Aesop's Fables: Caxton (1484)
3.17. Of the Ape and of the foxe
(Perry 533)
Of the poure and of the Ryche Esope reherceth suche a fable / Of an ape
/ whiche prayd the foxe to gyue hym somme of his grete taylle for to couere
his buttoks therwith / sayenge thus to hym / what auaylleth to the soo
long a taylle / hit doth but wagge / And that whiche letteth the / shalle
be prouffitable and good for me / The foxe said to hym I wold that hit
were yet lenger / For rather I wold see hit al to fowled and dagged /
than hit shold bere to yow suche honour / as to couere thy fowle buttoks
therwith /
And therfore gyue thou not that thynge of whiche thow hast nede of
/ to the ende that afterward thow myster not of hit
 Caxton
published his edition of Aesop's fables in 1484. There are modern reprints by
Joseph Jacobs (D. Nutt: London, 1889) and more recently by Robert Lenaghan (Harvard
University Press: Cambridge, 1967). Lenaghan's edition is available at amazon.com.
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