FABLE [17] XVII. The Shepherd's Dog and the Wolf. John Gay Alexander Huber Editor Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford
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Eighteenth-Century Poetry Archive
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Oxford This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. T13818 Gay, John, 1685-1732. FABLES. By Mr. GAY. London Printed for J. Tonson and J. Watts, MDCCXXVII. 1727 pp. 56-58. [14],173,[1]p.: ill.; 4°.

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FABLE [ 17 ] XVII . The Shepherd's Dog and the Wolf . A Wolf , with hunger fierce and bold , Ravag'd the plains and thinn'd the fold : Deep in the wood secure he lay , The thefts of night regal'd the day ; In vain the shepherd's wakeful care Had spread the toils and watch'd the snare , In vain the dog pursu'd his pace , The fleeter robber mock'd the chase . As Lightfoot rang'd the forest round , By chance his foe's retreat he found . Let us awhile the war suspend , And reason as from friend to friend . A truce , replys the Wolf ? 'Tis done . The Dog the parley thus begun . How can that strong intrepid mind Attack a weak defenceless kind ? Those jaws should prey on nobler food , And drink the boar's and lyon's blood ; Great souls with gen'rous pity melt , Which coward tyrants never felt : How harmless is our fleecy care ! Be brave , and let thy mercy spare . Friend , says the Wolf , the matter weigh . Nature design'd us beasts of prey , As such , when hunger finds a treat , 'Tis necessary wolves should eat . If mindful of the bleating weal , Thy bosom burn with real zeal , Hence , and thy tyrant lord beseech , To him repeat the moving speech ; A wolf eats sheep but now and then , Ten thousands are devour'd by men . An open foe may prove a curse , But a pretended friend is worse .