The fables of Aesop by William Caxton (Jacobs)/Vol. II/Liber Secundus/Fable 1
¶ The fyrst fable is of the frogges and of Jupyter
O thyng is so good as to lyue Justly
and at lyberte For fredome and
lyberte is better than ony gold or
syluer / wherof Esope reherceth
to vs suche a fable / There were
frogges whiche were in dyches and pondes at
theyre lyberte / they alle to gyder of one assente
& of one wylle maade a request to Jupiter that he wold gyue them a kynge / And Jupyter beganne ganne therof to merueylle / And for theyr kyng
he called to them a grete pyece of wood / whiche
maade a grete sowne and noyse in the water /
wherof alle the frogges had grete drede and
sered moche / And after they approched to theyr
kynge for to make obeyssaunce vnto hym / ¶ And
whanne they perceyued that hit was but a pyece
of wood / they torned ageyne to Jupiter prayenge
hym swetely that he wold gyue to them another
kynge / And Jupiter gaf to them the Heron for
to be theyr kynge / And then the Heron beganne
to entre in to the water / and ete them one after
other / And whanne the frogges sawe that theyr
kyng destroyed / and ete them thus / they beganne
tendyrly to wepe / sayeng in this manere to the
god Jupiter / Ryght hyghe and ryght myghte
god Jupiter please the to delyuere vs fro the
throte of this dragon and fals tyraunt which eteth
vs the one after another / And he sayd to them /
the kynge whiche ye haue demounded shalle be
your mayster / For whan men haue that / which
men oughte to haue / they ought to be ioyful
and glad And he that hath lyberte ought to kepe
hit wel / For nothyng is better than lyberte / Fur
lyberte shold not be wel sold for alle the gold
and syluer of all the world