Aesop's Fables: Caxton (1484)
3.20. Of the fallace of the lyon / And of his conuersacion
(Perry 514)
To conuerse with folke of euylle lyf is a thyng moche peryllous / And
only to speke with them letteth moch other / As this fable reherceth of
a lyon ryght strong and ryght myghty / the whiche made hym self kynge
for to haue grete renommee and glorye / And fro thenne forthon he beganne
to chaunge his condycions and customme shewyng hym self curtois / and
swore that he shold hurte no bestes / but shold kepe them ageynst euery
one / And of this promesse he repented hym by cause hit is moche dyffycyle
and hard to chaunge his owne kynd / And therfore whanne he was angry /
he lad with hym somme smalle beestes in to a secrete place for to ete
and deceyue them / And demaunded of them / yf his mouthe stanke or not
/ And they that sayd that it stanke or not were al saued / And alle they
the whiche ansuerd not he kylled / & deuoured them al / It happed that
he demaunded of the Ape / yf his mouthe stanke or not / And thape sayd
no but that hit smelleth lyke bame / And thenne the lyon had shame to
slee the ape / but he fond a grete falsheed for to put hym to dethe /
He fayned to be seke and commaunded that al his leches & Cyrurgyens shold
anone come vnto hym / whan they were come / he commaunded them to loke
hys vryne / And whan they had sene hit / they sayd to hym / Syre ye shalle
soone be hole / but ye must ete lyght metes / And by cause that ye be
kynge / alle is at your commaundement / And the lyon ansuerd Allas Ryght
fayne I wold ete of an Ape / Certaynly sayd the medecyn that same is good
mete / Thenne was the Ape sente for And not withstondyng that he worshipfully
spak & ansuerd to the kynge / the kynge made hym to deye / and deuoured
hym
Therfore hit is peryllous and harmeful to be in the felauship of a
Tyraunt / For be hit euylle or good he wylle ete and deuoure euery thynge
/ And wel happy is he / that may escape fro his blody handes / And that
may eschewe and flee the felauship of the euyll tyraunts
 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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