untide to
complain to their king, Noble, the Lion, about the dark deeds of
Reynard the Fox. The main grievance is that of Isegrim, the Wolf, who
claims Reynard blinded three of his offspring and insulted his wife.
Speaking French, the Lapdog Wackerlos next pathetically describes how
he was robbed of a sausage, which the Tomcat vehemently declares was
his.

Having heard the depositions of the Wolf, the Dog, the Cat, the
Panther, and the Hare, Noble is about to sentence the delinquent, when
Grimbart, the Badger,--uncle of Reynard--rises to defend the accused.
Artfully he turns the tables and winds up his plausible peroration
with the statement that Reynard, repenting of all past sins, has
turned hermit, and is now spending his time in fasting, alms-giving,
and prayer!

Just as Noble is about to dismiss the case as non-proven, Henning the
Cock appears, followed by his sons, who bear on a litter the mangled
remains of a hen, strangled by Reynard, who slipped into the
chicken-yard in the guise of a monk.

The king immediately dispatches Brown the Bear to Malepartus to summon
Reynard to appear at court. On arriving at his destination, the Bear,
although still resenting the king's recommendations to be wary, allows
himself to be led to a half-split tree-trunk, within which Reynard
assures him he will find stores of honey to refresh himself. Just as
soon as the Bear's nose and forepaws are greedily inserted into the
crack, Reynard slyly removes the wedges and decamps, leaving the Bear
a prisoner and howling with pain.

His roars soon attract the peasant and his son, who beat the captive
until he wrenches himself loose, at the cost of some patches of skin
and of a few claws. The Bear, returning to court in this plight, is
taxed with stupidity and greed, and Hintze the Cat is sent to summon
Reynard to court. The Cat, hungry also, is led to a small opening in a
barn which Reynard declares is swarming with mice, but where the poor
Tomcat is caught in a trap, whence he escapes only after having
received a beating and lost one eye.

His woful report decides the king to send Grimbart the Badger to
summon his nephew to court. Reynard receives this emissary most
courteously, and, on hearing the king will raze his fortress if he
does not obey, sets out for court. On the way Reynard begs Grimbart to
act as his confessor, and, having unburdened his conscience, does
penance and receives absolution. But scarcely has this ceremony been