Mule, Fox, and Wolf

5.01. De mulo, vulpe et lupo
Caxton: Of the Mulet / of the foxe / and of the wulf
Men calle many folke Asses / that ben wel subtyle / And suche wenen to knowe moche / and to be a grete clerke that is but an asse / As hit appiereth by thys fable / Of a mule whiche ete grasse in a medowe nyghe to a grete forest / to whome came a foxe whiche demaunded of hym / what arte thow / And the mule ansuerd I am a beest / And the foxe sayd to hym / I ne demaunde ne aske of the that / but I aske who was thy fader / And the Mule ansuerd / My grete fader was an hors / And the foxe sayd ageyne I ne demaunde to the that / but only that thow tellest me / who thow arte named / And the Mule sayd to the foxe / I ne wote / by cause I was lytyll whanne my fader deyde / Neuertheles to thende that my name shold not be forgeten / my fader made hit to be wreton vnder my lyfte foote behynde / wherfore yf thow wylt knowe my name / goo thow and loke vnder my foote / And whanne the foxe vnderstood the fallace or falshede / he wente ageyne in to the forest / And mette with the wulf / to whome he sayd / Ha myschaunt beest / what dost thow here / Come with me / and in to thy hand I shall put a good proy Loke in to yonder medowe / there shalt thow fynde a fatte beest Of the whiche thow mayst be fylled / And thenne the wulf entryd in to the medowe / and fonde there the mule / Of whom he demaunded / who arte thow / And the mule ansuerd to the wulf / I am a beest / And the wulf sayd to hym / This is not that that I aske to the / but telle how thow arte named / And the mule sayd I wote not / but neuertheles yf thow wylt knowe my name / thow shalt fynde it wreton at my lyfte foote behynde / Thenne sayd the wulf / I praye the / vouchsauf to shewe it to me / And the mule lyft vp his foote / And as the wulf beheld and studyed in the foote of the mule / the Mule gaf hym suche a stroke with his foote before his forhede / that almost the brayne ranne oute of his hede / And the foxe whiche was within a busshe and sawe alle the maner beganne to lawhe and mocque the wulf / to whome he sayd / Foole beeste thow wost wel / that thow canst not rede / wherfore yf euylle is therof come to the / thy self is cause of hit /
For none ought not to entremete hym to doo that / that Impossyble is to hym / And therfor many ben deceyued / that entremeteth them to doo that / that they may not doo /
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The Fox, The Wolf, and the Horse

12.17: THE FOX, THE WOLF, AND THE HORSE.
A fox, though young, by no means raw,
Had seen a horse, the first he ever saw:
'Ho! neighbour wolf,' said he to one quite green,
'A creature in our meadow I have seen,—
Sleek, grand! I seem to see him yet,—
The finest beast I ever met.'
'Is he a stouter one than we?'
The wolf demanded, eagerly;
'Some picture of him let me see.'
'If I could paint,' said fox, 'I should delight
T' anticipate your pleasure at the sight;
But come; who knows? perhaps it is a prey
By fortune offer'd in our way.'
They went. The horse, turn'd loose to graze,
Not liking much their looks or ways,
Was just about to gallop off.
'Sir,' said the fox, 'your humble servants, we
Make bold to ask you what your name may be.'
The horse, an animal with brains enough,
Replied, 'Sirs, you yourselves may read my name;
My shoer round my heel hath writ the same.'
The fox excus'd himself for want of knowledge:
'Me, sir, my parents did not educate,—
So poor, a hole was their entire estate.
My friend, the wolf, however, taught at college,
Could read it were it even Greek.'
The wolf, to flattery weak,
Approach'd to verify the boast;
For which four teeth he lost.
The high raised hoof came down with such a blow,
As laid him bleeding on the ground full low.
'My brother,' said the fox, 'this shows how just
What once was taught me by a fox of wit,—
Which on thy jaws this animal hath writ,—
"All unknown things the wise mistrust."'
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The Fox, The Wolf, and the Horse

085. THE FOX, THE WOLF, AND THE HORSE.
A fox, though young, by no means raw,
Had seen a horse, the first he ever saw:
'Ho! neighbour wolf,' said he to one quite green,
'A creature in our meadow I have seen,—
Sleek, grand! I seem to see him yet,—
The finest beast I ever met.'
'Is he a stouter one than we?'
The wolf demanded, eagerly;
'Some picture of him let me see.'
'If I could paint,' said fox, 'I should delight
T' anticipate your pleasure at the sight;
But come; who knows? perhaps it is a prey
By fortune offer'd in our way.'
They went. The horse, turn'd loose to graze,
Not liking much their looks or ways,
Was just about to gallop off.
'Sir,' said the fox, 'your humble servants, we
Make bold to ask you what your name may be.'
The horse, an animal with brains enough,
Replied, 'Sirs, you yourselves may read my name;
My shoer round my heel hath writ the same.'
The fox excus'd himself for want of knowledge:
'Me, sir, my parents did not educate,—
So poor, a hole was their entire estate.
My friend, the wolf, however, taught at college,
Could read it were it even Greek.'
The wolf, to flattery weak,
Approach'd to verify the boast;
For which four teeth he lost.
The high raised hoof came down with such a blow,
As laid him bleeding on the ground full low.
'My brother,' said the fox, 'this shows how just
What once was taught me by a fox of wit,—
Which on thy jaws this animal hath writ,—
"All unknown things the wise mistrust."'
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