Aesop Dress'd or A Collection of Fables Writ in Familiar Verse. By B. Mandeville |
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The Dog and the Ass.
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 | Aesop Dress'd |  |
The Dog and the Ass.
Help one another is, no doubt,
A Law we can't live well without:
Yet one Day, (and how't came to pass
I don't know) 't happen'd that an Ass,
Who's otherwise an honest Creature,
Of no uncharitable Nature,
Did slight it: A large Dog and he
Were travelling in Company,
Without a thought of Strife or Care,
Followed by him whose Goods they were;
And coming to some curious Grass,
The latter went to sleep; his Ass,
Who was a Lover of good Pasture,
Made better use on't than his Master,
And fell a feeding heartily:
But the poor Dog stood starving by,
And said, Much good may do thy heart,
Dear fellow Traveller; thou art
My loving Friend.—But Mr. Gray,
My Meat is in your Panier, pray,
Stoop down, and let me take out some,
I han't eat since we came from home;
He gets no Answer, asks again,
But No, th'Arcadian Gentleman
Thought every Word a mouthful lost,
And would say nothing to his cost,
So held his Tongue a while; at last
He told him, Friend, I am in haste,
And, when I stoop my Back, it akes;
Have patience till your Master wakes,
It won't be long, and then you'll get
Your Belly full, if he thinks fit.
Just then a Wolf came from the Wood,
And they have Appetites as good
As any; Grizz'l at a distance
Hears him, and asks the Dog's assistance;
But he don't budge, and serves him right;
Says he, I never us'd to fight
Without a cause for fighting's sake;
Stay till your Master is awake;
Hear what he says, it won't be long;
Sir Wolf won't offer any wrong;
And if you fear his Teeth or Claws,
Knock but his Brains out, break his Jaws,
And lay him sprawling on the Ground;
You're newly Shod, and Iron bound;
And whilst this fine Discourse went on,
Poor Grizzle's business was done.
A Law we can't live well without:
Yet one Day, (and how't came to pass
I don't know) 't happen'd that an Ass,
Who's otherwise an honest Creature,
Of no uncharitable Nature,
Did slight it: A large Dog and he
Were travelling in Company,
Without a thought of Strife or Care,
Followed by him whose Goods they were;
And coming to some curious Grass,
The latter went to sleep; his Ass,
Who was a Lover of good Pasture,
Made better use on't than his Master,
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But the poor Dog stood starving by,
And said, Much good may do thy heart,
Dear fellow Traveller; thou art
My loving Friend.—But Mr. Gray,
My Meat is in your Panier, pray,
Stoop down, and let me take out some,
I han't eat since we came from home;
He gets no Answer, asks again,
But No, th'Arcadian Gentleman
Thought every Word a mouthful lost,
And would say nothing to his cost,
So held his Tongue a while; at last
He told him, Friend, I am in haste,
And, when I stoop my Back, it akes;
Have patience till your Master wakes,
It won't be long, and then you'll get
Your Belly full, if he thinks fit.
Just then a Wolf came from the Wood,
And they have Appetites as good
As any; Grizz'l at a distance
Hears him, and asks the Dog's assistance;
But he don't budge, and serves him right;
Says he, I never us'd to fight
Without a cause for fighting's sake;
Stay till your Master is awake;
Hear what he says, it won't be long;
Sir Wolf won't offer any wrong;
And if you fear his Teeth or Claws,
Knock but his Brains out, break his Jaws,
And lay him sprawling on the Ground;
You're newly Shod, and Iron bound;
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Poor Grizzle's business was done.
The Moral.
None can live happily together,Without assisting one another.
| Aesop Dress'd | |