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Aesop's Fables: Caxton (1484)5.14. Of the wulf and of the foxe None maye not be mayster without he haue be fyrste a disciple /
As hit appiereth by this Fable / Of a Foxe whiche came toward a wulf
/ and sayd to hym / My lord I praye yow that ye wylle be my godsep
/ And the wulf ansuerd / I am content / And the foxe toke to hym
his sone prayenge hym that to his sone he wold shewe and lerne good
doctryne / the whiche the wulf tooke / and wente with hym vpon a
montayne / And thenne he sayd to the lytyll foxe whanne the beestes
shalle come to the feldes calle me / And the foxe wente and sawe
fro the the top of the hylle / how the beestes were comynge to the
feldes / and forthwith he wente and called his godfader / and sayd
My godfader the beestes comen in to the feldes / And the wulf demaunded
of hym / what bestes are they / and the fox ansuerd / they be bothe
kyne & swyn to gyder / wel sayd the wulf / I gyue no force for them
/ lete them go for the dogges ben with them / And soone after the
foxe dyd loke on another syde / and perceyued the mare whiche wente
to the feldes / and he wente to his godfader & sayd / godfader the
mare is goo to the feldes / & the wulf demaunded of hym where aboute
is she / And the foxe ansuerd she is by the forest / And the wulf
sayd / Now go we to dyner / And the wulf with his godsone entryd
in to the wood / and came to the mare / The wulf perceyued wel and
sawe a yonge colt / whiche was by his moder / the wulf tooke hym
by the neck with his teethe and drewe hit within the wood / and ete
deuoured hym bytwene them bothe / And whan they had wel eten the
godson sayd to his godfader / My godfader I commaunde yow to god
and moche I thanke yow of your doctryne / For wel ye haue taught
me / in so moche / that now I am a grete clerke / & now I wylle goo
toward my moder / And thenne the wulf sayd to his godson / My godsone
yf thow gost awey / thow shalt repente the therfore / For thow hast
not yet wel studyed / and knowest not yet the Sylogysmes / Ha my
godfader sayd the Foxe / I knowe wel al / And the wulf sayd to hym
/ Sythe thow wylt goo / to god I commaunde the / And whanne the Foxe
was come toward his moder / she sayd to hym / Certaynly / thow hast
not yet studyed ynough / And he thenne sayd to her / Moder I am soo
grete a clerke that I can cast the deuylle fro the clyf / Lete vs
go chace / and ye shalle see yf I haue lerned ought or not / And
the yong foxe wold haue done as his godfader the wulf dede / and
said to his moder / make good watche / And whanne the beestes shalle
come to the feld / lete me haue therof knowlege / And his moder sayd
/ wel my sone / so shalle I doo / She maade good watche / And whanne
she sawe that both kyne and swyne wente to the feldes / she sayd
thenne to hym My sone the kyne and the swyn to gyder ben in the feldes
/ And he ansuerd / My moder of them I retche nat / lete them goo
/ for the dogges kepe them wel / And within a short whyle after /
the moder sawe come the mare nyghe vnto a wode / and wente / and
sayd to her sone / My sone the mare is nyghe the wood And he ansuerd
/ My moder these ben good tydynges / Abyde ye here / For I goo to
fetche our dyner / and wente and entred in to the wode / And after
wold doo as his godfader dyd before / and wente and tooke the mare
by the neck / But the mare tooke hym with her teeth / and bare hym
to the sheepherd And the moder cryed from the top of the hylle /
My sone lete goo the mare / and come hyder ageyne / but he myght
not / For the mare held hym fast with her teethe / And as the sheep
herdes came for to kylle hym / the moder cryed and sayd wepynge /
Allas my sone thow dydest not lerne wel / and hast ben to lytel a
whyle atte scole / wherfore thow must now deye myserably / And the
sheepherdes took and slewe hym /
 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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