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