The Eagle's Nest

010. THE EAGLE'S NEST.
From a bitch Fox, a Cubb the Eagle tore,
And to his nest the tender pillage bore;
To the Eagle she a calme adress aply'd
Her Cubb might be restor'd, which being deny'd
She with a firebrand strayt Attempts toturne
The Eagles nest into the Eagles Urne
And seekes with swift assault to Scale the tree.
But when the cautious Eagle that did see,
She bayles her nest from the aproaching fire
By rendring to the Fox her Cubb intire.
MoralTrample not on the meanest, since even they
May that assault with Iust revenge repay.
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The Eagle and the Fox

1.13. aquila et vulpe
Caxton: Of the Egle and of the foxe
How the puyssaunt & myghty must doubte the feble Esope reherceth to vs suche a fable / Ther was an Egle whiche came ther as yong foxes were / and took awey one of them / and gaf hit to his yonge egles to fede them with The foxe wente after hym & praid hym to restore and gyue hym ageyne his yong foxe / And the Egle sayd that he wold not / For he was ouer hym lord and maister / And thenne the foxe fulle of shrewdnes and of malyce beganne to put to gyder grete habondaunce of strawe round aboute the tree / where vpon the egle and his yonge were in theyr nest / and kyndeled it with fyre / And whan the smoke and the flambe began to ryse vpward / the Egle ferdfulle and doubtyng the dethe of her lytylle egles restored ageyne the yonge foxe to his moder
This fable sheweth vs / how the myghty men oughte not to lette in ony thynge the smale folke / For the lytyll ryght ofte may lette and trouble the grete
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The Fox and the Eagle

THE FOX AND THE EAGLE. You will find the fable in English on this page; scroll to see if there are multiple English versions. [more info]

The Eagle and the Fox

016. THE EAGLE AND THE FOX An Eagle and a Fox had long lived together as good neighbours, the Eagle at the summit of a high treem the Fox in a hole at the foot of it. One day, however, while the Fox was abroad, the Eagle made a swoop at the Fox's cub and carried it off to her nest, thinking that her lofty dwelling would secure her from the Fox's revenge. The Fox on her return home upbraided the Eagle for this breach of friendship, and begged earnestly to have her young one again; but finding that her entreaties were of no avail, she snatched a torch from an altar-fire that had been lighted hard by, and involving the whole tree in flame and smoke, soon made the Eagle restore, through fear for herself and her own young ones, the cub which she had just now denied to her most earnest prayers.
The tyrant, though he may despise the tears of the oppressed, is never safe from their vengeance. [more info]

The Eagle and the Fox

013. THE EAGLE AND THE FOX. An eagle that had young ones, looking out for something to feed them with, happened to spy a fox's cub, that lay basking itself abroad in the sun; she made a stoop and trussed it immediately; but before she carried it quite off, the old fox, coming home, implored her with tears in her eyes, to spare her cub, and the distress of a poor fond mother, who should think no affliction so great as that of losing her child.
The eagle, whose nest was up in a very high tree, thought herself secure enough from all projects of revenge, and so bore away the cub to her young ones, without showing any regard to the supplications of the fox. But that subtle creature, highly incensed at this outrageous barbarity, ran to an altar where some country people had been sacrificing a kid in the open fields, and catching up a firebrand in her mouth, made towards the tree where the eagle's nest was, with a resolution of revenge.
She had scarce ascended the first branches, when the eagle, terrified at the approaching ruin of herself and family, begged of the fox to desist, and with much submission, returned her the cub again safe and sound. [more info]

The Fox and the Eagle

1.28. THE FOX AND THE EAGLE. Men, however high in station, ought to be on their guard against the lowly; because, to ready address, revenge lies near at hand.
An Eagle one day carried off the whelps of a Fox, and placed them in her nest before her young ones, for them to tear in pieces as food. The mother, following her, began to entreat that she would not cause such sorrow to her miserable suppliant. The other despised her, as being safe in the very situation of the spot. The Fox snatched from an altar a burning torch, and surrounded the whole tree with flames, intending to mingle anguish to her foe with the loss of her offspring. The Eagle, that she might rescue her young ones from the peril of death, in a suppliant manner restored to the Fox her whelps in safety. [more info]

The Fox and Eagle

1.27. THE FOX AND EAGLE.
Howe’er exalted in your sphere,
There’s something from the mean to fear;
For, if their property you wrong,
The poor’s revenge is quick and strong.
When on a time an Eagle stole
The cubs from out a Fox’s hole,
And bore them to her young away,
That they might feast upon the prey,
The dam pursues the winged thief,
And deprecates so great a grief;
But safe upon the lofty tree,
The Eagle scorn’d the Fox’s plea.
With that the Fox perceived at hand
An altar, whence she snatch’d a brand,
And compassing with flames the wood,
Put her in terror for her brood.
She therefore, lest her house should burn,
Submissive did the cubs return. [more info]

The Fox and the Eagle

40. THE FOX AND THE EAGLE. An eagle in search of food for her young, saw a fox's cub playing happily in the sun. She swooped down and caught it in her claws, but before she had carried it off, the old mother fox came home and begged her, with tears in her eyes, to spare the little cub.
But the eagle, whose nest was in a high tree, thought herself quite safe from the fox, and so took away the cub to her little ones, without paying any attention to the poor mother's distress.
Then the mother fox ran quickly to a field near by, where a fire was burning, and, seizing a lighted stick, rushed to the tree where the eagle's nest was built. There with the flaming wood between her teeth she began to climb. Scarcely had she reached the first branch when the eagle, afraid that her nest and her little ones would be burnt, flew down with the cub, and very humbly gave it back safe and sound to the clever mother fox. [more info]

The Eagle and the Fox

010. THE EAGLE AND THE FOX. An eagle that had young ones, looking out for something to feed them with, happened to spy a fox's cub, that lay basking itself abroad in the sun; she made a stoop and trussed it immediately; but before she carried it quite off, the old fox, coming home, implored her with tears in her eyes, to spare her cub, and the distress of a poor fond mother, who should think no affliction so great as that of losing her child.
The eagle, whose nest was up in a very high tree, thought herself secure enough from all projects of revenge, and so bore away the cub to her young ones, without showing any regard to the supplications of the fox. But that subtle creature, highly incensed at this outrageous barbarity, ran to an altar where some country people had been sacrificing a kid in the open fields, and catching up a firebrand in her mouth, made towards the tree where the eagle's nest was, with a resolution of revenge.
She had scarce ascended the first branches, when the eagle, terrified at the approaching ruin of herself and family, begged of the fox to desist, and with much submission, returned her the cub again safe and sound. [more info]

The Eagle and the Fox

262. THE EAGLE AND THE FOX. AN EAGLE and a Fox formed an intimate friendship and decided to live near each other. The Eagle built her nest in the branches of a tall tree, while the Fox crept into the underwood and there produced her young. Not long after they had agreed upon this plan, the Eagle, being in want of provision for her young ones, swooped down while the Fox was out, seized upon one of the little cubs, and feasted herself and her brood. The Fox on her return, discovered what had happened, but was less grieved for the death of her young than for her inability to avenge them. A just retribution, however, quickly fell upon the Eagle. While hovering near an altar, on which some villagers were sacrificing a goat, she suddenly seized a piece of the flesh, and carried it, along with a burning cinder, to her nest. A strong breeze soon fanned the spark into a flame, and the eaglets, as yet unfledged and helpless, were roasted in their nest and dropped down dead at the bottom of the tree. There, in the sight of the Eagle, the Fox gobbled them up. [more info]

The Eagle and the Fox

18. THE EAGLE AND THE FOX. An Eagle and a Fox entered into a covenant of mutual affection and resolved to live near one another, looking upon close intercourse as a way of strengthening friendship. Accordingly, the former flew to the top of a high tree and built her nest, while the latter went into a bush at the foot and placed her litter there. One day, however, when the Fox was away foraging, the Eagle, being hard pressed for food, swooped down into the bush, snatched up the cubs, and helped her own fledglings to devour them. When the Fox came back and saw what had happened, she was not so much vexed at the death of her young ones as at the impossibility of requital. For the Eagle having wings and she none, pursuit was impossible. So she stood some distance away and did all that is left for the weak and impotent to do — poured curses on her foe.
But the Eagle was not to put off for long the punishment due to her violation of the sacred tie of friendship. It happened that some country people were sacrificing a goat, and the Eagle flew down and carried away from the altar some of the burning flesh. But when she had got it to her eyrie, a strong wind got up and kindled into flame the thin, dry twigs of the nest, so that the eaglets, being too young to be able to fly, were roasted and fell to the ground. Then the Fox ran up and before the Eagle's eyes devoured them every one. [more info]