The fables of Aesop by William Caxton (Jacobs)/Vol. II/Alfonce/Fable 8
¶ The eyght fable is of the discyple / and of the sheep /
Discyple was somtyme / whiche
toke his playsyre to reherce and
telle many fables / the whiche
prayd to his mayster / that he
wold reherce vnto hym a long
fable / To whome the mayster ansuerd / kepe and
beware wel that hit happe not to vs / as it happed
to a kyng and to his fabulatour And the discyple
ansuerd / My mayster I pray the to telle to me
how it befelle / And thenne the mayster sayd to
his descyple / ¶ Somtyme was a kynge whiche
hadde a fabulatour / the whiche reherced to
hym at euery tyme / that he wold sleep fyue
fables for to reioysshe the kynge / and for to
make hym falle in to a slepe / It befelle thenne
on a daye / that the kynge was moche sorowful
and so heuy / that he coude in no wyse falle a
slepe / And after that the sayd fabulatour had
told and reherced his fyue fables / the kynge
desyred to here more / And thenne the sayd
fabulatour recyted vnto hym thre fables wel
shorte / And the kynge thenne sayd to hym / I wold fayne here one wel longe / And thenne
shalle I leue wel the slepe / The fabulatour
thenne reherced vnto hym suche a fable / Of a
ryche man whiche wente to the market or feyre
for to bye sheep / the which man bought a
thowsand sheep / And as he was retornynge fro
the feyre / he cam vnto a Ryuer/ and by cause
of the grete waiues of the water he coude not
parte ouer the bridge / Neuertheles he wente
soo longe to and fro on the Ryuage of the sayd
Ryuer / that at the last he fonde a narowe way /
vpon the whiche myght passe scant ynough thre
sheep attones / And thus he parted and had them
ouer one after another / And hyderto reherced
of this fable / the fabulatour felle on slepe / And
anon after the kynge awoke the fabulatour / and
sayd to hym in this manere / I pray the that
thow wylt make an ende of thy fable / And the
fabulatour ansuerd to hym in this manere Syre
this Ryuer is right grete / and the ship is lytyl /
wherfore late the marzhaunt doo pass ouer his
sheep / And after I shalle make an ende of my
fable / And thenne was the kynge wel appeased
and pacyfyed / ¶ And therfore be thow content
of that I haue reherced vnto the / For there is
folke superstycious or capaxe / that they may not
be contented with fewe wordes