King Solomon’s cat ‘The king sat to sowper and othre, wyth whom sat marcolph, and had alle pry
King Solomon’s cat ‘The king sat to sowper and othre, wyth whom sat marcolph, and had alle pryvely put into hys sleve thre quyk myse. There was norysshyd in the kinges house a catte, that every nyght as the king sat at sowper, was wont to holde betwyxt hyre fore feet a brennyng kandell upon the tabyll. Thanne lete marcolph oon of the myse go out of his sleve. As the catte that saugh, she wolde have lept aftyr: but the king gave hyr a wynke or countenaunce, that she bode stylle syttyng and removyd not. And in like wyse dede she of the secunde mowse. Thanne lete marcolph the thrydde mowse go, and as the katte sawe he cowde no lenger abyde, but kaste the kandell awaye and lept aftyr the mowse and toke it. And as marcolph that sawe; sayde to the king. Here I have now provyd before you that nature goth afore lernyng. The king sat to sowper and othre, wyth whom sat marcolph, and had alle pryvely put into hys sleve thre quyk myse. There was norysshyd in the kinges house a catte, that every nyght as the king sat at sowper, was wont to holde betwyxt hyre fore feet a brennyng kandell upon the tabyll. Thanne lete marcolph oon of the myse go out of his sleve. As the catte that saugh, she wolde have lept aftyr: but the king gave hyr a wynke or countenaunce, that she bode stylle syttyng and removyd not. And in like wyse dede she of the secunde mowse. Thanne lete marcolph the thrydde mowse go, and as the katte sawe he cowde no lenger abyde, but kaste the kandell awaye and lept aftyr the mowse and toke it. And as marcolph that sawe; sayde to the king. Here I have now provyd before you that nature goth afore lernyng.’Hans Vintler, Die pluemen der tugent, Vienna 1450.Wien, Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, cod. s. n. 12819, fol. 130r -- source link
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