / and receyued hym Joyoully / and after he gaf to hym bothe gold and syluer / And the egypcyen torned ageyne in to his hows / And whan the fader had sayd and reherced all this to his sone / his sone sayd to hym / My fader I knowe now wel that he whiche may gete a good frende is wel happy / And with grete labour as I suppose I shal gete suche one.