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Aesop's Fables: Caxton (1484)5.4. Of the dragon and of the kerle Men ought not to rendre euylle for good / And them that helpen ought
not to be letted / As reherceth thys fable Of a dragon whiche was
within a Ryuer / and as this Ryuer was dymynuysshed of water / the
dragon abode at the Ryuage / whiche was al drye / And thus for lack
of watre he coude not stere hym / A labourer or vylane came thenne
that waye / and demaunded of the dragon / what dost thow there /
And the dragon ansuerd to hym / I am here lefte withoute water /
withoute whiche I can not meue / but yf thow wilt bynd me / and sette
me vpon thyn asse / and lede me in to my Ryuer / I shal gyue to the
habondaunce of gold and syluer / And the vylane or chorle for couetyse
bound and ledde hym in to his repayre / And whanne he had vnbounden
hym / he demaunded his sallary / and payment / And the dragon sayd
to hym / By cause that thow hast bounden me / thow wylt be payd And
by cause that I am now hongry / I shalle ete the / And the vylayne
ansuerd and sayd / For to haue done wel / thow wylt ete and deuoure
me / And as they stryued to gyder / the foxe whiche was within the
forest herd wel theyr question and different came to them / and sayd
in this manere / Stryue ye no more to gyder / For I wyll acord /
and make pees bytwixt you Late eche of yow telle to me his reason
for to wete / whiche of yow hath ryght / And whanne eche of them
had told his caas the foxe sayd to the vylayne / Shewe thow to me
/ how thow boundest the dragon / to thende / that I may gyue therof
a trewe and lawfull sentence / And the vylayne put the dragon vpon
his asse / and bound hym as he had done before / And the fox demaunded
of the dragon / helde he thenne the so fast bounden / as he dothe
now / And the dragon ansuerd / ye my lord / and yet more hard / And
the foxe sayd to the vylayn / Bynde hym yet more harder / For who
that was wel byndeth / wel can he vnbynd And whanne the dragon was
fast and wel bounden / the fox sayd to the vylayne / bere hym ageyn
there as thow fyrst tokest hym / And there thow shalt leue hym bounden
as he is now / And thus shalle not ete ne deuoure the /
 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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