The fables of Aesop by William Caxton (Jacobs)/Vol. II/Liber Quintus/Fable 17
¶ The xvi fable is of the knyght and of the seruaunt / the wiche fond the Foxe
Any ben that for theyr grete lesynges
supposen to put vnder alle the
world / but euer at last theyr lesynges
ben knowen and manyfested
/ as hit appiereth by this
fable of a knyght whiche somtyme wente with
an archer of his thurgh the lande / And as they
rode / they fonde a Fox And the knyght sayd
to the archer in good soothe I see a grete Foxe /
And the archer beganne to saye to his lord / My
lord / merueylle ye therof / I haue ben in a Regyon
where as the Foxes ben as grete as an oxe / And
the knyght ansuerd In good soothe theyr skynnes
were good for to make mantels with / yf skynners
myght haue them / And as they were rydynge /
they felle in many wordes and deuyses / And
thenne by cause the knyght perceyued wel the
lesynge of his Archer / he beganne to make
preyers and orysons to the goddes / for to make his
Archer aferd / And sayd in this manere / O Jupiter
god almyghty / ¶ I preye the / that this daye
thow wylt kepe vs fro all lesynges / so that we may sauf passe thys flood and this grete Ryuer whiche
is here before vs / and that we may surely come
to oure hows / And whanne the Archer herd
the prayer and oryson of his lord / he was moche
abasshed ¶ And thenne the Archer demaunded
of hym / my lord wherfore prayest thow now soo
deuoutely / And the knygt ansuerd wost thou not
wel that hit is wel knowen and manyfested / that
we soone must passe a ryght grete Ryuer / And
that he who on al this daye shalle haue made ony
lesynge / yf he entre in hit / he shalle neuer come
oute of hit ageyne / Of the whiche wordes the
Archer was moche doubtous and dredeful / And
as they had ryden a lytyl waye / they fond a lytyl
Ryuer / wherfore the Archer demaunded of his
lord / Is this the flood whiche we must passe / Nay
sayd the knyght / For hit is wel gretter / O my
lord I saye bycause that the foxe whiche ye sawe
may wel haue swymmed and passed ouer this lytyl
water / And the lord sayd / I care not therfore /
¶ And after that they had ryden a lytyl ferther /
the fond another lytyll Ryuer / And the Archer
demaunded of hym / Is this the flood that ye spake
of to me / Nay sayd he / For hit is gretter &
more brode / And the Archer sayd ageyne to
hym / My lord I say so / by cause that the foxe
of the whiche I spake of to daye was not gretter
than a calf / ¶ And thene the knyght herkyng the dyssymylacion of his archer / answerd not /
And soo they rode forthe so longe that they fond
yet another Ryuer And thenne the Archer
demaunded of his lord / Is this the same hit /
Nay sayd the knyght / but soone we shalle come
therto / O my lord I saye so by cause that the
Foxe wherof I spak to yow this daye / was not
gretter than a sheep / ¶ And when they had
ryden vnto euen tyme they fond a grete Ryuer
and of a grete brede / ¶ And whan tharcher
sawe hit / he began al to shake for fere / and demaunded
of his lord / My lord is this the Ryuer /
Ye sayd the knyght / O my lord I ensure you on
my feythe / that the Foxe of the whiche I spake
to daye / was not gretter than the Foxe / whiche
we sawe to day / wherfore I knowlege and confesse
to yow my synne / ¶ And thenne the knyght
beganne to smyle / and sayd to his Archer in this
manere / Also this Ryuer is no wors than the
other whiche we sawe to fore and haue passed
thurgh them / And thenne the archer had grete
vergoyne and was shameful / by cause that he
myght no more couere his lesynge / And therfore
hit is fayre and good for to saye euer the
trouthe / and to be trewe bothe in speche and in
dede / For a lyer is euer begyled / and his lesynge
is knowen and manyfested on hym to his
grete shame & dommage