The Old Woman and the Wolf

7.01. De rustica et lupo
Caxton: Of the old woman and of the wulf
Men ought not to byleue on al maner spyrytes / As reherceth this fable of an old woman / which said to her child bicause that it wept / certeynly if thou wepst ony more / I shal make the to be ete of the wulf / & the wulf heryng this old woman / abode styll to fore the yate / & supposed to haue eten the old womans child / & by cause that the wulf had soo longe taryed there that he was hongry / he retorned and went ageyne in to the wood / And the shewulf demaunded of hym / why hast thow not brought to me some mete / And the wulf ansuerd / by cause / that the old woman hath begyled me / the whiche had promysed to me to gyue to me her child for to haue ete hym / And at the laste I hadde hit not /
And therfore men ought in no wyse to truste the woman / And he is wel a fole that setteth his hope and truste in a woman / And therfore truste them not / and thow shalt doo as the sage and wyse
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The Nurse and the Wolf

078. THE NURSE AND THE WOLF. A Wolf, roving about in search of food, passed by a door where a child was crying and its Nurse chiding it. As he stood listening he heard the Nurse say, “Now leave off crying this instant, or I’ll throw you out to the Wolf.” So, thinking that the old woman would be as good as her word, he waited quietly about the house, in expectation of a capital supper.
But as it grew dark and the child became quiet, he again heard the Nurse, who was now fondling the child, say, “There ’s a good dear then; if the naughty Wolf comes for my child, we'll beat him to death, we will.”
The Wolf, disappointed and mortified, thought it was now high time to be going home, and, hungry as a wolf indeed, muttered as he went along: "This comes of heeding people who say one thing and mean another!” [more info]

The Wolf and the Old Woman

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

The Woman and the Wolf

27. THE WOMAN AND THE WOLF. A Wolf one morning, prowling around in search of food, as he passed a hut in the woods heard a woman say to a child, “Be quiet, or I will give you to Wolf, and he shall eat you."
The Wolf waited all day, and in the evening he heard the same woman fondling the child, and saying, “He is quiet now, and if the Wolf comes, we will kill him.”
The Wolf returned to his den, when the She-Wolf asked him why he had returned without his usual prey. “Why! Because I took a Woman at her word."
MORAL. The moral is apparent. [more info]

The Nurse and the Wolf

039. THE NURSE AND THE WOLF. A nurse, who was endeavouring to quiet a froward bawling child, among other attempts threatened to throw it out of doors to the wolf if it did not leave off crying.
A wolf, who chanced to be prowling near the door just at the time, heard the expression, and believing the woman to be in earnest, waited a long time about the house in expectation of seeing her words made good. But at last the child, wearied with its own importunities, fell asleep, and the poor wolf was forced to return back to the woods empty and supperless.
The fox meeting him, and surprised to see him go home so thin and disconsolate, asked him what the matter was, and how he came to speed no better that night? “Ah! do not ask me,” says he; “I was so silly as to believe what the nurse said, and have been disappointed.” [more info]

The Nurse and the Wolf

069. THE NURSE AND THE WOLF. A nurse, who was endeavouring to quiet a froward bawling child, among other attempts threatened to throw it out of doors to the wolf if it did not leave off crying.
A wolf, who chanced to be prowling near the door just at the time, heard the expression, and believing the woman to be in earnest, waited a long time about the house in expectation of seeing her words made good. But at last the child, wearied with its own importunities, fell asleep, and the poor wolf was forced to return back to the woods empty and supperless.
The fox meeting him, and surprised to see him go home so thin and disconsolate, asked him what the matter was, and how he came to speed no better that night? “Ah! do not ask me,” says he; “I was so silly as to believe what the nurse said, and have been disappointed.” [more info]

The Mother and the Wolf

285. THE MOTHER AND THE WOLF. A FAMISHED WOLF was prowling about in the morning in search of food. As he passed the door of a cottage built in the forest, he heard a Mother say to her child, “Be quiet, or I will throw you out of the window, and the Wolf shall eat you.” The Wolf sat all day waiting at the door. In the evening he heard the same woman fondling her child and saying: “You are quiet now, and if the Wolf should come, we will kill him.” The Wolf, hearing these words, went home, gasping with cold and hunger. When he reached his den, Mistress Wolf inquired of him why he returned wearied and supperless, so contrary to his wont. He replied: “Why, forsooth! use I gave credence to the words of a woman!” [more info]

The Wolf, The Mother, and her Child

04.16: THE WOLF, THE MOTHER, AND HER CHILD.
This wolf another brings to mind,
Who found dame Fortune more unkind,
In that the greedy, pirate sinner,
Was balk'd of life as well as dinner.
As saith our tale, a villager
Dwelt in a by, unguarded place;
There, hungry, watch'd our pillager
For luck and chance to mend his case.
For there his thievish eyes had seen
All sorts of game go out and in—
Nice sucking calves, and lambs and sheep;
And turkeys by the regiment,
With steps so proud, and necks so bent,
They'd make a daintier glutton weep.
The thief at length began to tire
Of being gnaw'd by vain desire.
Just then a child set up a cry:
'Be still,' the mother said, 'or I
Will throw you to the wolf, you brat!'
'Ha, ha!' thought he, 'what talk is that!
The gods be thank'd for luck so good!'
And ready at the door he stood,
When soothingly the mother said,
'Now cry no more, my little dear;
That naughty wolf, if he comes here,
Your dear papa shall kill him dead.'
'Humph!' cried the veteran mutton-eater.
'Now this, now that! Now hot, now cool!
Is this the way they change their metre?
And do they take me for a fool?
Some day, a nutting in the wood,
That young one yet shall be my food.'
But little time has he to dote
On such a feast; the dogs rush out
And seize the caitiff by the throat;
And country ditchers, thick and stout,
With rustic spears and forks of iron,
The hapless animal environ.
'What brought you here, old head?' cried one.
He told it all, as I have done.
'Why, bless my soul!' the frantic mother said,—
'You, villain, eat my little son!
And did I nurse the darling boy,
Your fiendish appetite to cloy?'
With that they knock'd him on the head.
His feet and scalp they bore to town,
To grace the seigneur's hall,
Where, pinn'd against the wall,
This verse completed his renown:—
"Ye honest wolves, believe not all
That mothers say, when children squall!"
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The Nurse and the Wolf

29. THE NURSE AND THE WOLF.
A hungry Wolf once paused outside
A cottage where an infant cried,
And, listening, heard the nurse exclaim,
"Be still, you naughty child! For shame!
If you don't stop at once, I'll throw
You to the wolf outside." "Oho!"
Chuckled the Wolf, "how fortunate!
I'll stay just where I am and wait,
And soon my supper I shall get."
For all we know, he's waiting yet. [more info]

Nurse and the Wolf

46. NURSE AND THE WOLF. "Be quiet now," said an old Nurse to a child sitting on her lap. "If you make that noise again I will throw you to the Wolf."
Now it chanced that a Wolf was passing close under the window as this was said. So he crouched down by the side of the house and waited. "I am in good luck to-day," thought he. "It is sure to cry soon, and a daintier morsel I haven't had for many a long day."
So he waited, and he waited, and he waited, till at last the child began to cry, and the Wolf came forward before the window, and looked up to the Nurse, wagging his tail. But all the Nurse did was to shut down the window and call for help, and the dogs of the house came rushing out.
"Ah," said the Wolf as he galloped away, "enemies' promises were made to be broken." [more info]

The Nurse and Wolf

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

The Mother and the Wolf

THE MOTHER AND THE WOLF. Early one morning a hungry Wolf was prowling around a cottage at the edge of a village, when he heard a child crying in the house. Then he heard the Mother's voice say:
"Hush, child, hush! Stop your crying, or I will give you to the Wolf!"
Surprised but delighted at the prospect of so delicious a meal, the Wolf settled down under an open window, expecting every moment to have the child handed out to him. But though the little one continued to fret, the Wolf waited all day in vain. Then, toward nightfall, he heard the Mother's voice again as she sat down near the window to sing and rock her baby to sleep.
"There, child, there! The Wolf shall not get you. No, no! Daddy is watching and Daddy will kill him if he should come near!"
Just then the Father came within sight of the home, and the Wolf was barely able to save himself from the Dogs by a clever bit of running.
Do not believe everything you hear. [more info]