Aesop's Fables: Caxton
(1484)
5.12. Of the wulf and of the hongry dogge /
(Perry 701)
Svche supposen somtyme to wynne that lesen / As hit appiereth by
this Fable / For hit is sayd comunly / that as moche dispendeth the
nygard as the large / As hit appiereth by this Fable of a man whiche
had a grete herd of sheep / And also he had a dogge for to kepe them
fro the wulues / To this dogge he gaf no mete / for the grete auaryce
whiche held hym / And therfore the wulf on a daye came to the dogge
/ and demaunded of hym the rayson / why he was soo lene / and sayd
to hym / I see wel that thow dyest for honger / by cause that thy
mayster gyueth to the no mete / by his grete scarcyte / but yf thow
wylt byleue me I shalle gyue to the good counceylle / And the dogge
sayd to hym / Certaynly I myster gretely of good counceylle / Thenne
the wulf sayd to hym / This shalt thow doo / Lete me take a lambe
/ And whanne I shalle haue hit I shalle renne awey / And whanne thow
shalt see me renne / make thenne semblaunt to renne after me / and
lete thy self falle faynynge that thow canst not ouertake me / for
lack and fawte of mete / which maketh the so feble / And thus whanne
the sheepherd shalle see that thow mayst not haue the lambe fro me
by cause of the grete feblenesse and debylyte of thy lene body /
he shall telle to thy lord that thow myghtest not socoure the lambe
/ by cause that thow arte so sore ahongryd / and by this meane thow
shalt haue mete thy bely ful / The dogge thenne acorded this with
the wulf / and eche of them made and dyde as aboue is sayd / And
whanne the sheepherd sawe the dogge falle / supposed wel /that honger
was cause of it For the whiche cause whanne one of the sheepherdes
came home he told hit to his mayster / And whan the mayster vnderstood
hit / he seyd as a man wroth for shame / I wylle that fro hensforthon
he haue breed ynough / And thenne euery daye the sayd dogge hadde
soppes of brede / and of drye breed he hadde ynough / Thenne the
dogge toke strengthe / and vygour ageyne / It happed within a lytyl
whyle after / that the wulf came ageyne to the dogge / and sayd to
hym / I perceyue wel / that I gaf to the good counceylle / And the
dogge sayd to the wulf / My broder thow sayst soothe / wherfore I
thanke the moche / For of hit I hadde grete nede / And thenne the
wulf sayd to hym / Yf thow wylt I shall gyue to the yet better counceylle
/ And the dogge ansuerd hym with ryght a good wylle I shalle here
hit / And yf hit be good I shalle doo after hit / Thenne sayd the
wulf to hym Lete me take yet another lambe / and doo thy dylygence
for to haue hit fro me / and to byte me / and I shalle ouerthrowe
the thy feet vpward / as he that hath no puyssaunce ne strength withoute
hurtynge of thy self / byleue me hardyly / and wel hit shalle happe
to the / And whanne thy maysters seruaunts shalle haue sene thy dylygence
/ they shalle shewe hit to thy mayster how that thow shalt kepe full
wel his folde / yf thou be wel nourysshed / And thenne the dogge
ansuerd to the wulf that he was contente / And as hit was sayd /
ryght so hit was done / and bothe of them maad good dylygence The
wulf bare aweye the lambe / and the dogge ranne after hym / and ouertook
hym / & bote hym fayntly / And the wulf ouerthrewe the dogge vpsodoune
to the ground / And whan the sheepherdes sawe gyue suche strokes
amonge the dogge & the wulf / sayd Certaynly we haue a good dogge
/ we muste telle his dylygence to our mayster / and soo they dyd
/ & how he bote the wulf / and how he was ouerthrowen / and yet sayd
Certaynly yf he hadde hadde euer mete ynough / the wulf had not borne
awey the lambe / Thenne the lord commaunded to gyue hym plente of
mete / wherof the dogge took ageyne al strengthe and vertue / And
within a whyle after the wulf came ageyne to the dogge / and sayd
to hym in this manere / My broder haue I not gyuen to the good counceylle
/ And thenne the dogge ansuerd to hym / Certaynly ye / wherof I thanke
yow / And the wulf sayd to the dogge / I praye the my broder and
my good frend that thow wylt yet gyue another lambe / and the dogge
sayd to hym / Certaynly my broder / wel hit maye suffyse the to haue
had tweyne of them / Thenne sayd the wulf to the dogge / At the lest
waye I maye haue one for my laboure and sallarye / That shalt thow
not haue sayd the dogge / Hast thow not hadde good sallarye for to
haue hadde two lambes oute of my maysters herd / And the wulf ansuerd
to hym ageyne / My brother gyue hit me yf hit please the / And after
sayd the dogge to hym / Nay I wylle not / And yf thow takest hit
ageynste my wylle / I promytte and warne the / that neuer after this
tyme thow shalt ete none / And thenne the wulf sayd to hym / Allas
my broder I deye for honger / Counceylle me for goddys loue what
I shalle doo / And the dogge sayd to hym / I shal counceylle the
wel a walle of my maysters celer is fallen doune / go thyder this
nyght and entre in hit / and there thow mayst both ete and drynke
after thy playsyr / For bothe breed flesshe and wyn shalt thow fynde
at plente there within / And thenne the wulf sayd to hym / Allas
my broder / beware wel thenne / that thow accuse ne deceyue me not
/ And the dogge ansuerd / I waraunt the / but doo thy faytte so pryuely
/ that none of my felawes knowe not of hit / And the wulf came at
the nyght / and entryd in to the celer / and / ete and dranke of
his playsyre / In so moche that he wexed dronke / And whanne he hadde
dronke so moche / that he was dronke / He sayd to hym self / whanne
the vylaynes ben fylled wyth metes / and that they ben dronke / they
synge theyr songes / and I wherefore shold I not synge / And thenne
he beganne to crye and to howle / And the dogges herd the voys of
hym wherfore they beganne to barke and to howle / And the seruaunts
whiche herd them sayd / It is the wulf / whiche is entryd within
the celer / And thenne they al to gyder wenten thyder / and kylled
the wulf /
And therfore more dispendeth the nygard than the large / For
auaryce was neuer good / For many one ben whiche dare not ete
ne drynke as nature requyreth / But neuertheles euery one oughte
to vse and lyue prudently of alle suche goodes as god sendeth
to hym / This fable also sheweth to vs / that none ought to do
ageynste his kynde / as of the wulf whiche wexed dronke / for
the whiche cause he was slayne
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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