Phaedrus, The Fables of Phaedrus
Christopher Smart, Christopher Smart, A. M., Ed.

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The Sheep, the Stag, and the Wolf

When one rogue would another get
For surety in a case of debt,
'Tis not the thing t' accept the terms,
But dread th' event-the tale affirms.
A Stag approached the Sheep, to treat
For one good bushel of her wheat.
"The honest Wolf will give his bond."
At which, beginning to despond,
"The Wolf (cries she) 's a vagrant bite,
And you are quickly out of sight;
Where shall I find or him or you
Upon the day the debt is due ?"