The fables of Aesop by William Caxton (Jacobs)/Vol. II/Liber Quintus/Fable 16
¶ The xvj fable maketh mencyon of the man / of the lyon & of his sone
E that reffuseth the good doctryne
of his fader / yf euyl happe cometh
to hym / it is but ryght / As to vs
reherceth this fable of a Labourer /
whiche somtyme lyued in a deserte
of his cultyuynge and laboure / In this deserte
was a lyon / whiche waited and destroyed all
the sede / which euery daye the sayd labourer
sewed / and also this lyon destroyed his trees /
And by cause that he bare and dyd to hym so
grete harme and dommage / he made an hedge /
to the whiche he putte and sette cordes and
nettes for to take lyon / And ones as this lyon
came for to ete corne he entryed within a nette /
& was taken / And thenne the good man came
thiyder/ and bete and smote hym so wonderly /
that vnnethe he myght scape fro deth / And by
cause that the lyon sawe that he myght not
escape the subtylyte of the man / he took his
lytyl lyon / and went to dwelle in another
Regyon / and within a lytyl whyle after that
the lyon was wel growen and was fyers & stronge he demaunded of his fader / My fader
be we of this Regyon / Nay sayd the fader /
For we ben fledde awey fro oure land / And
thenne the lytyl lyon asked / wherfore / And
the fader ansuerd to hym / For the subtylyte of
the man / And the lytyl lyon demaunded of
hym what man is that / And his fader sayd to
hym / he is not soo grete ne so stronge as we
be / but he is more subtyle and more Ingenyous /
than we be / and thene sayd the sone to the
fader / I shalle goo auenge me on hym And
the grete lyon sayd to hym / goo not / For yf
thow gost thyder thow shalt repente the therfore
/ and shalt doo lyke a fole And the sone
ansuerd to his fader / Ha by my heed I shalle goo
thyder / and shalle see what he can doo / And
as he wente for to fynde the man / he mette an
oxe within a medowe / and an hors whose back
was al fleyen / and sore / to whome he said in
this manere / who is he that hath ledde yow
hyder / and that so hath so hurted yow / And
they sayd to hym / It is the man / ¶ And
thenne he sayd ageyne to them / Certaynly /
here is a wonder thynge / I praye yow / that
ye wylle shewe hym to me And they wente
and shewed to hym the labourer / which ered
the erthe / And the lyon forthwith and withoute
sayinge of ony moo wordes wente toward the man / to whome he sayd in this maner /
Ha man thow hast done ouer many euyls /
bothe to me and to my Fader / and in lyke
wyle to oure beestes / Wherfore I telle the that
to me thow shalt doo Justyce / And the man
ansuerd to hym / I promytte and warne the /
that yf thow come nyghe me I shalle slee with
this greete clubbe / And after with this knyf I
shall flee the / And the lyon sayd to hym /
Come thenne before my fader / and he as kynge
shalle doo to vs good Justyce / And thenne the
man sayd to the lyon / I am content / yf that
thow wylt swere to me / that thow shalt not
touche me / tyll that we ben in the presence of
thy fader / And in lyke wyse I shalle swere to
the / that I shal go with the vnto the presence
of thy fader / And thus the lyon and the man
swered eche one to other / and wente toward
the grete lyon / and the man beganne to goo
bv the way where as his cordes and nettes were
dressed / And as they wente / the lyon lete hym
self falle within a corde / and by the feet he was
take / so tht he myghte not farther goo / And
by cause he coude not goo he sayd to the man /
O man I prey the that thow wilt helpe me /
For I may no more goo / And the man answerd
to hym / I am sworne to the that I shalle not
touche the vnto the tyme that we ben before thy fader / And as the lyon supposſed to haue vnbound
hym self for to scape / he fylle in to another nette
And thenne the lyon beganne to crye after the
man / sayenge to hym in this manere / O good
man I praye the that thow wilt vnbynde me /
And the man beganne to smyte hym vpon the
hede / ¶ And thenne whanne the lyon sawe
that he myght not scape / he sayd to the man /
I praye the / that thow smyte me no more vpon
the heed / but vpon myn erys / by cause that I
wold not here the good counceylle of my fader /
And thenne the man beganne to smyte hym at
the herte and slewe hym / the whiche thyng
happeth ofte to many children whiche ben
hanged or by other maner executed and put to
dethe / by cause that they wil not byleue the
doctryne of theyr faders and moders / ne obeye
to them by no wyse