A Thief and his Mother

6.14. De puero fure et eius matre
Caxton: Of the yonge theef and of his moder
He whiche is not chastysed at the begynnynge is euyll and peruers at the ende / As hit appiereth by this fable of a yonge child whiche of his yongthe beganne to stele / and to be a theef / And the theftys whiche he maad / he broughte to his moder / and the moder toke them gladly / & in no wyse she chastysed hym / And after that he had done many theftys / he was taken / and condempned to be hanged / And as men ledde hym to the Iustyce / his moder folowed hym and wepte sore / And thenne the child prayd to the Iustyce / that he myght saye one word to his moder / And as he approuched to her / made semblaunt to telle her somme wordes at her ere / & with his teeth he bote of her nose / wherof the Iustyce blamed hym / And he ansuerd in this manere / My lordes ye haue no cause to blame me therfore / For my moder is cause of my deth For yf she had wel chastysed me / I had not come to this shame and vergoyne / For who loueth wel / wel he chastyseth /
And therfore chastyse wel youre wel youre children / to thende / that ye falle not in to suche a caas
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The Thief and his Mother

101. THE THIEF AND HIS MOTHER. A Schoolboy stole a hornbook from one of his schoolfellows, and brought it home to his mother. Instead of chastising him, she rather encouraged him in the deed. In course of time the boy, now grown into a man, began to steal things of greater value, till at length being caught in the very act, he was bound and led to execution.
Perceiving his mother following among the crowd, wailing and beating her breast, he begged the officers to be allowed to speak one word in her car. When she quickly drew near and applied her ear to her son’s mouth, he seized the lobe of it tightly between his teeth and bit it off. Upon this she cried out lustily, and the crowd joined her in upbraiding the unnatural son, as if his former evil ways had not been enough, but that his last act must be a deed of impiety against his mother.
But he replied: “It is she who is the cause of my ruin; for if when I stole my schoolfellow’s hornbook and brought it to her, she had given me a sound flogging, I should never have so grown in wickedness as to come to this untimely end.”
Nip evil in the bud. Spare the rod and spoil the child. [more info]

The Thieving Child and his Mother

044. THE THIEVING CHILD AND HIS MOTHER. You will find the fable in English on this page; scroll to see if there are multiple English versions. [more info]

The Boy and his Mother

119. THE BOY AND HIS MOTHER. A little boy, who went to school, stole one of his school-fellow's horn-books, and brought it home to his mother, who was so far from correcting and discouraging him upon account of the theft, that she commended and gave him an apple for his pains. In process of time, as the child grew up to be a man, he accustomed himself to greater robberies, and at last, being apprehended, and committed to gaol, he was tried and condemned for felony.
On the day of his execution, as the officers were conducting him to the gallows, he was attended by a vast crowd of people, and among the rest by his mother, who came sighing and sobbing along, and taking on extremely for her son's unhappy fate; which the criminal observing, called to the sheriff, and begged the favour of him that he would give him leave to speak a word or two to his poor afflicted mother.
The sheriff (as who would deny a dying man so reasonable a request) gave him permission; and the felon, while, as everyone thought, he was whispering something of importance to his mother, bit off her ear, to the great offence and surprise of the whole assembly. ‘What!” says they, “was not this villain contented with the impious acts which he has already committed, but that he must increase the number of them by doing this violence to his mother?”
“Good people,” replied he, “I would not have you to be under a mistake; that wicked woman deserves this, and even worse, at my hands; for if she had chastised and chid, instead of rewarding and caressing me, when in my infancy I stole the horn-book from the school, I had not come to this ignominious untimely end.” [more info]

The Thief and his Mother

08. THE THIEF AND HIS MOTHER. A Boy stole a book from a schoolmate, and took it home to his Mother. This was his first theft, but under his mother's commendation he continued to pilfer till he reached man’s estate, when, at last, he was taken in the act, and led away to public execution. His Mother followed, tearing her hair in sorrow, whereon the young man said, “I wish to say something to my Mother in her ear.” She approached him when, seizing her ear in his teeth, he bit it off. Upbraiding him for his unnatural act, he replied, “Ah, if you had corrected me when I first stole the school-book, I should not have come to this disgraceful end.” MORAL. Those whose vices are not corrected in youth afterwards suffer greater calamities. [more info]

The Boy and his Mother

2.65. THE BOY AND HIS MOTHER. A Little Boy, who went to school, stole one of his school-fellow's horn-books, and brought it home to his mother; who was so far from correcting and discouraging him upon account of the theft, that she commended and gave him an apple for his pains. In process of time, as the child grew up to be a man, he accustomed himself to greater robberies; and at last, being apprehended and committed to gaol, he was tried and condemned for a felony. On the day of his execution, as the officers were conducting him to the gallows, he was attended by a vast crowd of people, and among the rest by his mother, who came sighing and sobbing along, and deploring extremely her son's unhappy fate; which the criminal observing, he called to the sheriff, and begged the favour of him, that he would give him leave to speak a word or two to his poor afflicted mother. The sheriff (as who would deny a dying man so reasonable a request) gave him permission; and the felon, while everyone thought he was whispering something of importance to his mother, bit off her ear, to the great offence and surprise of the whole assembly. "What, say they, was not this villain contented with the impious acts which he has already committed, but he must increase the number of them, by doing this violence to his mother?"
"Good people," replied he, "I would not have you be under a mistake; that wicked woman deserves this, and even worse at my hands; for if she had chastised and chid, instead of rewarding and caressing me, when in my infancy I stole the horn-book from the school, I had not come to this ignominious untimely end."
MORAL. Youthful minds, like the pliant wax, are susceptible of the most lasting impressions, and the good or evil bias they then receive is seldom or ever eradicated. [more info]

The Thief and his Mother

087. THE THIEF AND HIS MOTHER. A BOY stole a lesson-book from one of his schoolfellows and took it home to his Mother. She not only abstained from beating him, but encouraged him. He next time stole a cloak and brought it to her, and she again commended him. The Youth, advanced to adulthood, proceeded to steal things of still greater value. At last he was caught in the very act, and having his hands bound behind him, was led away to the place of public execution. His Mother followed in the crowd and violently beat her breast in sorrow, whereupon the young man said, “I wish to say something to my Mother in her ear.” She came close to him, and he quickly seized her ear with his teeth and bit it off. The Mother upbraided him as an unnatural child, whereon he replied, “Ah! if you had beaten me when I first stole and brought to you that lesson-book, I should not have come to this, nor have been thus led to a disgraceful death.” [more info]

The Young Thief and his Mother

44. THE YOUNG THIEF AND HIS MOTHER. A young Man had been caught in a daring act of theft and had been condemned to be executed for it. He expressed his desire to see his Mother, and to speak with her before he was led to execution, and of course this was granted.
When his Mother came to him he said: "I want to whisper to you," and when she brought her ear near him, he nearly bit it off. All the bystanders were horrified, and asked him what he could mean by such brutal and inhuman conduct.
"It is to punish her," he said. "When I was young I began with stealing little things, and brought them home to Mother. Instead of rebuking and punishing me, she laughed and said: "It will not be noticed." It is because of her that I am here to-day."
"He is right, woman," said the Priest; "the Lord hath said:Train up a child in the way he should go; and when he is old he will not depart therefrom." [more info]