μεταμορφώσεις

[Jeff Bernstein]

66

 

“My Lord” (said Fox) “all this and many other

     good things I have done for you, which I’d tell,

     if it wouldn’t make my story too long.

     Sire, if your speech is any indication

     you remember little of my goodness.

     But if your memory speak, and teach you

     to manage all things well, ye would not say

     as ye do. Ah, how I treasure the days

when great matters were judged only after my say!”

 

67

 

“Yet it might happen that my words be heard

     and also believed as well as another’s,

     as they once were; and if any be here

     who can say, and confirm by witnesses,

     that I have trespassed, then I will abide

     all the law that may come to me thereof;

     but if anyone say anything on me

     without proof, and without witness testimony,

then judge me after the rightful law of this Court.”

 

68

 

Reynard the Fox went quiet, and silence

    held for an impressive moment in Court;

     and all those in the audience still there

     held their breath in expectancy of judgment.

     Reynard stood before the King, his head bent

     to his feet, while the Lion held his look

     on him, pondering things; and the Queen, too,

     held her breath, for she liked Reynard the Fox.

Then the King raised high his fiery head, and spoke.

 

69

 

“Reynard” (said the King) “ye say reasonably.”

     And so Reynard the Fox let out a breath,

     and everyone in Court began to breathe

     again, as the King went on : “Of Cuwart’s

     death I know nothing more than that Bellyn

     the Ram brought his head to me in the scrip.

     Therefore, Reynard the Fox, I let you go;

     for no witnesses stand as evidence.”

And a mighty murmur rolled through the audience.

 

70

 

And Reynard raised up his head, showing tears

     swimming in his amber eyes so wide and bright;

     and he said, “Dear majesty, God bless you.

     Thank you. Surely you judge this matter right.

     Ah, the death of Cuwart the Hare hits me

     so sorrowfully that I think my heart

     will break in two! I remember the day

     he departed from me, with scrip in hand;

my heart was so heavy I might as well have swooned.”

 

71

 

“Now I know that sorrow was a warning

     of the great loss coming to me.” Reynard

     then dropped his head again (strategically)

     and he looked to fall into deep mourning.

     His chest hitched, as if stifling a sob.

     Meanwhile, all those present in the Court,

     having heard the story of the jewels,

     and considering the sadness of his face

(all feigned, you would know), judged that his story was true.

 

72

 

They were sorry for his loss, and sorry

     for his sorrow; and the King and the Queen

     both had pity of him. “Do not sorrow”

     (said the Queen to Reynard) “but endeavour

     to seek our comfort.” And the King added,

     “And also endeavour to seek those jewels.”

     For Reynard had so much praised those jewels

     that both King and Queen desired to have them.

Reynard, remember, had made them to understand

 

73

 

that he had sent the wondrous jewels to them;

     so now both King and Queen well thanked Reynard

     for the gifts he would give them, and they hoped

     he would make it that they might yet have them.

     When the Fox heard this he smiled inside,

     and thought of them but little good for this.

     He said, “God thank ye, my Lord and my Lady,

     that ye comfort me so in my sorrow.”

Reynard then dabbed at his eyes with an artful paw.

 

74

 

Then Reynard spoke up loud for all to hear.

     “Hear me now!” (he said) “I shall rest nor night

     nor day, I shall face all who threaten me,

     I shall seek the four corners of the earth,

     I shall make my enemies pray for me

     to be anywhere but in their faces,

     I shall push myself though I be bloody

     and battered, until I know where I may

find those jewels. I make this promise under God.”

 

75

 

“And I ask of you, my Lord, but one thing,

     that if these jewels cannot be had by prayer,

     or strength, or request, that ye will assist

     and abide by me, for this adventure

     toucheth on yourself, and the good is yours;

     also” (said Fox) “it is your part as King

     to render justice on theft and murder,

     both of which are relevant to this case.”

And Reynard the Fox stood tall before his majesty.

 

76

 

“Reynard” (said the King) “I shall not leave off

     until ye have found the jewels, and have them.

     My help shall always be ready for you.”

     Reynard the Fox smiled through happy tears,

     and said, “Dear Lord, this is too much for me.”

     He then was wise enough to shut his mouth.

     So the Fox now had his matter fast and fair,

     for he had the King and Queen in his hand,

and he thought he could not be in a better case.

 

77

 

But as Reynard the Fox was smiling

     at his fortune, that he could go freely

     now where he might without complaint from them,

     then did Isengrim speak up all angry

     and displeased, and the Wolf said, “Noble King,

     are ye so childish that ye believe

     this false and subtle shrew, and suffer yourself

     to be deceived with ridiculous lies?”

Then the audience murmured, and the Fox waited.

 

78

 

And the Wolf continued his charge, and said,

     “Truly time should reach its end ere I believe

     this sinner; he is in murder and treason

     all bewrapped, and mocks you before your face.”

     Then the King looked from the Wolf to Reynard,

     and Reynard saw him thinking, and waited

     while Isengrim the Wolf continued :

     “I shall tell Reynard another tale,

and when I’m done his lies will no longer help him.”

 

 

next :

Canto 33. How Ysegrym the Wulf complayned agayn on the foxe

[Jeff Bernstein]

[Jeff Bernstein]

[Jeff Bernstein]

Canto 33.

How Isengrim the Wolf complained again on the Fox.

 

1

 

Wolf said, “My Lord, I beg you to hear me.

     This false thief Reynard the Fox, this liar,

     took my wife foully and dishonestly.

     They went on a winter’s day together

     through icy water, and he told my wife

     he’d teach her to catch fish with her tail.

     ‘It should hang in the water a good while,’

     he said, ‘and so much fish will cleave to it

that we should never be able to eat it all.’”

 

2

 

“My wife believed he said truth, so she went

     far in the water; and at its deepest part

     she held her tail stone-still until the fish

     would come. So long she held her tail there

     that it was frozen solid in the ice;

     she could not pluck it out, nor could she move.

     When he saw that, he sprang upon her body.

     My wife was caught and couldn’t oppose him,

and the Fox cannot deny I found him in the deed.”                      .

 

3

 

“Alas!” (said the Wolf) “what pain I suffered

     at heart! I’d almost lost my wits for sorrow,

     and cried as loud as I could. He heard me,

     and when he saw me he went on his way.

     In a great heaviness I went to my wife,

     but could not break the ice and set her free.

     Ah! The pain she suffered ere her tail

     hung loose again! When she did tear it free,

she left behind a piece of it stuck in the ice.”

 

4

 

“She yelped and cried so loudly from the pain

     that the two of us almost lost our lives,

     for the men of the village came to us

     with staves and bills and flails and pitchforks,

     and with their wives and their knitting needles.

    ‘Slay ’em!’ they cried in scorn, ‘Smite ’em down right!”

     I’d never been so scared in all my life,

     not only for me but for my dear wife.

We ran so fast we sweat, and only just escaped.”

 

5

 

“But there was one, the foullest villain,

     that came after us, and kept sticking us

     with a pike which hurted us sore; the man

     was strong and swift of foot. And all those wives,

     those witches, would happily have killed us,

     for they said that we had bitten their sheep.

     Oh how they cursed us with many a curse!

     We hid from them in a field of brambles;

so they went home. Hear, my Lord, this foul matter!”

 

 

next : Reynard answers the charge.

[Jeff Bernstein]

On Remakes

F. W. Bourdillon refers to “quaint expressions” of the “bygone” Old French of Aucassin and Nicolete.

 

Can Scroob demonstrate what Bourdillon means, quick, fast and in a hurry?

 

Line 9. The story to come is

 

               Et cortois et bien asis.

 

courtly and well-seated.

 

This equestrian theme, in another context empirical (e.g., a joust; a hunt), is here a poetic metaphor capturing the prevailing Vibe of the narrative to come.

 

Et cortois et bien asis

 

conveys the Smooth Cool Style of the “Full jolly knight” (1.1.8) of Spenser’s Faerie Queene.

 

*

 

Good Reader, the “quaint expressions” of Aucassin and Nicolete are apparently always lost in translation.

 

Example :

 

que ele avoit molt bon

 

which Scroob translates here as

 

               and she wears it well

 

1889 : Andrew Lang discards the verb (avoit) and contracts the parenthetical phrase down to two words—“very goodly” [molt bon] .

 

1872 : Walter Pater contracts the phrase, this time to one word :

 

[ she . . . put on the ] fairest [ gown she had ]

 

1887 : F. W. Bourdillon keeps only :

 

               [ of cloth-of-silk and ] very good

 

*

 

Effort leads to happy Revelation. Art as treasure hunt, with your Self as prize.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited September 18 by Jeff Bernstein

[Jeff Bernstein]

Or dient et content et fablent

 

[ now ] – [ to speak ] – [ and ] – [ (fr., conter) to compose ] – [ and ] – [ to fable (e.g., to speak fabulously) ]

 

—A literary motif running through Aucassin & Nicolete.

 

*

 

As the Good Reader and I glide headlong toward the finish of Reynard the Fox—two weeks?—shall we admire some words near the end of Thomas Mann’s The Holy Sinner?

 

Clemens, der so die Mär ans Ziel gebracht, dankt euch für euere Aufmerksamkeit und nimmt dern eueren Dank entgegen für die Mühe, die er ans Werk gewendet. Es möge nur keiner, der sich die Geschichte behagen ließ, falsche Moral daraus ziehen und denken, es sei zuletzt mit der Sünde ein leichtes Ding. Er hüte sich, zu such zu sprechen : »Nun sei du ein lustiger Frevler! Wenn es so fein hinausging mit diesen, wie solltest da du verloren sein?«  Das ist des Teufels Geflüster.

 

[ Your storyteller ] , who has brought this fable to its end, thanks you for your attention, and accepts your thanks for the effort he has devoted to the work. Those who have enjoyed this history, may you draw from it no false moral, and think, in the end, that Sin is an easy thing. They should take care, and beware of speaking something of this kind : “Now I shall be a jolly sinner! If it fell out so fine for these [ characters ] , how should I be lost?” That is the Devil whispering.

[Jeff Bernstein]

6

 

The King heard the Wolf, then looked to Reynard,

     and everyone at Court awaited his reply;

     and Reynard said, “Good lord! If this were true,

     it would touch too closely upon my honour.

     God forbid that his falsehoods be found true!

     Yes, it’s true I taught his wife how to fish,

     and I showed her a way to go over

     the water, but when I promised her food

everlasting with my trick, she got too excited.”

 

7

 

“She ran wildly into the water

     when she heard me name all the many fish

     she would have, not keeping along the way

     I said; she went her own way in the ice

     and got frozen there through no fault of mine.

     She got stuck because she stood there too long.

     Though she’d caught enough fish to make a pile

     it wasn’t enough to satisfy her want.

It falleth oft, who that would have all, loseth all.”

 

8

 

“How unattractive is greediness in us!”

     (Fox said) “The Wolf’s wife would not be satisfied,

     and soon enough I saw her trapped solid.

     I went to help her and to bring her out

     but she was too heavy for me to lift,

     and all my effort was wasted on her.

     Then came Isengrim the Wolf, who saw me

     doing my best; yet he, a foul beast,

most insidiously slandereth me with her.”

 

9

 

“Slander!” (Fox said) “is what these dissolute

     villains do! But my dear Lord, believe me

     when I tell you the tale is otherwise.

     Isengrim lies and attacks me falsely.

     Maybe his eyes were dazzled by starlight

     when he saw us. At any rate he cried

     and cursed me and said I would pay for it.

     When I heard him so curse I went my way

and let him curse and threaten till he was weary.”

 

10

 

“Clearly everything I’ve said is the truth”

    (said Fox); “Not for a million scraps of meat

     would I lie to you even one little lie,

     for such a deed is not fitting for me.

     Whatever befalls, I shall say the truth,

     just as my elders did, back at the time

     when we first understood reason. But if

     ye be in doubt of anything I have said,

give me eight days to prepare a case to present.”

 

11

 

“What have I to do with the Wolf?” (Fox added)

     “His foul nature is now clearly shown.

     Remember, King, how he dealt out the Swine!

     It is now known to you by his own word

     that he is a defamer of women.

     Mark my words well, everyone! Now I beg

     the Court to address his wife, and ask her

     if it be just as Isengrim sayeth.

If she will say the truth, she will say as I do.”

 

 

next : The Wife replies.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited September 19 by Jeff Bernstein

[Jeff Bernstein]

12

 

Then Ersewynde spoke up, Isengrim’s wife :

     “Ah, evil Reynard! Who can keep themselves

     from you? You assemble your words so well

     and utter your reason for all to know.

     But evil shall be answered in the end.

     Remember you once brought me to a well?

     Two buckets hung there by one cord running

     through one pulley, so that when one went up,

the other went down. You, Reynard, were down the well.”

 

13

 

“You were sat in a bucket, shivering

     in the dark and wailing up in sorrow.

     I came and saw you down below all sighing,

     and I asked you how you came to be there.

     You said you’d eaten so many fishes

     in the well water that your belly hurt.

     So I said, ‘Tell me how I can help you.”

     You answered, ‘Auntie, jump in the bucket

and come down to me.’ So I got in the bucket.”

 

14

 

“What happened? You came up and I went down.

     Then I was angry, and you said to me,

     ‘That’s the world—one goes up, the other down.’

     Then you went away and left me alone.

     I sat a whole day sore and hungry and cold,

     and suffered many a pain ere I got free.”

     “Auntie” (said Fox) “for this you should thank me.

     Now you know better and you trust no beast.

I taught you that everyone seeks their own profit.”

 

 

next : cont’d.

[Jeff Bernstein]

Canto 34.

A fair parable of the Fox and the Wolf.

 

1

 

“My Lord” (said Dame Ersewynde) “do you hear

     how he blows with all the winds, and how fair

     he puts his matters forth, to make us believe

     all his lies?” And then her husband the Wolf

     spoke up, and said, “Thus has he brought me, too,

     into harm and hurt—many times. Once he

     betrayed me to my own aunt, the She-Ape;

     I was put into a great dread and fear,

for she tore from me almost my entire ear.”

 

2

 

The Fox said, “I myself shall tell the tale,

     and shall speak the truth; I pray you hear me.

     One rainy day, Isengrim came to me

     in the wood, and complained he was hungry;

     for I never saw him so full that he

     wouldn’t ask for more, and eat it all, too.

    Where goes all that meat he eats I do not know.

     Look! Even now he grimaces from hunger.

So he complained to me, and I sorrowed for him.”

 

3

 

“And I said, ‘I’m hungry too.’ So we went

     half a day together, but found nothing.

     The Wolf whined and cried and said he couldn’t

     go on; but just then I saw a great hole.

     It was hidden under a hawthorn tree

     full-heavy with brambles, and the wind rushed

     like a bitter river, and the light looked

     funny in the sky. I said to the Wolf,

‘Go in the hole and see what’s what. I’m sure there’s food.’”

 

4

 

“‘Cousin,’ he said, ‘I wouldn’t go into that hole

     for infinite meat, unless I first knew

     what was down thee. I think it be something

     perilous. I will abide here under

     this tree, if ye will go into the hole.

     But come back and tell me what things are there.

     Ye do many a subtlety, and well

     help yourself, so much better than I do.’

See, my King, how he made me face danger alone?”

 

5

 

“He, meanwhile, who is great, long, and strong,

     rested in peace under the hawthorn tree!

     It was not I who waited for him there.

     I went to the hole, and suffered great dread

     and fear, and for all the good in the earth

     I would have stayed out, but I am adept

     at escape, so I went hardily in.

     I found the way dark and long and narrow.

What light I could see by came from the sky above.”

 

6

 

“As I moved through the tunnel, I was struck

     by a filthy smell, a foul and loathsome stink,

     and I could barely breathe; but I went on

     into the hole, and I saw two fires

     glimmering there—they were the wide eyes

     of a great Ape spying me in the dark.

     In the gloom I saw she had a great mouth

     with long teeth, and sharp nails on her hands

and on her feet; I thought her a terrible beast.”

 

7

 

“And by her lay a number of her children,

     who were right vile, for they resembled

     their mother. They were lumpy and foul;

     each one unique, yet all ill-favourèd.

     When they saw me come they showed me their teeth,

     yet they stayed by their mother and were still.

     I never saw a fouler homestead.

     They lay on wet hay which was all bepissed,

and were slabbered and covered to their ears in dung.”

 

8

 

“It so stank I was almost smothered thereof.

     And yet I would say nothing but kind words,

     and said, ‘Good day, Auntie, hello cousins,

     you beautiful children, you’re the fairest

     babies I ever saw. O, Mighty God,

     how well they please me! How magnificent!

     Each might bear the beauty of a king’s son!

     Dear Aunt, I ought to thank you for increasing

our lineage. God strike me for not coming sooner.”

 

9

 

“When I finally heard you were laid down

     and delivered, I could abide no longer

     but had to come and friendly visit you.’

     ‘Reynard, my dear Reynard,’ said the She-Ape,

    ‘ye be welcome here. For that you come here,

     I thank you. Dear cousin, ye be right true,

     and are rightly named wise in all the lands,

     and you bring us all into great worship.

Please, you must teach my children some of your wisdom.’”

 

10

 

“Oh how pleased I was when I heard these words”

     (said Fox) “but allow me to clarify :

     she isn’t my aunt; I just called her that.

     My right aunt is Dame Rukenawe, standing

     just yonder; she has brought forth wise children.

     So I said to the Aunt who wasn’t my Aunt,

     ‘Aunt, my life and my good are at your word,

     and what I may do for you night and day.

Gladly will I teach them the fruits of my wisdom.”

 

11

 

“I wanted to leave, the stink was so bad;

     and I pitied Isengrim’s great hunger.

     So I said, ‘Aunt, I commit you and yours

     to God and shall take my leave. My good wife

     shall worry long after me.’ ‘Dear cousin,’

     she said, ‘ye must stay and eat with us first;

     if ye left I would say ye were unkind.’

     Then she took me into another hole

and I was given a miraculous treasure.”

 

12

 

“I saw infinite meats of harts and hinds,

     roes, pheasants, partridges, and many more,

     and I wondered where all this meat came from.

     And when I had eaten my bellyful,

     I was gifted a great piece of a hind,

     to eat with my wife and all my children

     when I got home. I was ashamed to take it,

     but what else could I do? Then she told me

to come again, and I said I would. Then I left.”

 

13

 

“When I got back to Isengrim the Wolf

     he lay groaning in hunger; and I asked

     him how he fared. ‘’Tis a wonder I live,

     dear nephew, so empty is my belly!

     Do tell, did ye bring any meat to eat?’

     So then I felt great compassion for him,

     and gave him everything I had with me.

     I saved his life, and Isengrim thanked me;

yet now all he would do is give me evil will.”

 

14

 

Fox said, “So he ate up all I gave him,

     but it wasn’t enough; and he asked me,

     ‘Good Reynard, dear cousin, what did you see

     in that hole? I am even more hungry now

     than before. My teeth are sharpened to eat.’

     So I told him, ‘My aunt is in that hole,

     with all her children. So make your way down

     and you shall find there enough to satisfy.

But remember this one thing : Do not tell the truth.’”

 

15

 

“My Lord” (said Fox) “did I not warn the Wolf

     sufficiently, that those who heard my words

     would understand and not say differently?

     But rude and greedy Beasts won’t hear wisdom,

     and so they hate all subtle inventions

     because they will never understand them.

     Nevertheless, for all my great warning,

     the Wolf said he would go into the hole,

and lie his way to all the treasures I spoke of.”

 

16

 

“So he went into the foul stinking hole,

     and found the horrible Ape in the gloom.

     She was like the Devil’s daughter. Gobbets

     of stinky filth begrimed all her body.

     The Wolf cried, ‘I growl at these demons!

     Came ye out of Hell? Ye make the devils

     fear ye! I never saw fouler worms;

     this hateful sight makes all my fur stand up.’

And the filthy little ones, hearing this, whined in sorrow.”

 

17

 

“‘Sir Isengrim,’ said she, ‘what may I do?

     These are my children; I am their mother.

     What matter to you if they be foul or fair?

     They ask nothing of you. Just earlier

     came one nigh of kin to them, your better,

     one far wiser than ye, and he told me

     my children are beautiful. So why say

     to me they’re demons up out of Hell?’

And the Wolf in his infinite wisdom answered,

 

18

 

‘Dame, if ye will, I will eat of your meat.

     Better I eat it than those foul things.’

     She said, ‘There is no meat here.’ And he said,

     ‘Yes, there is, more than enough.’ And he moved

     toward the meat, and as he went through the hole

     into the storeroom he felt a scratching

     along his face and body, and he yelped;

     for my Aunt and her children ran to him

with their sharp long nails brandished, and made him bleed.”

 

19

 

“He could no longer see where he was going,

     for the blood ran into his eyes; and they

     attacked him all-round; and I heard the sound

     of crying and howling from my shady

     spot under the Hawthorn tree. And he came

     back to me finally, all scratched and beaten,

     with many a bleeding hole in his skin,

     and his muzzle and face one smear of blood,

and he looked to be missing a bit of one ear.”

 

20

 

“Isengrim groaned and complained to me sore;

     and I asked him if he had lied very well.

     And he said, ‘I spoke out as I saw it.

     There was a foul Beast with many imps.’

     ‘Nay, cousin,’ I said, ‘ye should have flattered

     with fair words like, “How are my well-beloved

     auntie and cousins?”’ Isengrim answered,

     ‘I had rather they be hanged than say that.’

‘Yea, cousin,’ I said, ‘and so you received payment.’”

 

21

 

“Yea,” said Fox, to all assembled at Court,

     “It is better to lie than to say truth.

     All those wiser and stronger before us

     knew this. Now consider the Wolf. He standeth

     casually away from us, as if the whole tale

     hadn’t happened, and he knewest no harm,

     and that I tried to help. King, I pray you

     ask him if it was not just as I say.”

Reynard looked around. “He was just here, wasn’t he?”

 

 

next : Canto 35. How Ysegrym proferd his gloue to the foxe for to fyght wyth hym

[Jeff Bernstein]

Canto 35

How Isengrim proffered his glove for the Fox to fight with him.

 

1

 

Now a murmuring arose in the Court,

     and all looked about to see what was what;

     and the Beasts in the gallery parted

     to reveal the Wolf with his long teeth bared.

     “Fox” (he said) “I am right here. I have stood

     all your mocks and scorns and venomous words.

     You lying thief! You say I was near dead

     from hunger, and you helped me in my need?

You gave me one bare bone with its meat eaten off!”

 

2

 

Isengrim walked down the length of the Court

     toward Reynard the Fox, saying, “Lies, lies, lies.

     If I numbered all the lies you just told,

     the tale I’d tell would be as tedious

     as yours. You’ve shamed my wife, and you mock me;

     and say I conspire to kill the king.

     Now hear me. If I do not avenge this

     I’ll be disworshipped by all for ever.

I’ve been patient, but now ye shall not escape me.”

 

3

 

Isengrim stepped before the Lion King

     while Reynard waited to hear the score.

     And the Wolf spoke loudly for all to hear,

     saying, “I bring no evidence against him,

     except to call him an evil traitor

     and murderer, and I will prove my fate

     in the field, in a paw-to-paw combat,

     and then our argument will have its end.

I drop my glove. Rightfully answer this, or die.”

 

4

 

Reynard considered the Situation,

     standing before the King and Queen and Court,

     and thought to himself, “And this came to this?

     We are not alike; the Wolf is taller

     and larger and heavier than I am,

     and his teeth are longer. I can dodge him

     and disappear before he knows I’m gone—

     no, I must stand and answer the challenge.

It won’t go well for me, but I must fight this brute.”

 

 

next : how the foxe toke up the gloue, and how the kynge sette to them daye and felde for to come & doo theyr bataylle.

[Jeff Bernstein]

Canto 36.

How the Fox took up the glove. And how the King set to them day and field for to come and do their battle.

 

1

 

“On the other hand” (thought Fox) “I do have

     advantages—I’ve already had off

     his front claws; that’s good. And his feet must ache,

     considering they were skinned for my scrip.

     He must be somewhat the weaker for this.”

     Then Reynard said for all to hear, “Who says

     that I am a traitor and murderer,

     I say those villains lie atrociously.

I look especially at Isengrim the Wolf.”

 

2

 

“You, Wolf, bring me to where I want to be;

     how oft I’ve wished to meet you in the field!

     Lo! look now, my good Fellowship of Beasts”

     (and Reynard the Fox took up the Wolf’s glove)

     “here is my pledge that all Isengrim’s words

     are false! I shall defend myself, and prove

     that he lies.” The King quieted the Court;

     and his majesty received their pledges,

and he gave his consent for a battle at dawn.

 

3

 

The King commanded that the duellists

     perform well, and do as they ought to do

     and no further. And the Fox and the Wolf

     heard and listened. Then came Bruno the Bear

     to stand beside the Wolf, and then Tibert

     the Cat came and joined them; these two would act

     as his seconds. And Reynard looked around;

     and when Grimbert the Badger waddled up

with Bitelice the Ape and stood by him, he smiled.

 

 

next : Canto 37. how Rukenawe the She-Ape counseylled the foxe how he sholde byhaue hym in the felde ayenste the Wulf.

[Jeff Bernstein]

[Jeff Bernstein]

Canto 37. How Rukenawe the She Ape counselled the Fox how he should behave him in the field against the Wolf.

 

1

 

’Twas the night before the battle,

     and Reynard sat thoughtfully in the shade

     of the cave of his aunt, Dame Rukenawe.

     Light came from the fire burning at the hearth

     while the two sat together and counselled.

     “Reynard” (she said) “my dear nephew, be sure

     you take heed in the fight against the Wolf.

     This is not of less truth than antiquity :

The cunning goeth before strength. So be cold and wise.”

 

2

 

“I thank you, dear aunt” (said Fox). “The quarrel

     I have is rightful, therefore victory

     should be mine—I hope.” And all his lineage

     abode by him all the night to help him

     drive away the time. And Dame Rukenawe

     the She-Ape thought alway on his profit

     and advantage. “Reynard” (she said) “dear nephew,

     here is my counsel : drink lots of water.

I would be sorry if ye mishapped tomorrow.”

 

3

 

“Drink lots of water, Auntie?” (Reynard asked)

     “Indeed, dear nephew” (she replied) “you must

     drink much, so that by dawn ye may the better

     make your urine.” “Make my urine?” (asked Fox)

     “Yes” (said Auntie) “and hold it till ye come

     to the field. Then, when there is need and time,

     so shall ye piss your tail full of piss

     and smite the Wolf therewith full in the face.”

“Thank ye, Auntie” (said Fox) “I shall piss my tail wet.”

 

4

 

“And if ye hit him with it in his eyes”

     (she added) “ye shall blind him for a bit. 

     That should much hinder him.” The Fox

     made to answer, but Aunt Rukenawe said,

     “Let me speak, dear nephew, and you listen.

     We were talking about pissing your tail.

     When you’re fighting, always hold your tail

     between your legs, so that he not catch it;

and hold down your ears as well, flat upon your head—”

 

5

 

“and see wisely to yourself.” And Reynard

     nodded, but stayed silent as she went on :

     “At the beginning, flee from all his strokes.

     To tire him out, let him alway spring

     and run after you. And now hear what I say.

     Reynard, find that ye run where the most dust

     lieth on the ground, and stir it with your feet

     so that the dust may fly into his eyes,

 and that, too, shall much hinder him in the contest.”

 

6

 

“And while he rubs his eyes clean of dust,

     take your chance then and smite him, and bite him

     in the places where ye may most hurt him;

     but most of all, remember your piss-tail;

     keep smacking him full in the face with it,

     and that shall make him feel so full of woe

     that he shall not know where he is.” The Fox

     smiled at this and nodded, and she said :

“Dear Nephew, certainly this is my counsel for you.”

 

7

 

And then Dame Rukenawe took up a blade

     and she sheared Reynard clean of his red fur

     from head to tail, so he stood sleek and smooth;

     then annointed his body with olive oil

     and he glistened like a very ACHILLES;

     and so smooth and greasy now was Reynard,

     the Wolf should find no hold on him at all.

     “Now see for yourself” (Auntie said) “and set

yourself wisely at defence, that we may all win.”

 

8

 

“Auntie” (said Reynard) “I am now right glad.

     God thank you. Ye have done me such a good

     I will never deserve it fully again.”

     And then she laid her paws upon his head,

     saying, “I shall now speak a magic spell

     that ye may overcome your enemy,

     which surely ye shall do without a doubt.

     Once, a great master, fighter, and thinker,

an abbot of Baudeloo, taught your uncle this.”

 

9

 

“Who taught it to me; now I teach it you.

     I shall speak six magic words over you,

     then ye shall not be overcome in battle

     tomorrow; so be not afraid, dear nephew.”

     Then she spoke, her paws on his head, thus :

     “Blaerde Shay Alphenio Kasbue

     Gorfons Alsbuifrio.” Then were all those

     assembled there in the darkling cave,

her sons and daughters, and those of his line, quiet—

 

10

 

while Reynard sat with head bowed, taking

     in the holy words; then Dame Rukenawe

     said, quietly, “Nephew, now ye be sure

     from all mischief and dread. Now ye must rest,

     so that by day ye shall be better disposed;

     and we shall awake you before the time.”

    So Reynard went and lay down in the grass

     under a tree, and slept till the sun was risen.

Then came the Otter to wake him, and bring him water.

 

11

 

“Cousin” (said Otter) “here is a good young duck.

     Last night I leapt in the river and stole it

     from a fowler’s net. Here” (he said) “take it,

     eat it.” Reynard said, “This is a good gift.

     Only a fool would refuse it. Thank you,

     Cousin, that ye remember me. If I live,

     I shall reward you.” The Fox ate the duck

     without sauce or bread; he relished the taste.

Then he drank water. Then he went to the battle.

[Jeff Bernstein]

Oration on the Dignity of Man
Pico della Mirandola, 1486
Anvil Press, 1953.

The Introduction to the first printed book silenced by the Powers of Europe.

[Jeff Bernstein]

[Jeff Bernstein]

Canto 38. How the Fox came into the field and how they fought.

 

1

 

When the King saw Reynard coming, along

     with all those who loved him coming with him,

     and when he saw him in the buff and oiled,

     he said, “Eh, Fox, did ye shave in the dark?”

     Indeed, Reynard was round and white and plump.

     But the Fox said nothing, only knelt down

     to the earth unto the King and the Queen;

     and then without much ado he went forth

into the field to face his enemy the Wolf.

 

2

 

Isengrim the Wolf was there and ready,

     and spoke many a proud word. The rulers

     and keepers of the field were the Leopard

     and the Lynx. They brought forth the holy book,

     and Isengrim swore that the Fox was both

     traitor and murderer; that none falser

     lived or ever lived; and he, Isengrim,

     would prove this on the body of Reynard,

and make all things good; then he looked hard at his foe.

 

3

 

Reynard returned the hard look as the book

     was brought to him, and he swore that the Wolf

     was a dishonest, unscrupulous villain,

     and that he would do good on his body.

     So the rivals stood eyeball to eyeball;

     and the governors of the field now bade them

     do their dutiful act of civility;

     then the field of battle was cleared of Beast,

except for Dame Rukenawe, who held by Reynard.

 

4

 

“See well to,” she said. “I remember when ye

     were seven years old; ye were wise enough

     to go by night without moonshine to where

     you always found good. Today ye are named

     among all the Beasts as subtle and wise.

     Be this now. Win the prize, and have honour

     and worship for all the rest of your days.

     This honour is ours, too, who are your friends.”

And she put a paw upon her nephew’s shoulder.     

 

5

 

And Reynard smiled a little, and said,

     “I’ll do my best. And Auntie, I’ll remember

     all you said to me, which should help me well;

     and I hope to bring honour and worship

     to all my lineage forevermore;

     and to my enemies shame and confusion.”

     “God grant it you,” she said, and then she went

     out of the field, and let them go together.

Then the Fox and the Wolf stood alone in battle.

 

 

next : how the foxe & the Wulf foughten to gydre.

[Jeff Bernstein]

Canto 39.

How the Fox and the Wolf fought together.

 

1

 

Isengrim strode toward Reynard in a fury,

     and in a flash he opened his forefeet wide

     and attempted to trap Reynard; but the Fox

     sprang lightly from him, for he was lighter

     of foot; so the Wolf closed his arms on air,

     having trapped nothing. The Fox shook his head

     in jest while Isengrim loomed up on him,

     for the Wolf strode wider than Reynard did,

and he raised his foot to bash the Fox’s brains in.

 

2

 

Reynard slipped sidewise and smacked him across

     the face with his naked tail dripping with piss;

     then was the Wolf thought to have been made blind,

     for the fox piss burned in his eyes. Reynard

     leapt backward, and as Isengrim rubbed at

     his eyes the Fox scraped up dust and flung it

     at the Wolf. Now Isengrim was baffled,

     and left off the chase, for sand and piss muddled

his vision, and smarted, and he made to wipe them.

 

 

cont’d.

[Jeff Bernstein]

3

 

Reynard leapt forward, and in fierce anger

     plunged his teeth one, two, three times in the Wolf,

     tearing at the flesh at his head, making

     great gaping wounds there; and then he leapt back.

     Hot blood gushed into the face of the Wolf,

     who was woozy; his steps were erratic 

     and came ever-slower while the Fox

     circled him; then finally Isengrim

sat on his hind legs, for he was sorely blinded.

 

4

 

And Reynard the Fox kept circling him,

     grinning at the scent of his enemy’s blood;

     and as Isengrim pulled himself together

     the Fox said to him, “What is it, Sir Wolf?

     Has someone bitten you? Do tell, does it sting?

     Just wait. I will all otherwise on you yet.

     I’ll bring something new for you to feel. Ye’ve eaten

     many another’s sausage, and stolen

many a lamb, and destroyed many simple beasts,

 

5

 

and falsely brought me into this trouble;

     and now I shall avenge myself on you.”

     And Reynard gave Isengrim a smile,

     and said, “I am chosen to reward you

     for all your sins, for God will no longer

     suffer your greediness and wickedness.

     I shall now assoil thee, which shall be

     good for your soul. Take your pain patiently,

and your punishment—for you shall live no longer.”

 

6

 

Reynard slowed to a stop before the Wolf

     to admire the bloody mess of his face;

     and Isengrim lowered his dripping paws

     and looked into the Fox’s obnoxious smirk.

     Reynard said to him, “Your life is mine now.

     You are at my mercy. Get on your knees

     and ask me for forgiveness. You’re evil,

     but I might spare you. My good conscience

counsels me I should not gladly slay any Beast.”

 

7

 

Isengrim was almost out of his wits

     hearing these mocking and spiteous words,

     which hurt so much he knew not what to say;

     things rushed through his head but nothing came out,

     he had never been so angry at heart.

     So the Wolf raised himself onto his feet

     while his wounds were bleeding and smarting,

     and he looked at Reynard’s outrageous grin,

and wondered how best he might pay these insults back.  

 

 

The climactic fight continues.

[Jeff Bernstein]

8

 

First he must wipe the smile from his face,

     so the Wolf, with Reynard unsuspecting,

     leapt forward faster than a lightning bolt

     and the Fox, in unsuspecting triumph,

     suddenly felt a bash across his head

     so great he fell to the ground in wonder.

     The Wolf approached and prepared to take him,

     but the Fox was light and wily, and rose up

and met with him fiercely in a bloody tangle.

 

9

 

Now began a battle which endurèd long.

     The Wolf had great spite for the Fox and well

     it seemed so as the one chased the other

     in a quick dizzying blurring circle

     as he sought to catch Reynard. But the Fox’s

     naked skin was so slippery with oil  

     that he always escaped his pursuer.

     How sharp and subtle was Reynard the Fox!

So many times he seemed lost, then there he was, free.

 

10

 

See now! The Wolf catches up to Reynard,

     and leaps up high with arms and legs outspread

     to fall upon him and kill him at last;

     but the Fox stops short and feels Isengrim’s

     belly scrape the length of him as the Wolf

     flies over and past him. Isengrim turns back

     and gets a smack of the piss-tail hard

     in his face. For a moment the Wolf thinks

he’s been blinded, then is smacked again and again.

 

11

 

And from out of a cloud of dust Reynard

     kept sending dirt into his face and eyes,

     so that the Wolf couldn’t blink fast enough

     against the onslaught. Another fighter

     might have felt all his hopes were sinking fast;

     and though the Wolf was woebegone, the fight

     was far from over, for he knew his strength

     was much greater than the Fox’s. The Wolf

knew all he had to do was wait for his moment.

 

12

 

Each reached after the other and tore him

     and bit him, and the advantage teetered

     back and forth while each sought to destroy

     the other. I wish I’d seen such a battle.

     Reynard was a wily one, quick-thinking,

     while the Wolf was too strong to beat by strength.

     One fought with muscle, the other with wit.

     Soon Isengrim waxed increasing angry

that Reynard was enduring so long against him.

 

13

 

The paws of the Wolf had earlier lost

     all their skin after that ruse of Reynard’s,

     and Isengrim felt terrible shooting pains

     whenever he swatted hard at the Fox,

     and the sores on his paws were so open

     and bloody now that he might not well run,

     if he had to. But ’twas hard for the Wolf

     to think just then, for Reynard kept swinging

his tail at him, trying to get at his eyes.

 

14

 

“I must made an end of this” (thought the Wolf)

     “one way or another. How long will this wretch

     hold out against me? I am strong; I should,

     if I drop on him, squeeze all the breath out

     of him and press him to death. But even

     if I kill him now I cannot escape

     the great shame of sparing him for so long.

     Beasts shall mock me. Even if I win I lose.

Damn this Fox! I’m sore wounded, bleeding everywhere,

 

15

 

I’m drowning in piss and covered in dust

     and I can hardly see, but let us see

     if I suffer this much longer! I must

     attack him now, and what will be will be.”

     Isengrim wrestled Reynard under him,

     and under him Reynard squirmed this way and that

     but was caught in the dust and felt the hot

     breath of the Wolf in his face and was scared.

All of his friends who were watching this were scared, too.

 

16

 

Reynard felt the Wolf lying upon him

    and thought he would be pressed to death right there;

     and he saw all the friends of Isengrim

     joyful and glad, and they let out a cheer;

     but the sound roused the Fox to new violence.

     Reynard defended himself with his claws

     as he lay upward under Isengrim,

     and cut him over and over again;

yet the Wolf still came with his teeth snatching at him.

 

17

 

Reynard sliced at the Wolf’s belly as the Wolf

     made to bite Reynard; and when the Fox saw

     the glistening fangs he felt a great fear,

     and lashed out with his foremost claws and tore

     the skin between his brows; and when he pulled

     his claws back he saw that one of the Wolf’s

     eyes was hanging loose out of its socket.  

     All this caused Isengrim a mighty pain.

He howled, he wept, he cried, and the blood ran out.

 

 

next : Canto 40. how the foxe beyng under the Wulf wyth flatering wordes glosed hym that the foxe cam to hys aboue agayn.

[Jeff Bernstein]

Canto 40. How the Fox, being under the Wolf, with flattering wordes glosed him, that the Fox came to his above again.

 

1

 

While the Wolf rubbed his eyes, Reynard took

     his chance and wrestled the Wolf to the ground.

     Isengrim in a wild fury fought

     even as blood blinded him, grappling

     Reynard in the dust, with the two of them

     rolling this way and that, with pains flaring

     all over along both of them; neither,

     though, was ready to stop. They wrestled sore,

and all watched as the Wolf got the Fox under him.

 

2

 

Reynard sought to escape but Isengrim

     held him fast and his blood smeared all over

     the Fox as they wrestled to save their lives,

     and Reynard felt a sinking feeling of woe

     as they fought strenuously nose to nose.

     “Dear Uncle—” Reynard said as they wrestled,

      knowing his life now depended on his words,

     “think about this! I will gladly become your man,

and all of my good shall be yours! What do you think?”

 

3

 

But the Wolf was so angry he forgot

     all his smarts and pain and meant to kill him

     with one last mighty tearing of his teeth;

     but Reynard thrust his arm up at the Wolf

     and got it fast into Isengrim’s mouth

     and he kept the Wolf’s jaws open for now;

     but all the while he feared to lose his hand.

     “Wait! Wait!” said Reynard, with his long arm down

Isengrim’s throat. “Sir! I’ll pray for you every day

 

4

 

in all the churches of the Holy Land!

     Think of the profit to your soul! Your elders’

     souls, too! I’ve never heard such an offer,

     even to a king! Believe I shall serve you

     even as the Pope serves our Holy Father!”

     Isengrim was ready to kill Reynard

     as the words came fast and thick from the Fox,

     who had to say one thing or the other,

or else he might as well just take his death right now.

 

5

 

But Isengrim was having none of it.

     With an arm down his throat he still got out,

     “Ay, thief” (he said) “you’d have me set you free?

     If you were free you would not put by me

     even a single eggshell.” And the Wolf

     tightened his grip on Reynard, and told him,

     “Though you promise to me all the world’s gold,

     I will not let you escape.” Reynard heard

this unhappily as he wrestled nose to nose.

 

6

 

“I will give you all I have!” (said Reynard);

     “I’ll be your servant for now and ever,

     and all my lineage shall do you likewise.

     Then you shall be a lord above all lords!

     Who would dare do anything against you?”

     “I set little by thee and all your friends”

     (said Wolf); “Everything you say now are lies.”

     “No!” (Reynard said); “Whatever of poultry,

geese, partridge, swan, plover, fish, or of flesh,

 

7

 

or whatever it be, you will have first choice,

     and your wife and children, before I eat

     anything of it!” But the Wolf only laughed

     (while Reynard’s arm was stuck down his throat

     to keep his jaws from closing fully shut).

     Isengrim said, “You think to fool me still?

     I have known you too long to fall for that.

     All too well I know your lying tales.

I’m no bird to be fooled by chaff; I know good corn.”

 

8

 

“Sir Isengrim! (said Fox) “Listen to me!

     We be so nigh of kin to each other

     that between us there should be no anger!

     Let’s just walk away, each from the other;

     ye be strong, I be smart; let’s join forces

     —I be the brains and you be the muscle—

     then nothing will befall either of us!

     Know that I shall always abide by you;

where ye be there shall nor hurt nor harm come to thee.”

 

9

 

The two fighters wrestled long in the dust;

     and the Wolf would have the Fox’s arm out

     of his throat, and tried to chomp down on it;

     but a fox-finger tickled his insides

     and he opened his mouth up wide and coughed;

     and he said, “Foul Reynard! How you would

     mock me if I let you escape from this!

     You might have said all that to one who knows

you not, but to me it’s all so much sweet fluting.”

 

10

 

He added, “You’ve deceived me for the last time.”

     “Wait!” (said Fox) “Isengrim! Think about this!

     I could have fled, so why am I fighting?

     You appealed to me to fight, so I did.

     I have been courteous to you in this;

     I’ve not shown the utterest of my might,

     as I would have if ye’d been a stranger;

     for the nephew ought to spare the uncle,

—it is a good reason, and so it ought to be.”

 

11

 

“Thou false stinking Beast, you say you spared me?

     Look at me! Does this eye look spared to you?

     It’s half hanging out of my face! Look! Wounds

     beyond counting bleed all over my head!

     I were a fool if I should now spare you,—

     or be merciful.” “Wait!” (said Fox) “Dear Uncle,

     I might have hurt you much more than I wished,

     but my heart would never have consented;

’twas a mishap (believe it!) that fell on your eye!

 

12

 

Ach! I suffer much sorrow in my heart

     for that mishap! I wish it never happened.

     I wish it was my eye that was gouged out;

     then you’d be pleased.” Reynard now discovered

     the Wolf was done talking; Reynard now needed

     all of his strength to live, and all his wit.

     “Wait!” (said Fox) “My wife and children shall fall

     at your feet before the King, and ask humbly

that ye suffer Reynard, your dear nephew, to live.

 

13

 

And I’ll admit before the Fellowship

     every lie I ever told about you.

     Could any Lord have more honour than that?

     I would not do such good for another;

     so you should be pleased. If you kill me,

     what does it get you? What will ye have won?

     From now on you will have to keep yourself

     from all my friends and lineage; and those

who seek to show the world their strength will contest you.

 

14

 

What profit is success if everyone

     comes looking to kill you? Think of it, Uncle!

     He is wise that holds his anger, and is

     not over hasty, and sees well what may come.

     Any Beast who in his anger can be

     well advised, most certainly he is wise.

     We know many fools that hasten in heat,

     only to repent after, but too late.

Dearest Uncle, I hope ye be too wise to lose!

 

15

 

’Tis better to have praise, honour, peace & quiet,

     and many friends ready to help, rather

     than shame, hurt, unrest, and many enemies

     lying in wait to do you terrible harm.

     Also” (added Fox) “it does small honour

     to a Beast to slay one already overcome.

     ’Twould be a great shame if I lost my life.”

     Now the Wolf spoke up, to shut the Fox up :

“Reynard, what hurts most is what you did to my wife.”

 

16

 

(While the Wolf spoke, Reynard looked for a way

     to help himself.) “So much confusion and shame

     you’ve done to me!” (said Wolf) “You’ve sklaundred

     Ersewynde my wife, whom I loveth well;

     you deceived her, which I’ll never forget;

     for as oft as it cometh to my mind

     all my anger and hate shall be renewed.

     Reynard, you have foully disworshipped me.”

And now the Fox was about to do something more.

 

17

 

Reynard stuck a paw between Isengrim’s legs

     and squeezed his balls with all his might, and kept

     his grip fast. And he wronged the Wolf so badly

     Isengrim must cry out loud and howl

     for all he was worth with wide-open mouth.

     Then did Reynard slip his arm from his throat,

     and saved his paw for another day’s work.

     Meanwhile Isengrim had so much pain

and anguish of the Fox’s wringing, that he s**t himself.

 

 

next : Canto 41. how Ysengrym the Wulf was ouercomen, & how the batayl was taken up and fynysshid, & how the foxe had the worship

[Jeff Bernstein]

Lost in Translation

 

ὄρη θηροτρόφα

 

[ mountains ] – [ (adj) θηρο – τρόφα : beast-rearing ]

 

Longus, Daphnis & Chloe, 1.1

 

translated as

 

hauters boisées et giboyeuses

 

               [ heights ] – [ wooded ] – [ & ] – [ full of game ]

              

in Longus, Pastorales (Paris [95, Boulevard Raspail] : Société d’Édition, 1971).

 

&

 

               There were Mountains, stored with wild Beasts for Game

 

in the translation of George Thornley, 1657.

[Jeff Bernstein]

Canto 41. How Isegrim the Wolf was overcomen and how the battle was taken up and finished. And how the Fox had the worship.

 

1

 

Reynard restrained the Wolf right hard and wise.

     The Fox’s grip so crushed Isengrim’s balls

     that the pain left him light-headed and faint.

     How this pain did him more sorrow and woe

     than his bad eye now dangling and bleeding!

     At last his body surrendered its strength,

     for the blood he’d lost was great; and he went

     into a swoon, then fainted dead away;

and down onto hard ground fell Isengrim’s body.

 

2

 

So Reynard the Fox stood over his foe

     and kicked at him, which smote the Wolf some more,

     and he saw his enemy was unconscious.

     Reynard then caught Isengrim by the legs

     and dragged him through the field for all to see.

     Then were Isengrim’s friends all full of sorrow.

     They lowered their heads in shame and dismay;

     then they went weeping to their Lord the King

and begged him to cease all this, and take it in hand.

 

3

 

 The King granted it. Then went the Keepers

     of the Field, the Leopard and Lynx, to Reynard

     and Isengrim, who lay sprawléd on the ground,

     knocked out. “The King will speak to you,” they said,

     “and will have it that this battle is ended.

     He will take it in hand. You will now yield

     your strife over to him, for someone dead

     on the field would shame both sides, and us all.

Fox, ye have won as much worship as ye may have.”

 

4

 

The Keepers of the Field said to Reynard,

     “All of the Beasts that have seen this battle

     give you the prize.” The Fox said, “I thank them;

     and whatever shall please my Lord the King

     to command, that I shall hear and follow.

     I want no more but to have won the field.

     Let all my friends come hither to me now.

     I’ll take advice of them what I shall do.”

The Keepers thought it good of Reynard to say this.

 

5

 

The Keepers thought it was Reasonable

     in weighty matters for a Beast to take

     advice of their friends. Then came Dame Sleepcap

     and Grimbert the Badger her husband; and

     Dame Rukenawe with her two sisters, and

     two sons Bitelice and Fulrompe, and Hatenit

     her daughter; and the Bat and Weasel. And

     there came many more who would not have come

if the Fox had lost the field.—The Way of the World!

 

6

 

There came also to the Fox the Beaver,

     the Otter, and both their wives; the Ostrich

     and the Marten, the polecats, the Ferret,

     the Mouse, and the Squirrel, and too many more

     than I can name. They all came forth to him,

     and all because the Fox had won the field.

     Yea, some here had once complained on Reynard,

     but now were calling themselves his next kin,

and showed him a right friendly cheer and countenance.

 

7

 

Thus fareth the world now. Who that is rich

     and high on the wheel, he hath many friends

     that shall help him to bear out all his wealth;

     but who that is needy, in pain or poverty,

     findeth but few friends and kinsmen about;

     for everyone then avoids his company.

     And so there was a great feast for Reynard.

     Trumpets blasted, then the piping of oboes.

They said to him, “Dearest Nephew of ours, bless you.”

 

8

 

“Blessed be God” (they said) “that ye have lived.

     We were in great dread when we saw you under.”

     Reynard the Fox thanked them all friendlylike,

     receiving them with great joy and gladness.

     Then he asked of them, in between the wine

     and meat, what they counselled him—Should he give

     unto the King or no? Dame Sleepcap said,

     “Yea, cousin, and hardily. Ye may yield

the field into his hands with confidence; trust him.”

 

9

 

“Trust him?” (asked Fox); “Okay.” ¶ Then they all went

     with the Keepers of the Field unto the King.

     And Reynard the Fox went before them all,

     with trumpets, pipes, and other minstrelsy.

     Reynard the Fox knelt down before the King.

     The King bade him stand up, and said to him,

     “Reynard, be joyful now. Ye’ve kept your day

     splendidly. I discharge you. You are to free

to go where it pleaseth you.” And everyone cheered.

 

10

 

The King went on, “And the debate between

     you and Isengrim, I shall now take it

     onto me, and discuss it with reason,

     and with counsel of noble Beasts, and will

     through reason ordain what ought to be done,

     at such time that Isengrim is awake

     and whole again. And then I shall send for you,

     and then by the grace of almighty God,

Reynard, I shall give out my sentence and judgement.”

 

 

next :  Canto 42. An ensample that the foxe told to the kynge whan he had wonne the felde.

[Jeff Bernstein]

[Jeff Bernstein]

A good wit will make use of anything;

I will turn disease to commodity.      

—The Second Part of King Henry IV

 

 Canto 42 : An ensample that the Fox told to the King when he had won the field.

 

                                            1

 

“My worthy and dear Lord the King” (said Fox)

     “I am well agreed with thee, and honoured

     therewith. Now may I say that when I first

     came into your Court, there were many here

     who were evil to me, who had no cause

     to hurt or harm me. But they thought themselves

     better than me, and they cried against me,

     and they would have destroyed me if they could,

and just because they saw you show me your respect.”

 

                                            2

 

“They thought the Wolf was better than I was—

     I, your majesty, your humble subject.

     They knew nothing much about anything,

     but they did what they did because they could.

     They thought not as the wise are wont to do,

     and think what the ends of their plans might be;

     while I have always lived by a piece

     of wisdom that my Father once taught me :

‘And all your days hold thy last day in memory.’”

 

 

                       THE PARABLE OF THE DOG’S ASS

 

                                            3

 

“Once upon a time I saw a pack of dogs

     on a dunghill standing by a lord’s place,

     waiting for men to come and throw them meat.

     They saw a dog come out of the kitchen

     with a fair rib of beef in his mouth, taken

     before it were given him. So he ran

     as fast as he could with it, but the cook

     saw, and took a great bowl of scalding water

and threw it at the dog, who got very burned behind.”

 

                                            4

 

“But he escaped, and kept what he had won.

    When his fellows the other dogs saw him

     come with the rib of beef, they said to him,

     ‘Oh how good a friend is the cook to thee,

     who hath given to thee so good a bone,

     whereon is so much flesh.’ The dog replied,

     ‘Ye know nothing thereof. Ye praise me well

     because you see the bone, but ye have not

seen my behind. Behold, and look upon my ass,

 

                                            5

 

and then ye shall see how well I earned this.’

     When they saw his ass full in their faces,

     how the skin there was all raw, with the flesh

     disfigured with swelled abscesses, and even

     burned away, then all the dogs growled in fear

     and were sore afraid of that boiling water.

     ¶ They would not have him in their fellowship,

     but fled from him and left the lord’s dunghill,

and let the dog enjoy his rib of beef alone.”

 

 

                 THE ACCUSATION OF THE NOBLE FILTH

 

                                            6

 

“See, my Lord!” (said Fox) “the Beasts around you.

     When they be made lords, and get their desire,

     so that they be mighty and feared, then they

     are extortioners, and oppress and steal

     from the people, and eat them as if they

     were meat for the sneaky hound of my tale.

     Yea! These nobles bear the bone in their mouth,

     and no Beast dare say otherwise but such

as shall please these criminals, or face punishment.”

 

                                            7

 

“Some aid the criminals in their evil deeds

     because they would not part from the friendship;

     and lick their fingers, and thereby strengthen

     the criminal in their evil life and work.

     O Lord, how little they see of how it shall end!

     They shall fall from high to low in great shame

     and sorrow, and their works come to knowledge

     and be open in such wise that no Beast

hath nor pity nor compassion for them in trouble,

 

                                            8

 

but every Beast shall curse them, and call them

     evil, and hate their shame and villainy.

     And what about this?—Many have suffered blame,

     who didn’t have friends in high places, so lost

     his hair as the Dog did, who would have kept

     his hair if he’d had friends to help cover

     his misdeeds and extortions, just as fur

     covers the skin. ¶ At last, criminals regret their work,

but too late, and feel the scalding water alone.”

 

 

                THE APOTHEOSIS OF REYNARD THE FOX

 

                                            9

 

“But God be thanked” (said Fox) “there is no Beast

     who may accuse me, nor my lineage,

     nor all my close kin, of such evil work,

     but we will come into the light and acquit us.

     I am not afraid of any who can say

     anything that I have done is otherwise

     from what a Beast ought to do to survive.

     Though my enemies swear the contrary”

(Fox said) “the Fox will always be the Fox.”

 

                                            10

 

“My dear Lord the King” (going on) “I love you

     with my heart above all others. Never

     will I turn from you, or screw you over,

     but abide by you to the utterest.

     Though it hath been otherwise informed to you,

     I alway do my best, for good and all,

     and so I shall continue to do so,

     all that I can or may, all the rest of my life.”

And then Reynard the Fox was finished with his speech.

 

 

next : Canto 43 (of 44). how the kyng forgaf for foxe alle thyngis & made hym souerayn & grettest ouer al his landes.

 

[Jeff Bernstein]