The fables of Aesop by William Caxton (Jacobs)/Vol. II/Liber Tertius/Fable 7
¶ The seuenth fable is of the herte and of the hunter
En preysen somtyme that / that
shold be blamed & vitupered /
And ofte men blamen & vytuperen
that / that shold be preysed /
as reciteth to vs this fable of a
herte / To whome it happyd on a tyme that he
drank in a fonteyn or welle as he dranke / he
sawe in the water his hede which was horned /
wherfore he preysed moche his hornes / And
as he loked on his legges / whiche were
lene and smal / he despreysed and vytupered
them / And as he was drynkynge in the fontayne
he herd the voys and barkynge of dogges /
wherfore he wold haue fledde awey in to the
forest for to saue hym self / but as he sawe the
dogges so nyghe hym he wold haue entred within
a busshe / but he myght not / for his homes
kepte hym withoute / And thenne seyng that
he myght not escape began to saye within hym
self / I haue blamed and vytupered my legges /
whiche haue ben to me vtyle and prouffitable /
and haue preysed my hornes / whiche ben now cause of my dethe / And therfore men ought to
desprayre that thynge / whiche is vnprouffitable /
and preyse that whiche is vtyle and prouffitable /
And they ought to preyse and loue the chirche and
the commaundements of the same / the whiche
ben moche vtyle & prouffytable / And despreyse
and flee al synne and vyce / whiche ben inutyle
harmeful and dommageable