The fables of Aesop by William Caxton (Jacobs)/Vol. II/Auian/Fable 13
¶ The xiij fable is of the hunter and of the tygre
Erse is the stroke of a tonge / than
the stroke of a spere as hit appiereth
by this fable / Of a hunter /
whiche with his arowes hurted the
wyld beestes / in suche wyse that
none scaped fro hym / to the whiche bestes a
tygre fyers and hard sayd in this manere / Be
not aferd / For I shalle kepe yow well / And as
the Tygre came in to the wode / the hunter was
hyd within a busshe / the whiche whan he sawe
passe the tygre before the busshe / he shote at hym
an arowe / and hytte hym on the thye / wherfore
the tygre was gretely abasshed And wepynge
and sore syghynge sayd to the other beestes / I
wote not from whens this cometh to me / ¶ And
whanne the foxe sawe hym soo gretely abasshed /
al lawhynge sayd to hym / Ha a tygre / thow arte
so myghty and so stronge / And thenne the tygre
sayd to hym / My strengthe auaylled me not at
that tyme / For none may kepe hym self fro
treason And therfore some secrete is here / whiche
I knewe not before But notwithstandynge this I
maye wel conceyue / that there is no wors arowe / ne that letteth more the man / than tharowe
whiche is shotte fro the euyll tongue / For whanne
som persone profereth or layth som wordes in a
felauship / of som men of a[errata 1] honest & good lyf /
alle the felauship supposeth that that whiche this
euylle tongue hath sayd be trewe / be hit trewe
or not / how be it that it be but lesynge / but
notwithstondynge the good man shalle euer be
wounded of that same arowe / whiche wound
shalle be Incurable / And yf hit were a stroke of
a spere / hit myght be by the Cyrurgyen heled /
but the stroke of an euylle tongue may not be
heled / by cause that Incontynent as the word is
profered or sayd / he that hath sayd hit / is no
more mayster of hit / And for this cause the stroke
of a tongue is Incurable and withoute guaryson