18 - The Great Assembly and the Saintly Chicken

Summary

Straightaway the lion gave orders for a formal assembly, and envoys were sent to the farthest parts of the empire. It was fixed to take place in a certain meadow, six weeks from then. There could be no refusal. Seating for the participants was duly erected, at a cost of more than a thousand silver pieces.

Let me tell you who attended the court. From what I heard, the first to come were the panther and the elephant, the ostrich and the famous bison. The assembly was a very large one. There was the sable and the pine marten, the swift leopard in his headdress, the stag and the bear, the mouse and the mole, the rabbit and the stoat, the lynx and the deer, the billy goat and the ram. The ibex hurried down from the mountains, and the hare and the boar came from the forest with the otter and the marmot. The camel came, too, and a crowd of beavers and hedgehogs, the stoat and the squirrel—none of these wanted to miss the assembly. The aurochs came, as well as Kunin the goblin, the stallion, Baldwin the ass, the hound Reize, and the bull seal from the sea, Grimbard the badger, and a great many more animals that I cannot list because I never heard all the details of them. Isengrim, Lady Hersint, and their sons were there as well. The king took his place at the throne of judgment. Reynard was not at court, but he still managed to cause harm to some of his enemies.

The king gave orders that they should all quiet down. Isengrim then demanded justice for himself. He asked for an advocate, to which the king agreed, and it was to be Bruin the bear. Bruin said, “My lord, Isengrim requests by rights of law and by your grace that if I defend him badly, I may be relieved and replaced.” “Granted,” replied the king.

“Most mighty and magnificent king, the lord Isengrim wishes to make before you a complaint regarding his shame and harm. That he stands before you today without a tail is because of Reynard. This shames Isengrim terribly.