The fables of Aesop by William Caxton (Jacobs)/Vol. II/Poge/Fable 4
¶ The fourth fable is of the huntynge and hawkynge
Oge Florentyn reherceth to vs / how
ones he was in a felauship where
men spak of the superflue cure of
them whiche gouerne the dogges
and hawkes / wherof a mylannoys
named Paulus beganne to lawhe / and lawhyng
requyred of Poge that he wold reherce somme
fable of the sayd hawkes / And for loue of alle
the felauship he sayd in thys manere / Somtyme
was a medecyn whiche was a Mylannoys This
medecyn heled al foles of al maner of foly / and
how & in what manere he dyd hele them / I
shall telle hit to you This medycyn or leche had
within his hows a grete gardyn And in the
myddes of hit was a depe and a brode pytte /
whiche was ful of stynkynge and Infected water /
And within the same pytte the sayd medycyn
put the foles after the quantyte of theyr folysshnes
/ somme vnto the knes / and the other vnto
the bely / And there he bonde them fast at a
post / but none he putte depper / than vnto the
stomack for double of gretter Inconuenient / It happed thenne that emonge other was one
brought to hym / whiche he putte in to the sayd
water vnto the thyes / And whan he had be by
the space of xv dayes within the sayd water / he
beganne to be peasyble and gate his wytte ageyne /
And for to haue take somme disporte and consolacion
he prayd to hym whiche had the kepynge
of hym that he wold take hym oute of the water /
and promysed to hym that he shold not departe
fro the gardyn / And thenne the kepar that kepte
hym vnbounde hym fro the stake / and had hym
oute of the water / And whanne he had be
many dayes oute of the pytte / he wente wel vnto
the yate of the gardyn / but he durst not go oute /
lesse that he shold be put ageyne within the sayd
pytte / And on a tyme he went aboue vpon the
yate / and as he loked al aboute / he sawe a fayr
yong man on a horsbak / whiche bare a sperehawk
on his fyste / and had with hym two fayre
spaynels / whereof the sayd fole was al abasshed /
And in dede as by caas of nouelte / he callyd
the sayd yong man / and after he sayd to hym
benyngly / My frend I praye the that thou wilt
telle me what is that wherupon thow arte sette /
And thenne the yonge sone sayd to hym / that
it was a hors whiche prouffited to hym to the
chace / and bare hym where he wold / And after
the fole demaunded of hym / And what is that whiche thou berest on thy fyste / and wher to is
it good / and the yong man ansuerd to hym / It
is a sperehawk whiche is good for to take partryches
and quaylles / And yet ageyne the fole
demaunded ot hym / My frend what are thoos
that folowe the / & wherto ben they good / And
the yonge man ansuerd to hym / they be dogges
whiche are good for to serche and fynde partryches
& quaylles / And whan they haue reysed them /
my sperehawke taketh them / wherof procedeth
to me grete solas and playsyre / And the fole
demaunded ageyne / To your aduys the takyng
that ye doo by them in a hole yere / how moche
is hit / shalle hit bere to the grete prouffyte /
And the yong man ansuerd to hym four or fyue
crownes or ther aboute / And no more sayd the
fole / And to your aduys how moche shalle they
dispende in a yere / And the yong man ansuerd
xl or l crownes / ¶ And whanne the fole herd
these wordes / he sayd to the sayd yonge man / O
my frend I pray the that soone thow wylt departe
fro hens / For yf our fysicien come / he shalle
putte the within the sayd pytte by cause that
thow arte a fole / I was put in it vnto the thyes /
but therin he shold putte the vnto the chynne /
for thow dost the grettest foly that euer I herd
speke of / ¶ And therfore the studye of the
huntynge and hawkynge is a slouful cure / And none ought to doo hit withoute he be moche
ryche and man of lyuelode / And yet hit ought
not to be done ful ofte / but somtyme for to take
disporte and solas / and to dryue awey melancholye.