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Aesop's Fables: Caxton (1484)5.9. Of the foxe / of the wulf / and of the Lyon Yf hit be soo that ony hath ben adommaged by other he ought not
to take vengeaunce by the tong in gyuyng Iniuryous wordes / and the
cause why / is by cause / that suche vengeaunce is dishonest As to
vs reherceth this present fable / Somtyme was a foxe / that ete fysshe
in a Ryuer / It happed / that the wulf came that waye / And whanne
he sawe the foxe / whiche ete with so grete appetyte / He beganne
to saye / My broder gyue me somme fysshe / And the foxe ansuerd to
hym / Allas my lord / It behoueth not that ye ete the releef of my
table / but for the worship of your persone I shall counceylle yow
wel / Do soo moche to gete yow a basket / And I shalle teche yow
how men shalle take fysshes / to thende / that ye may take somme
whan ye shalle be hongry / And the wulf wente in to the strete /
and stalle a basket / whiche he brought with hym / the foxe tooke
the basket / and bound it with a cord at the wulfs taylle / And whanne
he was wel bounden / the foxe sayd to the wulf / goo thow by the
Ryuer / and I shalle lede and take hede to the basket / And the wulf
dyde as the foxe bad hym do / And as the wulf was goynge within the
water / the foxe fylled the basket fulle of stones by his malyce
/ And whan the basket was full / the foxe sayd to the wulf / Certaynly
my lord / I maye no more lyfte ne hold the basket / so full it is
of fysshe / And the wulf wenynge that the foxe had sayd trouthe /
profered such wordes / sayenge / I rendre graces and thankes to god
/ that I maye ones see thyn hyghe and excellente wysedome in the
arte and crafte of fysshynge / And thenne the foxe sayd to hym /
My lord abyde me here / And I shalle fetche some to helpe vs for
to haue and take the fysshe oute of the basket / And in sayenge these
wordes / the foxe ranne in to the strete / where he fond men / to
whome he sayd in this manere / My lordes what doo ye here / why are
yow werkles / see yonder the wulf / which ete your sheep / your lambes
/ and your beestes / and yet now he taketh your fysshes oute of the
Ryuer / and ete them / And thenne alle the men came to gyder / somme
with slynges / and somme with bowes / and other with staues vnto
the Ryuer / where they fond the wulf / whiche they bete outragyously
/ And whanne the poure wulf sawe hym thus oppressyd / & vexed with
strokes beganne with alle his strengthe & myghte to drawe / and supposed
to haue caryed the fysshe awey / but so strongly he drewe / that
he drewe and pulled his taylle fro his ers / And thus he scaped vnnethe
with his lyf / In the mene whyle thenne happed / that the lyon whiche
was kynge ouer alle beestes felle in a grete sekeness / for the whiche
cause euery beest wente for to see hym / as theyr lord / And when
the wulf wold haue gone thyder / he salewed his lord / sayeng thus
to hym / My kynge I salewe yow / please it yow to knowe that I haue
gone round aboute the countre and prouynce / and in alle places of
hit for to serche somme medycynes prouffitable for yow / and to recouere
your helthe / but nothyng I haue found good for your sekenesse /
but only the skynne of a foxe fyers and prowde and malycious / whiche
is to youre body medycynal but he daygneth not to come hyther to
see you But ye shalle calle hym to a counceylle / and whanne ye hold
hym / lete his skynne be taken from hym / And thenne lete hym renne
where he wylle / and that fayr skynne whiche is so holsome / ye shalle
make hit to be sette and bound vpon your bely / And within fewe dayes
after hit shalle rendre yow in as good helthe / as euer ye were /
And whanne he had sayd these wordes / he departed fro the lyon and
toke his leue / but neuer he had supposed / that the foxe had herd
hym / but he had / For he was within a terryer nyghe by the lodgys
of the lyon / where he herd alle the proposycion of the wulf / to
the whiche he dyd put remedye and grete prouysyon / For as soone
as the wulf was departed fro the lyon / the foxe wente with in the
feldes / And in a hyghe way he fond a grete donghyll / within the
whiche he put hym self / And as he supposed after his aduys to be
defowled and dagged ynough / came thus arayed in to the pytte of
the lyon / the whiche he salewed as he oughte to haue done to his
lord / sayenge to hym in this manere / Syre kynge god yeue good helthe
/ And the lyon ansuerd to hym God salewe the swete frend / come nyghe
me and kysse me / & after I shalle telle to the somme secrete / whiche
I wylle not that euery man knowe / to whome the foxe sayd in this
maner Ha a syre kynge be not displeasyd / for I am to fowle arayed
and al to dagged / by cause of the grete way / whiche I haue gone
/ sekynge al aboute somme good medycyne for yow / wherfore it behoueth
not to me / for to be so nyghe your persone For the stenche of the
donge myght wel greue yow for the grete sekenesse that ye haue /
but dere syre / yf hit please to the / or euer I come nerer to thy
Royal mageste I shalle goo bathe me and make me fayre and clene /
And thenne I shall come ageyne to presente my self byfore thy noble
persone / And notwithstondynge al this / also er I goo please the
to wete & knowe that I come from alle the contrees here aboute /
and from alle the Royalmes adiacent to this prouynce / for to see
yf I coude fynde somme good medycyn dusynge and nedeful to thy sekeness
/ and for to recouere thy helthe / but certaynly I haue found no
better counceylle than the counceylle of an auncyent greke with a
grete & long berd / a man of grete wysedom / sage & worthy to be
praysed / the whiche sayd to me / how in this pouynce is a wulf withoute
taylle / the whiche hath lost his taylle by the vertue of the grete
medycyn whiche is within hym / For the whiche thynge it is nedeful
and expedyent / that ye doo make this wulf to come to yow for the
recoueraunce of the helthe of your fayr and noble body / And whan
he is come dyssymylle and calle hym to counceylle / sayenge that
it shalle be for his grete worship and prouffite / & as he shal be
nyghe vnto yow cast on hym your armed feet / and as swetely as ye
maye oulle the skynne fro the body of hym & kepe it hoole / sauf
only that ye shalle leue the heed and the feet / And thenne lete
hym gone his way to seche his auenture / And forthwith whan ye shalle
haue that skynne / al hote and warme ye shal doo bynd hit al aboute
your bely / And after that or lytyll tyme be passyd / your helthe
shalle be restored to yow / and ye shal be as hole as euer in your
lyf ye were / And thenne the foxe toke his leue of the kynge / and
departed / and wente ageyne in to his terryer / Soone after came
there the wulf for to see the lyon / And Incontynent the lyon called
hym to counceylle / and castynge softly his feet vpon hym dyspoylled
the wulf of his skynne sauf the skynne of his hede and of his feet
/ And after the lyon bound it al warme about his bely / And the wulf
ranne aweye skynles / wherfore he had ynough to doo to defende and
put from hym the flyes / whiche grued hym sore / And for the grete
distresse that he felte by cause of the flyes / that thus ete his
flesshe / he as wood beganne to renne / and passyd vnder an hylle
/ vpon the whiche the foxe was / And after whanne the foxe sawe hym
/ he beganne to crye / and calle / lawhyng after the wulf / and mocked
/ and sayd to hym / who arte thow that passest there before with
suche a fayre hood on thy heed and with ryght fayr glouues in thyn
handes / Herke herke / what I shalle saye to the / whan thow wente & camest
by the kynges hows / thow were blessyd of the lord / & whan thow
were at the Court thow herkenest and also sayest many good wordes
and good talkynge of al the world / And therfore my godsep be it
euyl or good / thow muste al lete passe / and goo / and haue pacyence
in thyn aduersyte /
 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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