The fables of Aesop by William Caxton (Jacobs)/Vol. II/Other Aesop's/Fable 2

¶ The second Fable is of the egle and of the wesel

 

One for what so euer myght that he haue / ought not to despreyse the other / As hit appiereth by this present table of an Egle / whiche chaced somtyme after an hare  And by cause that the hare myght not resyste ne withstande ageynst the egle / he demaunded ayde and helpe of the wesel / the whiche tooke hym in her kepynge / And by cause that the egle sawe the wesel soo lytyl / he despreysed her / and before her toke the hare / wherof the wesel was wrothe / And therfore the wesell wente / and beheld the Egles nest whiche was vpon a hyghe tree / And whanne she sawe hit / the lytell wesell clymmed vpon a tree / and toke and cast doune to the ground the yonge egles wherfore they deyde / And for this cause was the Egle moche wrothe and angry / and after wente to the god Jupiter And prayd hym that lie wold fynde hym a sure place where as he niyght leye his egges and his lytyl chykynes / And Jupiter graunted hit and gaf hym suche a gyfte / that whan the tyme of childynge shold come / that she shold make her yong Egles within his bosome / And thenne whanne the wesel knewe this / she gadred and assembled to gyder grete quantite of ordure of fylthe / and therof made an hyghe hylle for to lete her self falle fro the top of hit in to the bosome of Jupiter /  And whanne Jupiter felte the stenche of the fylthe / he beganne to shake his bosome / and both the wesel and the egges of the egle felle doune to the erthe / And thus were alle the egges broken and lost / And whanne the Egel knewe hit / she made auowe / that she shold neuer make none egles / tyll of the wesel she were assuerd /  And therfore none how stronge and myghty that he be / ought not despreyse somme other / For there is none soo lytyl / but that fomtyme he may lette and auenge hym self / wherfore doo thow ne desplaysyr to none / that desplaysyre come not to the