King Noble summons all of his animal subjects to court; only Reynard fails to appear. Ysengrin the wolf complains to the king that Reynard had sex with his wife Hersent and urinated on his cubs [Branch II], but Noble dismisses the complaint. Brun the bear tells the king that he should believe Ysengrin and offers to fetch the fox to court himself. Bruyant the bull supports Ysengrin and rebukes Hersent for committing adultery. Grimbert the badger comes to Reynard's defence, saying that Reynard did no violence to Ysengrin or Hersent, that he acted out of love, and that Hersent is to blame. Hersent protests that she has not been unfaithful to her husband and that the accusation of adultery by Ysengrin is only because of his jealousy. She offers to undergo trial by ordeal to prove her innocence. Bernard the ass says he believes Hersent's denials and advises the king to end the matter peaceably. Noble says Ysengrin should either accept the results of Hersent undergoing the ordeal of drop the charges; the wolf does not want to do either and vows revenge on the fox. The king declares that there will be peace, which does not please Ysengrin. It appears the fox will escape any punishment, but then Chanticleer the cock and Pinte his wife arrive at court, bearing the body of Coupée the hen, who Reynard killed. Noble is furious and says the fox will be punished. After an elaborate funeral for the murdered hen, Noble sends Brun the bear to bring Reynard to court. He soon arrives at Reynard's castle and informs the fox of his mission. The fox says he was about to leave after he had eaten lunch, which included honey; this sparks Brun's interest because he loves honey, so he asks where the fox got the treat. Reynard says he will show the bear but first makes him promise he will not do him any harm. The greedy bear agrees to this and the two set off for the house of Lanfroi the woodcutter, where there was a partly split log the man had driven wedges into. Reynard tells Brun the honey is in the split of the log and tells him to put his nose in and eat. When Brun puts his snout and both front paws into the split, the fox pulls out the wedges holding the log open, causing it to close and trapping the bear. Reynard mocks the unfortunate bear, but flees when he hears the woodcutter and his companions coming, all armed with clubs and sticks. Brun decides it would be better to lose his muzzle then be attacked by Lanfroi, who was approaching with an axe. The bear pulls his head and paws out of the log, leaving much of his skin behind, and runs away bleeding with the people in pursuit. Brun escapes but only after receiving a severe beating. Arriving at the king's court he tells Noble that Reynard tricked him and caused his injuries, which enrages the lion. The king next tells Tibert the cat to bring the fox to court. Tibert reluctantly agrees, knowing he will be putting himself in danger. When he reaches the fox's castle the cat is too afraid to enter, so he calls from outside to tell Reynard he must return with him to court. Reynard says he will, but means to trick Tibert. When the cat says he is hungry and asks for food, Reynard tells him he knows of a place where Tibert can eat as many mice as he likes. The fox takes him to a village and shows him the house of a priest who he says is being plagued by mice; Reynard knows not only that there are no mice but that the people of the house have set a noose as a trap, hoping to catch the fox who has been stealing their chickens. When Tibert enters his neck goes through the noose and he is unable to get free. The priest and his family, woken by the cat's struggles, begin to beat the cat. The priest has come naked from bed, and when Tibert sees that he uses claws and teeth to remove one of his testicles. As the priest's wife laments the loss, Tibert chews through the rope and escapes, cursing the priest and his family. He reports back to king Noble, who gives Grimbert a royal warrant demanding Reynard's appearance in court and sends him to the fox's castle. Grimbert tells the fox he is in danger of being hanged if he does not come to court. Reynard is terrified, realizing he has no option but to obey the summons, so he agrees to go with the badger, but first asks Grimbert to hear his confession. Grimbert hears Reynard's confession of his many sins and gives him absolution, but on their way to court Reynard sees hens and wants to eat them; Grimbert chastises the fox and they continue on their way. When they reach the king's court all of the animals are ready to testify against him. Reynard defends himself against his accusers, claiming that the misfortunes of Brun and Tibert were the result of their own foolish actions. The king does not believe the fox and says he will get what punishment he deserves. When Noble asks his courtiers what should be done with Reynard, they all demand that he be hanged. The gallows are prepared, and Reynard really fears for his life. As the fox is taken to the gallows some animals abuse him, including Couart the hare, who throws a stone at him from a distance, fearing to come close, but then is so frightened he runs to hide in a hedge. The fox says he has committed no crimes but has sinned, and offers to go on pilgrimage to the Holy Land if he is spared. The king says he will allow it as long as he never returns. The court agrees, and Reynard the pilgrim is sent on his way, after queen Fière asks the fox to pray for her and gives him a valuable ring. Reynard finds Couart the hare cowering in the bushes and captures him. The fox sees the king and his courtiers riding nearby and taunts them with insults and rude gestures. The hare escapes and reports Reynard to the king, who realizes he has been betrayed by the fox. The animals of the court pursue the fox as he tries to escape, but Reynard eludes them all and reaches the safety of his castle.

King Noble arrives at Reynard's castle with his army, and seeing its strength realizes it will be difficult to overcome. Reynard climbs to the top of a tower and taunts the king and the other animals, recounting how he has tricked and injured them and promising more of the same. Noble replies that he has the castle under siege and vows he will not leave until he has conquered it. Reynard replies that he has stocked to castle with enough supplies to withstand a siege of seven years. Noble and has forces mount an attack on the castle, but despite multiple assaults over the next six months, they do not even seriously damage the castle, much less take it. Exhausted by their efforts they fall into a deep sleep, with the Fière lion queen sleeping away from her husband. Reynard sneaks out of his castle and ties each of the enemy combatants by the tail or a foot to a separate tree. He then goes to where the queen is sleeping and starts having sex with her; thinking it is her husband, she does not object, until she realizes what is happening and cries out. This wakes Noble and his army, but when they try to attack the fox they find they are tied and cannot get free. Reynard failed to tie Tardy the snail, who rushes to cut them loose with his sword, accidentally cutting some of their tails in his haste. When Reynard attempts to escape to his castle, Tardy catches him by the foot and holds him for the king. Noble declares that Reynard is to be hanged. All the other animals beat and abuse the fox, who fears his death has come at last. Only Grimbert the badger defends him. In the fight Reynard kills Pelé the rat, but no one notices. The queen comes to Grimbert and says she is sorry for Reynard, and offers a charm for the badger to secretly give to the fox, saying it will allow Reynard to no longer fear death. Meanwhile the noose has been placed around Reynard's neck, with Ysengrin about to pull him up. Grimbert advises the fox to make his confession and to declare his bequests to his children, and so prepare for death. Reynard leaves his castle to his wife and other property to his sons. He then asks the king to allow him to become a monk or hermit instead of being executed. Ysengrin objects to the idea and the king orders the hanging to continue, but sees a group of women approaching, among them Reynard's wife and sons bringing a rich ransom for Reynard's life. Noble, greedy for wealth, agrees to pardon the fox on the condition that if Reynard behaves badly again he will be hanged at once. Reynard is joyful at his pardon, and Noble and his followers are about to leave when they see a procession of mourners approaching. It is Lady Chauve the mouse bringing the body of Pelé; on seeing this Reynard is once again afraid and sends his family away to the safety of his castle. Noble is about to seize the fox, but he runs away and climbs to the top of a large oak tree. As the others begin to chop down the tree, Reynard moves lower and throws a stone, hitting the king behind the ear and causing him to collapse. When the king's followers rush to help him, Reynard escapes.

King Noble issues a proclamation that anyone who catches Reynard should have him killed immediately. Reynard prays that God should provide him with a disguise so no one will recognize him. The fox goes hunting for food in a village where a dyer has just prepared a tub of yellow dye. Not finding food outside, Reynard jumps through a window of the dyer's house and plunges into into the tub of dye, turning his fur yellow. Before he can get out, the dyer finds him there and tries to hit him. Reynard asks that the man not hit him, because he is also a dyer and can teach the man new methods. The dyer is unconvinced but helps Reynard out of the tub; the fox then admits he knows nothing of dying but is pleased with his new yellow coat, a perfect disguise. Reynard goes on his way. He sees Ysengrin beside the road and is afraid of him, but hoping his disguise is good he approaches the wolf, who thinks the yellow fox must be foreign animal. Reynard speaks to the wolf, pretending to not know the language well, and says he is named Galopin and is a minstrel from Bretony, but was robbed of his instrument, a fiddle. Ysengrin is fooled and asks if Galopin has seen a red fox, saying the rogue escaped from the king. Reynard as Galopin denies having seen such a creature. Ysengrin questions Galopin about his musical abilities, then offers to introduce him to the king and queen at court. Galopin/Reynard says he will need a fiddle; Ysengrin claims to know of fine fiddle owned by a peasant nearby. They go to the peasant's house, and finding a window propped open with a stick, Ysengrin enters, takes the fiddle and hands it to Reynard who is waiting outside the window. Reynard dislodges the stick so the window closes, trapping Ysengrin inside and waking the peasant, who sets his dog on the wolf. The dog bites Ysengrin's testicles and tears them off. The wolf makes his escape through an open door and runs away, bemoaning his loss, until he arrives at his home and is greeted by Hersent his wife and their children. When they go to bed and Hersent wants to make love, she learns of Ysengrin's misfortune and demands to know where his testicles are. He tells her he leant them to a nun, who promised to return them. Hersent is angry and threatens to bring up the issue with the king. Berating Ysengrin for his folly and saying he is of no use to her in his current state she leaves him. Meanwhile Reynard has been practicing with the fiddle and in two weeks has mastered it. While roaming around he met his wife, who was with a youth named Poncet she intended to marry, since everyone said Reynard was dead; Tibert the cat even claimed to have seen him hanged. They would have already been married if Poncet could have found a minstrel. Reynard is furious and vows to make Poncet suffer, but offers his service as minstrel at their wedding. All the animals came for the celebration, except Ysengrin, who stayed away to hide his injury. After playing his fiddle at the wedding, Reynard tells Poncet of a martyr's grave [Coupée the hen from Branch I], and claims if the bridegroom spends the night there holding a candle, it will enhance his sexual prowess. Poncet agrees, but when they come to the supposed grave site Reynard pushes Poncet into a trap he knows is there, and Poncet is caught and wounded; peasants arrive to finish him off. Reynard returns home, where his wife Hermeline is waiting impatiently for her new husband. Reynard reveals his true identity, beats his wife severely, and tells her to leave forever, taking Ysengrin's wife Hersent with her. The two ladies begin arguing and fighting and insulting each other, until a pilgrim happens on them battling, separates them, and recommends they both return to their husbands and beg for mercy. This they do, and both couples are reconciled.

Reynard goes to the farm of a wealthy peasant who has an abundance of hens and geese. The farmyard is protected by a fence of pointed sticks and a hawthorn hedge, so Reynard cannot get in. He finds a broken stake at a corner of the fence, crawls through and hides in a patch of cabbages, but the hens see him and run away. Chanticleer the cock asks them what they are fleeing; Pinte the hen says she saw a beast in the cabbages. The cock insists that there is no danger because nothing can get through the barriers. He then falls asleep and dreams of being attacked by a creature wearing a rust-red cloak and a collar made of bone. Much distressed, he tell Pinte about the dream and asks her what it might mean. She explains that the red-cloaked creature is a fox and the bone collar are his teeth that he will use to kill him. She says the dream means that the fox will kill the cock before midday. Chanticleer ridicules Pinte's interpretation and goes back to sleep. Reynard then tries to seize the cock, but misses; to trick the now wary cock the fox claims to be his cousin, reminds him of Chanteclin his father, who was a fine singer, and encourages him to sing with his eyes closed. When the cock closes his eyes and begins to sing, Reynard seizes him by the neck and runs away. The farmer's wife sees the fox with the cock and calls on her neighbors for help. The people search all over but cannot catch the fox. Chanticleer realizes he is doomed if he cannot trick the fox into letting him go, so he points out how all the pursuers are insulting the fox, and tells Reynard to yell a taunt back at them. When Reynard opens his mouth to shout, Chanticleer escapes into an apple tree and taunts the fox over his foolishness. Reynard then sees a small bird (a tit) who has her nest in an oak tree and asks her to give him a kiss, but she knows of Reynard's tricks and says she will only kiss him if he closes his eyes, Reynard does so, but the tit gathers a clump of moss and leaves and holds it for Reynard to kiss. Reynard says he was just joking and asks her again for a kiss; again she has him close his eyes and so avoids his jaws when he tries to catch her. After that she perches on a branch and ignores the fox. Reynard is then attacked by hunters and their hounds, and flees while the dogs chase him. A monk with two dogs threatens the fox, who says a holy man should not commit such a sin, causing the monk to turn away. Reynard runs on until the pursuing hounds lose his scent and give up the chase. Reynard next meets Tibert the cat and initially threatens him, but since the fox is weakened by lack of food he does not want to fight, so instead gets the cat to join him in a war with Ysengrin the wolf. The fox plans a trick: he sees a trap set by a peasant, and decides he can get the cat caught in it. He praises Tibert's horse and asks him to show how fast it is by riding down the road, which will take him over the trap. Tibert knows the fox is up to no good, so when he rides to where the trap is he swerves to avoid it. Reynard wants him to ride again, but not swerve this time; the cat does so, jumping his horse over the trap instead. Two dogs arrive on the scene and chase Reynard right into the trap, where his foot is caught. Tibert rides away, calling back that it takes a real trickster to fool another one. The peasant who owns the dogs tries to hit Reynard with an axe but hits the trap instead, splitting it and freeing Reynard who painfully flees. He encounters Tiécelin the crow perched in a tree with some cheese he has stolen. When the fox sees the crow he flatters him about his singing ability, and encourages him to sing so enthusiastically that he loses his grip on the cheese and it drops at Reynard's feet. The fox does not touch the cheese, hoping to trick the crow into coming down so he can eat him. Tiécelin lands some distance from the fox, who tries and fails to catch him, and the crow flies away. Reynard travels on, and finding a hole he goes into it, not realizing it is the den of Ysengrin where Hersent has just given birth. When she complains that Reynard never comes to visit her. he tells her it is because Ysengrin is always on guard and has made slanderous claims about him and Hersent. Furious at the allegations, Hersent invites the fox to kiss her, which he does, but in fear that Ysengrin might return decides to leave. Before he does he pisses on Hersent's cubs, insults and hits them and steals their food. As Hersent comforts them she says they must never tell Ysengrin that Reynard had been there, but the cubs are angry at their mother's behavior. When Ysengrin returns the cubs not only tell them of Reynard's visit and abuse, but says Hersent has been unfaithful to him with the fox. The wolf is furious, but Hersent mollifies him, and they decide to attack the fox when they can. Finding Reynard they both chase him until he reaches his den and enters it. Hersent tries to follow him but gets stuck part way into the hole. Reynard takes advantage of Hersent's predicament and rapes her. Ysengrin arrives and sees this, but Reynard claims he is just trying to help Hersent get free of the hole. Ysengrin does not believe him, but the fox goes into his den and out of reach, leaving Ysengrin to dig his wife out.

Reynard has no food and is very hungry. He goes out to hunt but finds nothing, so he settles down next to a road to see what turns up. He sees merchants approaching with a cart full of fish and eels, so he plans a trick that will get him some food. He runs down the road until he is out of sight of the cart, then lies down in the road and pretends to be dead. The cart drivers see the fox in the road and want the fox skin so they throw the "corpse" onto the cart with the fish. The fox eats as much fish as he can, then wraps two strings of eels around his neck and jumps off the cart, with the drivers in pursuit. The fox eludes them and returns home, where he and his sons Percehaie and Malebranche roast the eels over a fire. The smell of roasting eels attracts Ysengrin the wolf, who has been hunting unsuccessfully all morning. He looks through a window, then wonders how he might get in but cannot find a way, so he calls to Reynard through the window and begs the fox for some of the food. Determined to trick the wolf, Reynard tells him he will have to wait for the monks to finish their meal before he can come in. Surprised that there are monks in Reynard's castle, Ysengrin asks why they are eating meat. Reynard tells the wolf they are only eating cheese and fish. When the wolf asks to be allowed in, the fox tells him only monks and hermits can enter. Out of supposed charity Reynard gives Ysengrin a small piece of eel to try and tells him he would make a fine monk and would soon be abbot, but to become a monk he must be tonsured. Ysengrin agrees to this, still not realizing it is all a trick. The fox has him put his head through a hole in the gate and removes the hair on his head using boiling water. Ysengrin is angry at losing so much of his hair, but the fox assures him that all of the monks have just as large a tonsure. This is not enough for the wolf to become a monk, says Reynard; he must first endure an overnight ordeal. Reynard leads Ysengrin to a pond that is starting to freeze over in the cold, and pointing out a bucket tells the fox he can catch fish with it. Ysengrin has Reynard tie the bucket to his tail, then lowers his tail into the water where the bucket fills with water and pieces of ice. Soon the water freezes around Ysengrin's tail and the bucket, trapping the wolf. He calls to Reynard for help, but the fox just laughs at him. As dawn appears a nobleman who lives near the pond sets out with his dogs; hearing them, Reynard flees to his den. Ysengrin continues trying to pull his tail out of the pond, but he is stuck and cannot escape. The nobleman tries to hit the wolf's head with his sword, but misses and only strikes his tail, severing it completely. Ysengrin feels this and starts to run away, with the dogs biting and injuring him. Eventually the dogs give up the chase and Ysengrin enters the forest, swearing he will have his revenge on Reynard and never be his friend again.

Reynard is out hunting; he is starved, but can find nothing to eat. He comes to an abbey farm where there are many chickens, but the farm is protected by a high wall and ditch and the fox cannot get in. After circling the farm searching for a way in, he finds a small gate unlatched and enters the enclosure, but he is afraid of being caught by the cruel monks and leaves. Back on the road he reconsiders; his hunger makes him willing to take the risk. He quietly re-enters the enclosure, but three hens see him and retreat to a far corner. Reynard catches and kills the three chickens, eats two of them, and carries the third away. Feeling a need for water after his feast, he goes to drink at the well of the abbey, but the water is too far down for him to reach. The well has two buckets, arranged so that when one bucket goes down the other comes up. Reynard looks down the well and sees his reflection; thinking it is his wife Hermeline he calls out to her but receives no reply. Puzzled, he puts his front feet on a bucket which suddenly drops and takes the fox to the bottom of the well. Soaked and miserable, Reynard realizes he is trapped with no hope of escape. At the same time Ysengrin the wolf was out hunting, in a bad mood because he has found nothing to eat. He comes to the well and looks down, and he sees Reynard and his own reflection and thinks it is his wife Hersent taking refuge in the well along with the fox. The wolf is angry that Reynard is taking advantage of Hersent so he howls down the well. Reynard asks who is calling to him in the place where he now has his residence, then tells the wolf he is the the late Reynard, now dead and waiting in the well for God to take his soul. He asks Ysengrin to forgive him for the harm he has done; the wolf does so, saying he is sorry the fox is dead. Reynard surprises him by saying he is delighted by his death, since he is now in Paradise which is at the bottom of the well. Reynard describes his situation in such glowing terms that Ysengrin is convinced he should join the fox in Paradise, but is told he must receive absolution first. After the wolf says some prayers, he jumps into the bucket that is at the top of the well, while Reynard is lying in the other one at the bottom. The wolf is heavier than the fox, so his bucket drops down while Reynard's rises. As they pass each other Ysengrin asks why Reynard is is coming up; the fox says it is the custom that when one goes down the other comes up, and he is now on his way to the true Paradise, while Ysengrin is bound for Hell at the bottom of the well. Pleased with his escape at the expense of the wolf, Reynard leaves. Ysengrin is trapped in the well until morning, when monks arrive with a donkey to fetch water. They hitch the donkey to the pulley, but they are unable to raise the bucket with the wolf in it. When the monks see that there is a wolf in the well, they run to get the abbot, who arrives carrying a large spiked club. With the help of the monks the donkey is able to pull Ysengrin out of the well and the monks and abbot beat him severely, until the wolf is lying by the well, apparently dead. The monks want to skin the wolf but the abbot says the fur is too tattered to be worth taking, so they all leave. Ysengrin painfully makes his way to a forest where one of his sons finds him and takes him home. Doctors are summoned and Ysengrin is restored to health, but Reynard should fear for his life if the wolf ever catches him.

Reynard and Ysengrin are out separately, hunting for food, when they by chance meet. Ysengrin is angry because of the harm Reynard's tricks have caused him, and savagely attacks the fox but stops when he thinks he has killed his enemy. Reynard is still alive and rebukes the wolf for the attack, calling him uncle. The the fox sees a peasant carrying a ham and tells Ysengrin they should steal it, offering to allow the wolf to keep two thirds of it. Ysengrin is reluctant to attack the peasant, having been beaten by humans recently; Reynard says he will get the ham and bring it back to the wolf. Pretending to be lame the fox approaches the man, who chases him, wanting fox fur to trim his robe. Reynard runs until the peasant is exhausted and puts down the ham on the ground. Seeing the ham unprotected, Ysengrin rushes to steal it, eats it all and leaves nothing for Reynard. The fox calls the wolf a bad companion and leaves, determined to play a trick on the wolf in revenge. He finds a farm where there are many rats but cannot catch any. He hears a cricket singing and tries to catch it but fails. Hunters with dogs arrive and the dogs chase Reynard, who eludes them. The dogs see Ysengrin and attack him while Reynard watches and gloats over the wolf's misfortune.

Ysengrin finds Reynard having sex with Hersent, the wolf's wife, when she got stuck in a hole [Branch II] and he blames her for being unfaithful. She tells Ysengrin that Reynard took her against her will. Outraged, Ysengrin takes Hersent to the court of King Noble to complain of Reynard's crime, but the king is doubtful of Hersent's testimony because she also says that Reynard has long loved and tried to win her. Hersent insists that she has always rejected Reynard's advances, and Ysengrin insists that it was rape. The wolf recounts how Reynard abused and insulted Hersent's cubs [Branch II]. Noble is still doubtful and questions Hersent asking if she ever loved Reynard and why she went alone to his house. She replies that she has never loved the fox and was with her husband when she was in Reynard's house, but Noble merely asks why Reynard would commit rape while her husband was there. Ysengrim swears that if Reynard was present at court, he and Hersent would prove their case. The camel [unnamed here but elsewhere called Musart] was at court delivering a message to the king from Constantinople; he was a lawyer, wise and well traveled. Noble asks the camel if he knew of any similar cases. The camel's long reply is full of spurious legal language in Latin. Noble is still undecided and asks the the animals of the court to confer and advise him, and more than a thousand of them go a little way apart to confer. Some of the animals condemn Reynard while others defend him. Beaucent the boar was there, and could be relied on to follow the law. Brichemer the stag was also there; he was incensed at how Reynard has mistreated Ysengrin, but he says there must be a third party to witness about the crime, and it cannot be Hersent because Ysengrin will tell her what to say. Brun the bear says that while Hersent cannot be a witness Ysengrin can, because he is reputable and he testimony should be believed, Beaucent objects, saying if that advice was followed anyone could make a spurious claim. Plateau the deer points out there is another issue in the case, that of Reynard's abuse of Hersent's cubs, and says Reynard should at least pay compensation. Brun tells a long story about how Reynard had tricked him and caused him to be attacked by peasants and their dogs. Cointereau the ape defends Reynard and Brun refutes his defense. Beaucent says it would be better to reach an agreement between Reynard and Ysengrin to settle the matter. It is decided Roenel the dog should hear the oaths of both sides and Grimbert is dispatched to bring the message to Reynard, who agrees to the deal. Roenel, no friend to Reynard, is encouraged by Ysengrin to plan a trick: the dog will pretend to be dead, the others will insist that Reynard make his oath that he has not sinned with Hersent while touching the "holy tooth" of the supposedly sainted dog, and Roenel will the seize the fox. To prevent the fox's escape Roenel will have many other dogs hide nearby. Ysengrin goes through the kingdom to summon the others to the place of judgement, and many come, including a leopard, panther and tiger [all unnamed, though the leopard may be Hardi]. Punais the polecat carries Ysengrim's standard with Tibert the cat accompanying him. Reynard also arrives there with his supporters, including his cousin Grimbert, Rousseau the squirrel, Lady More the marmot, Pelé the rat, Courte the mole and Sir Galopin the hare, along with the dormouse [unnamed, possibly Soumilleus], the marten [unnamed], the beaver [unnamed, possibly Pancer], the hedgehog [unnamed, possibly Espinart] and the ferret [unnamed, possibly Petitporchas]. All see Roenel lying there, apparently dead. Brichemer takes charge, telling Reynard to swear on the dog's tooth, and he at first seems willing to do so, but when he sees that Roenal is breathing and so is not dead, he pulls back. Brichemer asks why and Reynard says he sees something wrong. Grimbert sees it as well, and hoping to help his uncle, protests how all the animals are crowding Reynard, so Brichemer has them all move away. As soon as his way is clear, Reynard runs away, with all of the dogs who had been hiding chasing him. [The pursuit is described with a long list of the names of the dogs chasing the fox, none of which appear in any other tale.] The dogs bite the fox and four of them wound him badly, and they do not stop until they force him to ground in his castle Maupertuis.

[This branch repeats many of the stories told in other branches.] King Noble summons his subjects to court for a celebration but Reynard does not appear. Grimbert the badger, Reynard's strongest ally, brings the reluctant fox to court. Reynard hesitates at the door but Grimbert reassures him, saying he must choose the best of two evils because he will have to appear at court eventually, and advises him to enter. The others at court move aside as the fox comes in, leaving a passage to where the king waits. Reynard politely greets King Noble, but the lion rejects his greeting, insulting the fox and calling him vexatious and unfaithful, then says Reynard is to be hanged from the gallows. Reynard defends himself, claiming he has never meant offense to the king, that he has never done anything against the king's interests, and that his enemies are lying about him, not having provided proof of the crimes they accuse him of. He reminds the king how he found a cure when the king was ill. The king changes his mind about the hanging, but then recalls (and recounts in detail) how Reynard acted toward Brun and Tibert when he was summoned to court the first time; how the fox killed Pinte the hen's sisters and tried to kill the tit; how Reynard stole the crow's cheese and tried to eat him; how he had raped Ysengrin's wife; and how the fox had committed so many crimes that he is detested and should be killed. With lies Reynard again defends himself by claiming he has done nothing wrong and the others are lying. Ysengrin tells the story of how Reynard tricked him at the at the well, and again with the ham, and by having him tonsured with boiling water, and other times when the fox caused him injury. The king agrees to have the matter settled through a judicial combat between Reynard and Ysengrin to determine which of them is in the right. Both duelists must provide hostages; Ysengrim chooses Brun, Tibert, Chanticleer and Couart, while Reynard chooses Grimbert, Baucent, Espinart and Belin. The king sets a date for the combat, Grimbert provides assurance that Reynard will appear, and everyone returns home. Both animals acquire arms for themselves and return to court for the duel. The king appoints Brichemer, Baucent, the leopard [not named here, probably Hardi] and Bruyant to preside over the fight. The courtiers confer, then suggest to the king that it would be preferable that the fox and wolf should be reconciled; this pleases the king, but Ysengrin refuses and insists the fight begin. The wolf gives his oath that his charges against Reynard are true, and Reynard swears that he is innocent of the charges. When the combat begins the two animals fight fiercely until Reynard lands a blow on Ysengrin's head, stunning him, and it is some time before the combat can resume. The fox continues to strike the wolf, who is now in serious trouble. Thinking he has the wolf defeated, the fox makes a mistake and is soon under the wolf, being beaten almost to death in his turn. The combat ends with Reynard defeated, and Noble orders that he should be hanged. Reynard asks for his confession to be heard before he is killed, so Belin hears his confession. Then the priest Bernard arrives and asks the king to turn Reynard over to him, so the fox can become a monk; the king agrees and the priest takes the fox to a monastery, where he appears to listen to holy instruction, but his true nature comes out. Reynard kills and eats three of the monastery's chickens, so the monks throw him out. The fox returns home to the great joy of his wife and sons.

Reynard goes to an abbey where there is a flock of fat chickens and eats one of them. A servant hears the fox and locks the gate, trapping him in the enclosure, then calls for help to capture the intruder. The monks come running. Reynard is terrified and tries to escape, but the monks attack and beat him severely. Reynard eventually escapes the angry monks. He flees through a forest and into a meadow where he sees a haystack and decides he will sleep there, but first he must relieve himself. He lets out seven farts, saying the first is for his father, the second for his mother's soul, the third for all his gluttonous friends, the fourth for the chickens he has eaten, the fifth for the peasant who stacked the hay, the sixth as a love token for Hersent (Ysengrin's wife), and the seventh for his enemy Ysengrin who he hates. Reynard goes back the haystack, but before sleeping he says his prayers, all of a satirical nature. When he wakes the next morning he finds that the river had flooded overnight and that he is trapped on the floating haystack. [A version of the floating haystack story is also told in Branches XIII and XXV.] While he is sitting there worrying about his fate, the kite Hubert lands on the haystack; Reynard welcomes the bird and asks him to hear his confession. The fox confesses to the sins of perjury, lechery, sodomy and others, then launches into a long complaint about the monastic orders. He crudely brags of being a lover of Hersent, which enrages Hubert, who berates Reynard and insults Hersent, calling her a whore and worse. Reynard is angry at this slander of Hersent and decides he will have revenge on the bird. The fox continues his confession, naming and comparing himself to several other great sinners, and bragging of his sexual prowess. Hubert becomes afraid of the fox, for good reason: Reynard attacks the kite, who briefly escapes. Reynard tells Hubert he has recently eaten the kite's four sons [Branch XI], but repents having done so, and asks Hubert for the kiss of peace. When the kite goes to embrace him, the fox catches and eats him, thus eating his own confessor.

Reynard has been living quietly for some time in his castle and has begun to regret his evil and deceitful life. A peasant, seeing Reynard with tears in his eyes, asks what is troubling him. Reynard says he wants to confess his sin and gain God's forgiveness. The peasant takes the fox to a church where a hermit is living. Reynard asks the hermit to hear his confession and begins to recount his wicked deeds: how he has killed and eaten many chickens; how he tricked Ysengrin, causing him much damage; how he dishonored and injured Hersent, the wolf's wife. The hermit says the fox will have to go on pilgrimage to Rome to talk to the pope. Reynard starts on his way, carrying the traditional pilgrim's pouch and staff, but decides he does not need to travel alone. He finds Belin the ram, who is unhappy with his life and believes his reward for his hard work will be nothing but death. Reynard recruits him to the pilgrimage. On their way they meet the high priest Bernard the ass, grazing on thistles. Reynard convinces him to join the pilgrimage, so now there are three to travel together. As night falls they discuss where they will see shelter; Reynard says he is content to sleep under a tree, but Belin says there are wolves nearby and they may attack, so better shelter is needed. Reynard tells them he has a kinsman nearby who will welcome the travelers. There they are fed a good meal and drink so much beer that they begin to sing loudly, which attracts the attention of Ysengrin and Hersent, who bang on the door an demand to be let in. Reynard refuses, but the wolves persist. Reynard tells the ass to put his back to the door while he opens it just a crack; Ysengrin pushes his head through and the fox slams the door on his neck, trapping him. Then Belin butts the helpless wolf repeatedly, and with Reynard's encouragement splits his skull. Hersent summons many more wolves to get revenge on the pilgrims, who flee in fear with the wolves chasing them. The fox says all three of them must climb a tree to hide. The other two admit they have never climbed a tree and don't know how, but Reynard insists and they somehow struggle up into the branches where the wolves cannot find them. The wolves settle down to rest below the tree. Belin and Bernard cannot hang on and fall from the tree, landing on the wolves and killing four of them. The wolves flee in terror. The three pilgrims decide they don't really need to go the Rome to do good deeds, so they abandon the pilgrimage.

A peasant named Liétart is plowing his field, but he thinks his ox Rogel is being lazy and slow. In his anger Liétart says that he hopes a bear comes to eat the ox, because he is no good for plowing. Brun the bear, who has been hiding nearby and is very hungry, hears this and thinks it is his chance to have an ox to eat and to have revenge on the peasant for having set his dogs on him. He confronts Liétart and demands the ox be handed over, saying the peasant has offered the ox, so if Liétart does not give it to him, the bear will make him regret breaking his promise by eating all of the peasant's oxen. Liétart is in despair and regrets his words, but sees it is too late. He asks Brun if he can keep the ox long enough to finish plowing his field. Brun is reluctant to allow this, having been tricked by a peasant before, but finally agrees the let the peasant keep the ox until the next morning. Brun returns to the forest to hunt, while the peasant loudly laments his foolishness. Reynard, who is hiding from dogs in the forest nearby, hears the peasant and asks what is wrong. After Liétart tells his story, Reynard brags about how he has tricked others, especially Ysengrin, to convince the peasant that he can get the best of Brun. Reynard says he can help the peasant to not only keep the ox but to have the bear's meat for his larder, but the peasant must give him something in return: the fox wants Blanche, the peasant's chicken. The peasant agrees to the deal. The next morning when the bear comes to take the ox, Reynard makes a lot of noise with a horn, and the peasant tells the bear that the sound is the Count out hunting. Frightened, the bear asks the peasant to hide him in a furrow and cover him with earth. Liétart does so, but following Reynard's instructions, he shatters the bear's head with an axe, then stabs him in the throat and heart. Not wanting his neighbors to find out about the bear, Liétart finishes covering the bear's body. Returning home, he brags to his wife about how he has tricked and killed the bear; his wife advises him how they should proceed to retrieve the corpse. At midnight Liétart and his wife secretly bring the bear to their farm in a cart, and Liétart cuts the bear up for food. At daybreak Reynard leaves his castle and comes to Liétart to demand his payment, but Liétart tells him the cock is old and tough and not a suitable meal for the fox, and claims he has nothing else to offer. Reynard knows the peasant is trying to trick him and angrily threatens harm if he does not get what he was promised. Liétart says he is not afraid of the fox and has his three dogs attack; wounded and swearing he will have revenge, the Reynard returns to his castle where his wife Hermeline attends to his injuries and suggests the best revenge would be to ruin the peasant by stealing his plow and ox harness. When Liétart goes to prepare his oxen for ploughing he discovers the harness is missing, having been stolen by the fox. The peasant laments his loss, knowing he cannot plow without the harness. Timer the ass hears Liétart and offers to help him trick Reynard in return for a bushel of barley. The peasant offers the ass many tender thistles if he can help. Timer proposes to go to Reynard's castle, lie down outside, pretending to be dead, and when Reynard and Hermeline come out to drag him inside with Liétart's straps he will tangle them instead and bring them back to the peasant. When Timer attempts this ruse, Reynard suspects he in not really dead and tells Hermeline to bite the ass to make sure he is dead. She assures Reynard the the ass is truly dead and has him tie the straps to the ass's tail and drag him inside. Seeing Timer move his head Reynard calls to his wife to untie him because the stench from the ass's rear is making him faint. When she does so, Reynard berates her for trusting the ass. She insists Timer is dead and calls Renard a coward, comparing him to Couart the hare, and does not believe him when he says he saw the ass move. She says that if Ysengrin and Hersent were to come by, they would take all of the meat. She then ties the strap to Timer's hind leg and around her own neck to pull him, but when the ass sees he has not tricked Reynard he stands and runs off, taking Hermeline with him. Reynard is sad to see her taken, but says he cannot help her now, and if she survives this she might learn to listen to him. Timer arrives at Liétart's house, still dragging Hermeline. The peasant thinks she is Reynard and tries to cut off the fox's head with a sword, but he misses and strikes the ass's leg instead, slicing off his thigh. Hermeline escapes and returns to Reynard, carrying the ass's thigh. Reynard says he will have his revenge on the peasant, but will not attack him directly. Finding Liétart alone in the forest, Reynard threatens to reveal Liétart's taking of the bear to the Count, who will destroy the peasant and his family for illegally hunting in the royal preserve. Reynard demands the peasant must promise not to harm him and to kill the three dogs. The peasant declares his fealty to Reynard, kills the three dogs, and gives the fox the cock Blanchard and ten chickens. After that Reynard releases the peasant from his vow, and in return the peasant tells him he is free to visit the his farm whenever he wants food, and so Reynard eventually gets all of the farmer's poultry.

King Noble had summoned his subjects to court, and all the noble animals are there except for Reynard. Noble asks the assembly to pronounce judgement on the wicked fox, but at first none will do so, fearing Reynard's revenge on them. Finally Ysengrin the wolf condemns Reynard, saying the fox has disrespected the king by not coming to court, and recommends that Reynard be thrown in prison and his lands seized by the crown. The animals all agree, but Tibert the cat comes to Reynard's defense despite how the fox has mistreated him, saying that Ysengrin has given a poor judgement based on hatred, not justice. The cat tells the court that Reynard should be summoned once more, and if he does not immediately appear at court the king can rightly have his vengeance on the fox. The assembled barons agree to this, and ask the king to nominate someone to be the messenger, so the king says that Roenel the mastiff dog should go the next morning. Roenel accepts the task, and receives orders from the king that Reynard must appear or be charged with a felony and then be hanged. Roenel goes home to prepare for the journey, where he tells his surprised wife [unnamed] and family about his order from the king. At dawn he sets out for Reynard's castle, which the wily fox has strengthened in anticipation of the summons. Roenel gives Reynard the letter sent by the king. Reynard agrees to accompany Roenel to court. While on their way Reynard finds a trap set by a peasant, convinces Roenel that is is a holy relic, and recommends the dog kiss it. When the dog sees that it appears to be a trap he backs away, but Reynard insists he kiss the relic. When he does the trap is sprung and the dog is hoisted into the air by a rope. Reynard says it is the dog's own fault that he is trapped, because he offended the relic. Reynard flees to his castle which is being prepared for the expected attack by the king. Meanwhile Roenel, left hanging by the rope, is attacked by peasants who beat him savagely, only stopping when they think he is dead. The dog lies there unable to move until the next morning, then painfully makes his way back to the king's court, cursing Reynard and vowing revenge. The king is not at court, having gone out riding with four of his top barons (Brichemer, Ysengrin, Grimbert and Belin) to tell them his plans to attack Reynard's castle. Roenel, having arrived at court obviously badly injured, is mocked and derided by the others for his failure to bring Reynard to the king. When the king returns the dog tells him how Reynard tricked him. Ysengrin is all for attacking Reynard and hanging him, but Belin the ram says the king should instead send a better messenger to Reynard. The king agrees and chooses Brichemer the stag as the next messenger. When the stag approaches Reynard's castle, the fox's soldiers shoot arrows at him and he has to retreat. Finding Reynard outside the castle the stag delivers his message; Reynard agrees to come to the king and the two ride toward court. On the way they are attacked by a peasant's dogs; Reynard escapes back to his castle but Brichemer is seriously wounded and goes back to the king alone. The king once again vows revenge on Reynard, but then become ill and fears he will die. He sends for doctors throughout his kingdom, but none can heal him. Grimbert the badger thinks Reynard might be able to find a cure for the king, thus regaining his favor, so he goes to the fox's castle, where Reynard feigns surprise at the anger everyone has for him and says he he will go to refute their accusations. On the way he gathers herbs known to be curative; he also steals a purse from a pilgrim that contains more herbs, and steals the pilgrim's cloak as well. When the fox arrives at court the king and his courtiers are not pleased to see him, but the fox tells them he has traveled the world to find a cure. Roenel advises the king to not trust Reynard but Tibert reassures him with a lie: he says he has been to see the fox's wife Hermeline who assured him the fox was traveling to find a cure. The king agrees to have Reynard treat him. Reynard says the cure requires the skin of a wolf, and despite Ysengrin's protestations his skin is stripped off. Reynard then says he needs a nerve from the stag's antlers and a strip of skin from his back; the king orders these taken, to the great suffering of Brichemer. Reynard also demands Tibert's fur but the cat escapes. Reynard then has the king dosed with powerful herbs, which cause Noble much distress, and has him laid on Ysengrin's skin and given another potion. The king is immediately cured, and rewards Reynard with two fine castles and says he will be the fox's ally. Reynard returns to his castle and stays there for a long time where he is safe from all the animals that want revenge on him.

[At just over 3400 lines this is the longest of the branches. In it Reynard has several adventures before the main event. There is a great deal of violence in this branch, with several major characters killed.] Reynard's family have run out of food and are starving. The fox goes out hunting and encounters Ysengrin, who tells him he is being pursued, advising Reynard to flee. The wolf and the fox run until they have lost their pursuers. Ysengrin is exhausted and lies down under a tree where he falls asleep. Reynard, always ready to trick companions, ties Ysengrin's hind feet together and to the tree so tightly that he could never escape. The fox then hides in the bushes to watch what happens. A peasant carrying a holly stick approaches the wolf, and seeing he is tied starts beating him. Ysengrin tries to defend himself but realizes he is restrained. Eventually he knocks the peasant to the ground and severely bites and mauls him until the man fears he will die there, but he manages to break free and runs off, seriously wounded. Reynard has gone a little way up the road, and returning to the wolf pretends he does not know what happened. The wolf asks him to untie him, and Reynard does so. In gratitude Ysengrin offers to share a leg of lamb he has at home, so the two go to the wolf's house where they are greeted by his wife, Hersent, who prepares a meal for them. After they eat Reynard says he must go to find food for his family; Ysengrin insists he must stay longer, but relents when the fox promises to return. On his way Reynard finds a great many blackberries on the other side of a ditch. In an effort to reach them he goes into the ditch, but the walls are steep and he slides to the bottom, where he has great difficulty getting out. After failing to get the blackberries by throwing stones at them, he gives up and goes on his way. He finds Roenel the dog lying under a tree; the dog has been severely beaten by a peasant and cannot move. Reynard hates the dog for previous trouble he has caused, so he finds a rope and puts a noose around the dog's neck and pulls him into the air, but the dog is not strangled because the noose is also around his front legs. Reynard taunts Roenel about being so high in the air, but then the king and some of his followers approach the scene and Reynard flees, leaving the dog hanging. The king releases the grievously injured dog and comforts him, and fearing he is near death has him brought to the royal castle for treatment, swearing to hang Reynard for this crime. Doctors are summoned, and within a month Roenel is back on his feet. Meanwhile Reynard finds a tree where he sees a kite's nest with four plump chicks in it and determines to eat them. With difficulty he climbs the tree and savagely devours the chicks, but the the parent kites return and attack, knocking Reynard to the ground, beating him with their wings and injuring him with their beaks. The fox seizes one kite and kills it; the other kite continues to attack and further injures Reynard before he catches and kills it as well. Reynard is seriously wounded and lies down there to recover his strength. A knight and his squire find the fox there, and thinking he is dead and wanting his fur they tie him to a stick and give it to a servant to take home for skinning. The servant tosses the body over his back and goes on his way; Reynard wakes up and bites the servant on the buttocks until he lets go and the fox flees. Reynard is still badly injured but he knows if he can find a particular herb it will heal him quickly. When he finds the plant he needs he eats some and rubs some on his wounds and is miraculously healed. Continuing on he finds Drouin the sparrow in a cherry tree and asks the bird to throw some of the fruit down to him. Drouin drops as much as Reynard can eat. As a reward the bird asks Reynard to give him advice about his nine children who are growing weaker by the day; Reynard says that in his quest to find a cure for king Noble (Branch X) he has been to many countries and is sure he knows of a cure for the young birds. He tells Drouin that his children must be baptized to be free of their illness and offers to do it himself, since he is a priest. The sparrow sends his children down to the fox one by one to be baptized, then when he can no longer see his children he realizes Reynard has eaten them all and has left. Reproaching himself for a fool, Drouin drops to the ground and beats himself, wanting to die, but then he decides he will find someone who can get revenge on the fox. Drouin soon finds Morant the dog, who is ill from hunger. Drouin tells him he will provide food if the dog will attack Reynard. The dog agrees and painfully follows the sparrow to where he sees a cart loaded with food. Drouin distracts the carter by pretending to be injured and flying around so the man chases him, allowing the dog to steal some meat. Morant then wants something to drink, so the sparrow lands on the carter's horse and pecks its eye; the furious carter tries to hit the bird with a club but hits the horse instead, killing it and causing his load to fall to the ground. When the man leaves the dog eats and drinks enough to regain his strength, and vows to help Drouin get revenge on Reynard. While Morant hides in a bush Drouin goes to Reynard's lair and claims he wants the fox to kill him since he cannot live without his children. Reynard tries to catch the bird, who eludes hims as he lures him close to the bush where the dog is hiding. Reynard see Morant and tries to flee, but the dog catches him and savages him until he tires of the game and Reynard is released. Drouin returns to mock the fox who is so badly wounded that he cannot move. The wolves Ysengrin and Hersent find him there, and thinking he is near death begin to lament and swear vengeance on whoever injured the fox. Reynard gains enough strength to tell the wolves what happened and asks them for help; they carry the fox to their home and summon a doctor, who within a month has healed him. Reynard leaves, and traveling through the woods comes on a squire who has left his horse unattended. Reynard steals the horse along with a hawk and a drum used to scare ducks. Finding a pond with many ducks, the fox bangs on the drum to scare the birds into flight, then looses the hawk several times to bring down ducks. Then Tardif the snail in full armor and carrying a lance rides up, and seeing Reynard attacks and knocks him off his horse. The fox rushes the snail and hits him with the drum, then uses the snail's own lance to kill him. Reynard rides on, now with four ducks, a drum, a hunting hawk, and a lance. A messenger arrives with a message to Reynard from king Noble, who calls the fox a friend and summons him to court. Reynard sets out immediately, and finding Grimbert the badger along the way invites him to come along. The two chat cheerfully as they ride along, until they meet Percehaie, the fox's oldest son, who brings bad news: Hermeline, Reynard's wife, is dead. Reynard tells his son to return to their castle and bring his other two sons with him to court, and the fox and badger continue on their way to Noble's court. The king greets Reynard, telling him the kingdom is under attack by pagans [by implication, the Muslims], with all manner of eastern animals in the army, too many to count. Reynard urges the king to summon an army, and the king sends out messengers to all his subjects [a long list follows of all of the barons who come to aid the king]. A host gathers, but Tardif the snail is missing because Reynard killed him; since Tardif was the king's standard bearer he must choose a new one, and picks Reynard. The fox's sons are knighted by the king, who asks Reynard to remain at the castle to guard it with two of his sons, while Percehaie will go with the king into battle. Reynard agrees and all the barons who are to remain behind swear an oath to obey Reynard. The king and army leave, while Reynard goes to queen, his sometime lover, and kisses her. The king's forces reach the enemy position, forming up a battle configuration as directed by the king. An extremely violent battle begins, with the kings forces splitting skulls and killing uncounted numbers of the pagans and driving many into the sea. In the battle Chanticleer the cock and Espinart the hedgehog are killed. The camel, the leader of the pagans, is captured and as punishment is flayed alive. Meanwhile Reynard, still at the king's castle, conspires to become king and emperor himself; he secretly sends a message (supposedly from the king's followers) to the barons saying king Noble is dead and Reynard is to marry the queen and become their new king. The deceitful fox immediately marries the lady and is crowned, and there is a feast in his honor. Reynard knows the king is not dead and will soon return, so he has provisions and weapons and part of the royal treasury sent to his own castle so he can resist the Noble's siege, and distributes the remainder of Noble's gold to the people. Noble sets out for home, sending the squirrel to announce his return, but Reynard bars access to the castle and says he will never let Noble back in. Noble is furious and gathers his army for an attack on the castle. There is another violent battle which Reynard's forces win, killing some of Noble's men and taking several prisoners. Reynard returns to the castle where he is greeted warmly by the queen, who is pleased by Noble's defeat. There is a celebration in the castle. The next morning the opponents engage in battle again; Reynard challenges Noble to fight, with the winner being king. The two charge each other with lances, both are thrown from their horses, and then they fight on foot. Noble is losing until his men come to his rescue. The battle rages on with many knights killed or maimed. Tibert the cat, Brichemer the stag and Roenel the dog are killed. Reynard's youngest son Rovel is wounded and taken prisoner, so Reynard retreats to the castle. He offers to trade his prisoners Brun and Bruyant for Rovel but Noble refuses. Reynard has the two captives taken in chains to the castle wall and threatens to hang them, so Noble agrees to the trade. Rovel returns to the castle and Reynard's prisoner's are released. The battle resumes. Bruyant the bull, Belin the ram, Ferrent the horse and the leopard are killed. Reynard's son Malebranche fights Noble who kills him; at this Reynard retreats to the castle and the two sides settle to rest. When Noble's men all fall asleep, Reynard and his men attack them, but the fox is captured and Noble says he will hang. Reynard reminds the king of how he cured him of a deadly illness and asks for mercy, and Noble pardons him. Reynard returns to his castle Maupertuis with his remaining two sons. Noble reunites with queen Fière, not knowing she has married Reynard; she does not tell him and no one else does either. After that Reynard and Noble live in peace and friendship for each other.

Reynard goes out to hunt for food because there is nothing to eat in his castle and his family is hungry. He sees a flock of chickens and is about to attack, when Abbot Huon and his entourage ride up. Reynard curses the Abbot for depriving him of his prey, but prudently leaves the area. He meets Tibert the cat who is lazing in the sun; Reynard says he wants to rest and talk with Tibert, who tells Reynard to go sleep elsewhere, and begins to mock him. Reynard protests this treatment and invites Tibert to join him in a hunt inside a local lord's enclosure. Despite his misgivings as to Reynard's intentions, the cat goes with the fox, but the lord and his dogs appear. Tibert climbs an oak tree while Reynard runs away. The dogs gather at the tree and bark at Tibert, attracting the humans who throw rocks and sticks at the cat. Tibert is not afraid, since he can dodge the sticks and stones. A priest rides up, and forgetting to tie his horse, joins in the attack, hitting Tibert with a stick. The cat calls him a wicked priest, and moves down in the tree until he is near the horse, then jumps on its back. The horse runs off with Tibert on its back, with Tibert rudely taunting the priest and impugning his character. All of the priest's liturgical books are tied to the horse's back, and he desperately wants them back. The cat tells the priest that since he has the books he will go to church and perform the service in the priest's place. Tibert rides out of sight leaving the priest far behind, following as best he can and asking people if they have seen a cat riding a horse, but the people laugh at the priest thinking he is drunk. Tibert finds Reynard, but pretending to not see him laments losing him. Reynard reveals himself; Tibert at first pretends to not know him, saying the fox has once again mistreated him. Reynard pretends to be the cat's friend but secretly intends to do him harm. Tibert says he wants to go to to church to perform hole rites, which he can because he has the books, but needs a clerk to help him. Reynard tells the cat he has the necessary skills and will go with him to church, so the cat allows the fox to get on the horse behind him. As they ride they argue over who deserves a share of the profits from selling the horse and confusingly discuss logic and dialectics. Eventually the two reach an empty church at Blagny where Tibert says he will perform the vespers service, but he gets it all wrong until Reynard corrects him and they sing the service together, but very badly. The then argue again about how to share the profits they hope to make with Tibert pretending to be a priest with the help of the fox. Reynard says he is hungry and Tibert points out bread and cheese in the church; after another argument about how to share, Tibert eats all of the best cheese, leaving the worst for the fox. Reynard is now determined to get back at the cat. He tells Tibert that they have forgotten to ring the church bells after the vespers service. Reynard says he will ring them first. To trick the cat, the fox makes a noose in the bell rope, puts his head and front legs through, and grabs the rope with his teeth, so that when he pulls the rope to ring the bells the noose does not tighten. When it is the cat's turn to ring the bells, he imitates what the fox did, putting his head and feet through the noose and hanging on with his teeth, but Reynard tricks him into opening his mouth and the rope tightens on his throat. He would have been strangled immediately if he did not have his feet through the noose. Reynard taunts the trapped cat, who can do nothing. A peasant arrives, angry that the ringing bells woke him, but he is terrified when he thinks the cat is a devil, and runs back to the village to get help. Reynard runs away, leaving the cat hanging. The villagers come to the church and attempt to exorcise the demon cat, then begin to attack him, but the cat dodges their blows until one accidentally cuts the noose holding the cat and he escapes. After verbally abusing each other the fox and cat go their separate ways. Reynard returns home, bringing Hermeline a single gosling he found, and telling her the story of how he tricked Tibert.

A lord of a castle goes out hunting with his dogs, sees Reynard, and gives chase. Reynard runs until he reaches the lord's castle, which he knows well because he often goes there to steal chickens. The lord sees the fox enter the castle, and thinking Reynard is trapped there orders his retainers to search everywhere and catch the fox. Unable to find him, they give up for the night and go to dinner where they laugh about how the fox has tricked them, but the lord vows he will resume the search in the morning. Reynard has hidden himself nearby from where he can see and hear the diners, and when he sees partridges being served he jumps onto the table and steals one. The servants see him, but before they can start their chase the fox is out of sight. He runs to a hole in the courtyard wall and through it he escapes the castle. Once again everyone searches but cannot find him, so they give up and go to bed. The next morning the lord goes out fox hunting, sees Reynard and chases him until the fox enters the castle again and hides where they cannot find him. The lord, not knowing where the fox went, orders the hunt be stopped, and stands looking out a window where he sees Reynard running from the castle carrying a large cake he has stolen. The lord decides they will go hunting, both to look for the fox and to obtain meat for expected visitors. They find a stag, which an archer brings down. The lord's hunt continues; they find a large boar which they kill after a long fight during which the boar kills several of the dogs. The exhausted hunters return to the castle, where a troop of men are approaching to deliver the baggage of the expected visitor, the lord's father. The next morning the lord and his wife go out to meet the visitor. While the party is riding to the castle they see Reynard and release the dogs. Once again the fox runs into the castle and hides, and despite a merry search, no one can find him. The lord and his guests enter the castle, where there are several fox skins hanging from a rope in the room; when the dogs begin to bark at them the people discover Reynard among them, hanging by his teeth and front legs from the rope, hiding in plain sight. When the huntsman tries to capture the fox he receives a bite on his hand that has him crying out in pain. Reynard decides that the castle is not a safe place for him and flees, pursued by the young people of the castle. Avoiding the forest where he fears he will be easily captured, Reynard runs into a meadow where he finds a haystack and settles down on top of it. He is willing to stay there but he is hungry and has no food. He sees a crow flying toward him, and determined to make it his meal, he lies on his back on the haystack and pretends to be dead [a trick described in bestiaries]. The hungry crow is about to tear out the "dead" fox's eye when Reynard catches and eats the bird. His hunger relieved, Reynard falls asleep and has a dream in which his castle is on fire. When he wakes up he discovers that the meadow has flooded in the night and the haystack is completely surrounded by water, trapping Reynard on top. Seeing a peasant in a boat is floating down the stream nearby, the fox calls to him for rescue, promising a reward. The peasant brings the boat to the haystack and invites Reynard to come down, but the fox claims he cannot climb down and asks the peasant to come up and help him. When the man does, Reynard jumps into the boat, leaving the peasant trapped on the haystack. The fox insults the peasant and when the man jumps off the haystack into the water the fox beats him severely before floating away in the boat. [A version of the floating haystack story is also told in Branches VII and XXV.] Reynard sees Hersent and Ysengrin walking on a path and decides to trick the male wolf and have his way with his wife. Finding some black powder Reynard rubs it into his fur until he is black all over and unrecognizable. Ysengrin and Hersent are waiting on the shore of the river for a ferryman to take them across, so Reynard offers to take them in his boat at no charge. Ysengrin helps row and they soon come to an island where Reynard knows there is a trap; the wolf steps off the boat into the trap and is caught while the fox rows away with Hersent. Reynard reveals his identity to Hersent and the two have sex in the boat in full view of the trapped Ysengrin. The man who set the trap arrives with friends and when they see the wolf they beat him until he loses a foot to the trap and escapes. Reynard continues down the river until he meets a peasant who wants to buy the boat, which the fox agrees to sell for four chickens. When the man delivers them, Reynard eats one while the man rows the boat away, then the fox puts the other three chickens on his back and walks all day, stopping for the night under a tree and eating another chicken. In the morning he walks toward a village where he encounters Roenel the dog who he fears will harm him, but remembering he is disguised with black fur he loses his fear. Roenel, however, seeing a black beast approach him thinks it is the devil and flees, but Reynard assures him he is safe and the dog returns to ask what kind of animal the black fox is. Reynard tells him his name is Chufet and that he is from Amiens, so Roenel tells the fox his name. Roenel says he is hungry, and when the fox asks him why he does not eat grapes from the nearby vineyard the dog says he is afraid of the peasant who owns it. Reynard reassures the dog and they both go into the vineyard, where the fox finds a noose trap baited with meat. He tells the dog that a priest has forbidden him to eat meat that day, but says Roenel should eat it. When the dog puts his head through the noose to reach the meat the trap is sprung and he is left hanging by his neck. Reynard pretends to be surprised, telling Roenel he should come down since he looks like a thief being hanged. The owner of the vineyard and his friends arrive and beat the dog, but one of the men is accidentally struck, so they carry him home and allow the dog to escape. Roenel goes to king Noble's court to complain, and the king decrees that "Chufet" should be captured and brought to court. Meanwhile Reynard continues his journey until he finds a tree in a grassy meadow, with four magpie eggs in a nest below it. A squirrel [Rousell or Rousseau] comes to eat the eggs, sees the fox and is afraid but Reynard just asks him where there is a house where he can find food. The squirrel says there is a monk's house nearby with many chickens and offers to take Reynard there. They enter through a hole and Reynard eats a chicken while the squirrel eats many hen eggs. Hearing them, a servant quickly plugs their entry hole and rouses the household, but when he sees the black fox he thinks it is a devil and is frightened. The priest forms a procession of clerics holding relics and chanting to drive out the devil; when the squirrel sees this he flees. The priest puts his stole around Reynard's neck and drags him into the courtyard where a peasant tries to hit him with a club but hits the priest instead, allowing the fox to escape, taking the priest's stole with him. Reynard finds the squirrel outside, crying because he thinks he has lost his friend. They set off together, searching for food, but find nothing. They stop for the night but hunger keeps Reynard from sleeping, and he decides it would be foolish not to eat the squirrel. He pulls on the squirrel's tail, waking him. When the squirrel protests Reynard says he wants to eat him. After Reynard pulls all the skin off the squirrel's tail the injure animal escapes and goes to king Noble's court to complain. Roenel also complains of mistreatment by the fox, and Ysengrin complains of how he lost a foot in the trap and how Reynard violated his wife Hersent. The king is furious and orders Tibert to find Reynard and bring him to court. After a long search the cat finds "Chufet" and tells him he must come to court to answer for his crimes. Reynard pretends to not understand what he has done to anger the king, but agrees to go with Tibert. The fox asks the cat to describe the king and the people of the court; the cat praises the king and lists some of his subjects, including Reynard, who he says is evil. They ride on until they come to a woodcutter's house in the forest. Reynard had previously made a hole in a door so he could get in to steal chickens; the woodcutter turned it into a trap by placing a noose there. Tibert enters the hole and is caught by the noose, and his struggle to free himself wakes the woodcutter who beats the cat with a stick. Tibert bites through the rope and escapes, cursing "Chufet". When he reaches court he complains of the fox's behavior, so the king orders Belin to find him and bring him to court. Belin reluctantly goes to find the fox, and when he does, tells him the king orders him to appear. Reynard agrees to go with him but says they should stop at an oat field first so Belin can eat. The owner of the field see them and sets his dogs on Belin; the dog tears off his wool before he can escape. The king is furious and send Bernard, Brun and Baucent to capture the evil "Chufet". The three find the fox, tie him up and bring him to the king. Reynard defends himself, blaming the courtiers for causing their own misfortune. Roenel the dog then challenges the fox to a judicial duel to determine who is guilty, and the king agrees. The dog and fox equip themselves for the fight. During the violent battle both are badly injured but Roenel eventually subdues Reynard, who pretends to be dead. The king orders that the fox be put in a sack and thrown into the river. Grimbert is hidden under a bridge and pulls the sack out the river, freeing Reynard. The fox recites prayers and litanies until his fur regains its natural red color, then returns to his castle, swearing to have revenge on his enemies.

[This branch revisits some of the themes found in other branches.] Reynard goes hunting for food and meets Tibert the cat, who says he knows of a peasant woman keeping a pot of milk in a covered box, and says he and the fox should go steal it. They come to the peasant's yard, which is protected by a fence of sharp stakes, but one is broken so they enter there. Finding the box, Tibert asks Reynard to hold the cover open while the cat goes in to drink some of the milk. The fox does so, while Tibert takes his time lapping up most of the milk and spills the rest. Reynard calls the cat a glutton and says he is tired of holding the cover up; Tibert leaps out of the box but the fox drops the cover, catching the end of the cat's tail and severing it. When Tibert complains, Reynard says it was the cat's own fault and anyway he is lighter for the loss. The two go into a hen house, where Reynard is intent on capturing a hen, but Tibert tells him the cock Chanticleer would make a better meal, so the fox grabs the cock's head in his mouth. Tibert asks if he has a firm grip; foolishly Reynard opens his mouth to answer and the cock escapes [as in Branch XVI] and starts crowing, waking the peasant and his dogs. Reynard and Tibert escape and separate. Reynard finds a box full of consecrated wafers dropped by a priest, eats all but two, and carries the two remaining away in his mouth. He meets Primaut, the wolf Ysengrin's brother, who asks Reynard to give him the wafers; the fox does, the wolf finds them delicious and inquires where he can find more. Reynard takes the wolf to a church and digs a hole to get in. In the church they find not only more wafers but a chest full of bread, meat and wine. The pair eat as much as they can, then start drinking the wine, and the fox, meaning to trick Primaut, encourages the wolf to drink more until he is very drunk. Primaut declares he is going to sing the mass but Reynard warns him that he must be tonsured first, and offers to do it for the wolf [the fox also tonsures a wolf in Branch III]. Reynard finds a razor and scissors and a brass basin, which he pisses in. He then pours the "water" over the wolf's head and shaves all the hair off his head, right down to his ears. Primaut is pleased with the result and declares himself to be good priest. Once the wolf is properly prepared, Reynard tells him to ring the church bells, which he loudly and enthusiastically does, then to dress in the priest's vestments and sing the mass, which he also does, making a great deal of noise [similar to Branch XII]. Reynard leaves, fearing people will soon come to investigate the noise, but Primaut stays and continues to sing. The priest and villagers arrive, frightening Primault who attempts to escape through their entry hole, but the hole has been filled and the wolf is trapped in the church and receives a severe beating before he can escape. Reynard and Primaut meet again in the woods. The wolf accuses Reynard of leaving him trapped in the church, but the fox claims it was the priest who filled in the hole. The wolf, hungry again, sees Reynard holding something; the fox says it is a herring, tells the wolf how he got it from a cart [the story is told in Branch III] and recommends the wolf do the same. When the wolf tries the trick, instead of throwing his "corpse" into the cart the peasants beat him. Returning to Reynard the wolf reports on his failure, so the fox tells him about a house where there are three hams. Entering through a small hole, the two eat as much of the ham as they can, which causes Primaut to become so fat that he cannot get back out through the hole. The fox attempts to pull him out with a rope but only succeeds in stripping the skin off the wolf's neck. The peasant wakes up and attacks, giving Primaut another beating. Angry, the wolf bites the man on the buttocks, and despite the efforts of the peasants wife, will not let go until he has bitten off a piece of the man's rump, then escapes with it through the door the peasant left open. He finds Reynard and offers him the piece of the man's buttocks, but Reynard says peasant meat is never in season, and tells the wolf there are goslings behind a hedge. The wolf goes to steal one, but the gooseherd sets the dogs on him and he barely escapes with his life. Returning to Reynard, Primault threatens to kill him for his trickery; the fox protests that he did not know about the dogs, and wants to be friends. Foolishly, the wolf believes him. Saying he wants to confirm their oath of friendship, Reynard takes Primaut to the supposed grave of a holy man, knowing there is actually nothing there but a trap. When the wolf reverently puts his paw on the "grave" and swears his oath, the trap closes on his foot and the wolf is caught. Reynard says that the saint has trapped him because he was lying. Reynard returns to his family, leaving the wolf to suffer, but when he is back at his castle he repents of the harm he has done to Primaut, and after that lives a much reformed life.

Reynard is very hungry and is out hunting for food when he encounters Tibert the cat. He wants to eat the cat, partly because of his hunger and partly as revenge for the cat pushing him into a trap [Branch II], but he pretends to be pleased to see him. Tibert is wary and prepares for a fight, but Reynard says all is forgiven and he has no intent to trick the cat. They travel on together and happen upon a large sausage (chitterling) in a field next to the road. Reynard pounces on but Tibert protests that he should have a share; the fox agrees, but says they should go someplace safer before they eat it. Reynard carries the sausage in his mouth, but Tibert is unhappy in how he is doing it because it is dragging in the dirt. The cat says he can carry it better, and taking the sausage tosses it onto his back. He says they should continue up a hill that has a cross on its top because they would be able to see all around from there. Tibert quickly climbs up the cross, taking the sausage with him, then invites the fox to join him, but Reynard says he cannot climb. The fox asks the cat to throw some down for him, but the cat says the sausage is a sanctified thing that can only be eaten on top of the cross. Tibert begins to eat the sausage, telling Reynard he will eat this one and the fox can have all of the next one they find. Reynard is not pleased, and reminds the cat that he will have to come down sometime, but the cat insists he can stay up there for a long time, so the fox settles in for a siege. Reynard hears dogs approaching and flees. Two priests ride past, and seeing Tibert on top of the cross, stop to see what animal it is. One of the priests wants Tibert's fur coat to make a hat, and makes a deal with the other that lets him keep the whole coat. He stands up on his horse's saddle to reach the cat, but Tibert scratches his face causing the priest to fall off his horse and hit his head on a stone, leaving him lying stunned on the ground. The cat gets onto the saddle and the horse runs away with Tibert on its back, returning to the home of the priest, where it frightens the priest's wife to see a cat on her husband's horse. Tibert leaves to go hunting. Meanwhile the priest who was knocked off the horse decides that Tibert must have been a devil. He goes home and tells his wife he was attacked by a demon.

Reynard and his family have run out of food, so the fox goes hunting in the forest, but finds nothing there. He carries on, and finding a road he follows it into a village where the wealthy peasant Bertaut has his house. Next to the house Reynard sees an enclosure with all sorts of livestock: cows, bulls, sheep, and especially chickens. The enclosure is protected by sharp stakes, but the fox finds one stake that has rotted and sneaks in. He finds Chanticleer the cock pecking at the ground, not suspecting any danger, so Reynard leaps out at the cock, but misses. Chanticleer begins to crow loudly, bringing the peasant Bertaut out of the house to see Reynard chasing the hens. He gets nets from the house and throws them over the cabbage patch where the fox has taken refuge, and tries to get Reynard to come out by beating the cabbages with a stick until they are all cut to pieces; the fox, seeing his refuge destroyed makes an attempt to escape and is caught by a net. The peasant is about to stomp on the fox's neck, but Reynard sinks his fangs into the man's foot and will not let go. When the peasant tries to pry the fox's jaws open, Reynard bites down on his hand as well as his foot. The peasant begs for mercy, and says he will be Reynard's vassal and allow him to take any of his possessions. Reynard agrees and releases the man, then demands Chanticleer be given to him. The man says the cock is old and tough, and offers the fox three hens instead. Reynard insists he wants the cock, and the peasant gives it to him, whereupon the fox tells the man he is no longer a vassal. Reynard leaves with the cock, who begins to lament his treatment by the peasant. The fox tells him that though he is certainly about to die, he should be glad to die in place of his master the peasant, and in any case he is going to be with God. Chanticleer asks Reynard to sing to comfort him before his death; Reynard in singing releases his hold on the cock's neck and he flies up into a tree where he mocks the fox for his foolishness. Peasants out hunting boar with dogs see the fox and Reynard flees, though the hunters do not chase him. The fox continues his hunt for food, lamenting his lack of common sense, and comes upon King Noble the lion and Ysengrin the wolf. Reynard tells the king he is looking for food for his pregnant wife, but the king dismisses him, saying he must look out for himself. Reynard objects to this treatment, saying the king is only interested in his stronger subjects. The king then agrees that Reynard can come with them as they hunt, and the three will share whatever they find. The fox, wanting to harm Ysengrin, says he would not dare to come with them because the wolf hates him for having an affair with his wife Hersent, even though he is innocent of any wrong. The king tells Ysengrin that he has no proof against Reynard and in his opinion the fox would not behave so badly. The wolf pardons the fox, saying he will no longer be angry toward him, but Reynard continues to plan trickery. The king asks the fox to lead the hunt, since he knows the woods so well. Reynard leads them to a meadow he knows of, where they find a bull, cow and calf. The three hunters want to take the cattle, but Ysengrin suggests that Reynard should scout the area first to see if there is any danger. The fox goes into the meadow and sees that there is a man guarding the herd, but he has fallen asleep. Reynard climbs a tree and positions himself above the man, then defecates all over him. The man wakes up, and realizing he is covered in excrement he goes to a deep ditch to wash. As he is kneeling there, Reynard runs up and knocks him into the ditch, then throws a large rock and hits the man in the neck, causing him to sink to the bottom and drown, leaving the herd unprotected. The three discuss how to fairly divide their prey, but Ysengrin is determined to cheat the fox out of his share. He says the king being royal deserves to have the bull, and the cow should go to the queen, with the wolf being content with the calf, thus offering nothing to Reynard. The king is displeased and strikes Ysengrin on the cheek causing him to bleed, and tells Reynard that he should do the division. The fox says the king should get the bull, the queen should have the cow, and their young son should be given the calf. This pleases the king, who asks who taught Reynard how to share things out; Reynard replies that his teacher was the one with the red hood, meaning Ysengrin with his bleeding cheek. The king praises Reynard's cunning, and says he will return to his court, taking all of the cattle with him. The fox is dismayed, and pretending to be concerned about the wolf's hunger asks the king to leave something for Ysengrin, but the king laughs, knowing Reynard would just steal Ysengrin share, and leaves. Reynard continues to pretend concern for Ysengrin, and pointing out that the king injured him without cause, proposes they seek revenge. The wolf now hates the king and would like to harm him, but does not dare to tell Reynard for fear the fox will denounce him to Noble. Finally he decides that Reynard is being sincere, and admits he wants revenge on the king, but the fox says it is not the right time yet, so the two return to their homes.

[This branch describes sex and violence in graphic detail.] Reynard is happy that a hard winter is over. He goes to an abbey of the white monks and climbs over a fence into a yard full of chickens. He kills and eats one of them before slipping under the fence to leave the yard, but before he can get away one of the monks sees him and hits him on the back with a stick. The fox darts between the man's legs and bites off one of the man's testicles; when the monk collapses from the pain Reynard escapes. He encounters Couart the hare riding his horse and carrying a man (a furrier by trade) who he had captured and crippled. The fox is amazed at this sight and asks the hare why he is mistreating the man. Couart says the man had attacked him and threatened him with his sword, but he had captured the man to take to the king for judgement. Reynard suggests the hare should deal with the matter himself without waiting for the king's ruling. Couart says he wants to go to the king, and invites Reynard to go with him. King Noble is at his court with a host of other animals, commemorating the death of the hen Coupée. The king was glad to see Reynard and honored him. The fox tells the king he needs his assistance in judging the man, and he and Couart explain what had happened and ask the king to decide the man's fate. The man is frightened, but defends himself to the king, saying he is a loyal man as his neighbors will attest. The king orders the man's friends, who are also furriers, to be brought to court to testify. When the furriers confirm that their friend is a good man, the king releases him immediately and sends him home. After the king and his courtiers have a meal together they play a game, wagering for a prize of gold. Ysengrin wins the game, leaving Reynard with nothing left to bet, so he wagers his genitals on the next game. Again he loses and Ysengrin nails his testicles to the game board before leaving. Reynard howls in pain, which brings queen Fière to see what is wrong. She takes the injured fox to her room, and when he faints from the pain she thinks he has died. She laments the loss of her lover, but Reynard hears her and woke up. He is in a bad state, and thinking he is about to die asks the priest Bernard to hear his confession. Reynard begins by saying his bad actions were not very serious sins. He admits to having sex with Hersent and Fière but claims this was not a sin since he only did them good. He then says his only sin was healing king Noble when he was ill. Bernard says the fox has sinned with the queen and must swear to abandon her. Reynard says he will do so, but only because he fears he will die; he admits that if he lives he will certainly break the oath. Relics are brought and Reynard makes his oath on them. After that he sinks into an unconsciousness that is so deep everyone thinks he is dead. King Noble hears of this, and convinced the fox is truly dead, and orders his family to be brought to court. The fox's wife Hermeline arrives along with her sons and cries out with grief. Grimbert the badger is notified by messenger of Reynard's death and comes to court to mourn. The king has the fox's body taken to the great hall to lie in state until morning. The animals then perform an elaborate liturgical ceremony, with some giving a sermon and others singing a response. They then play a peculiar game (called "le jeu des plantées") that involves participants knocking each other down with blows to the soles of their opponent's feet. Some of the players are too violent in their play, causing anger and argument. At dawn they stop playing and bring Reynard's coffin to the church and place it before the shrine of Lady Coupée, where miracles had occurred in the past. Bernard the priest delivers a very odd (and probably satirical) eulogy, praising Reynard and saying he had never been guilty of any sin, that he was a prince of virtue. The priest's sermon then becomes a very salacious encouragement of free love, saying that rather than committing a sin by having sex with the queen, Reynard was doing what they all should do. Bernard goes into graphic sexual detail and ends by saying that any who obey his instruction to have sex will be absolved of any sin, while those who do not will be damned. The service continues with speeches about Reynard's frequent killing of chickens, for which he is absolved. An oration by Brichemer describes in explicit detail Reynard's sexual encounters with Hersent and Fière, blaming the women for what happened. The service ends, and king Noble tells Brun the bear to dig a grave and gives several others roles in the coming burial. The fox's body is laid in the grave and Bernard throws holy water on it to deter demons. Just as they were about to throw dirt over the fox he wakes up, very confused as to where he is but determined to escape. He leaps out of the grave, grabs Chanticleer by the neck and runs away. The king is furious at having been deceived and orders an immediate pursuit. Chanticleer tells Reynard he should not flee, but rather use him as a hostage to force the king to stop the chase, but the fox continues to run until he encounters a peasant who sets his dog on him. With the dog in front of him and the king's pursuit behind, Reynard has no choice but to release Chanticleer. The dog catches Reynard who is now in danger of being killed, but Tardif the snail arrives, takes him captive and brings him in chains to the king, who furiously declares he will have the fox tortured and killed. Reynard demands to know what he is being charged with, and why the king's people were about to bury him alive. He blames Chanticleer for his troubles, so the cock demands the truth be determined by a duel, with the loser to be hanged. The two fight violently with each severely wounding the other, but the fox gets the worst of it and is in danger of losing so he pretends to be dead, not moving even when Chanticleer bites him. The cock drags him to a ditch and leaves him there, convinced he is dead. Two crows, Rohart and Brune, go to the king Noble to tell him Reynard is dead so the king's forces return home. The crows return to Reynard's body and attack it with their beaks, but the fox jumps up, bites off Rohan's leg and runs off with it. Reynard painfully makes his way to his castle where his wife Hermeline and his sons care for him. Meanwhile Rohart, who is seriously injured, is carried to king Noble's court by Brune; Rohart demands the king deal with Reynard once and for all. The king declares he will tear down Reynard's castle and see him hanged, but Grimbert asks to take a message to the fox telling him to appear at court. Grimbert and Hubert the kite go to the fox's castle, where Grimbert enters but Hubert remains outside, fearing the fox will want to eat him. Grimbert delivers the message but Reynard refuses to go, asking Grimbert to report that he is dead and buried, pointing out the recent grave of a peasant named Renart and saying Grimbert should take Hubert there, and with the assistance of Hermeline convince him that it is really Reynard's grave. Having seen it and read the inscription, Grimbert and Hubert report to Noble that Reynard is indeed dead. In another reversal, the king now grieves Reynard's death, saying he was the best baron he had.

[Reynard does not appear in this branch.] The priest Martin keeps a flock of sheep, and is angry that Ysengrin the wolf keeps stealing from the flock. He digs a pit, covers it, and hangs a lamb over it such that when the wolf tries to take the lamb he will fall into the pit. That night Ysengrin comes hunting, sees the lamb, and in trying to take it falls into the pit and is trapped. The priest arrives with a stick and tries to beat the wolf, but the wolf is too agile and avoids the blows. Then the ground gives way beneath the priest and he falls into the pit with the wolf. They stay on opposite sides of the pit, each afraid of the other. When the priest bows low to say a prayer, Ysengrin jumps on his back and from there out of the pit and escapes.

[Reynard does not appear in this branch.] After escaping from the pit (branch XVIII) Ysengrin the wolf goes looking for a companion who can help him in the future. He finds the mare Raisant in a meadow, and proposes they should be friends and allies, giving each other protection. The mare says she cannot accompany Ysengrin because she has a thorn in her foot. Ysengrin offers to remove the (non-existent) thorn, but when he bends over her hoof she kicks him. This shows, says the narrator, that it is better to be alone than to be in bad company.

[Reynard does not appear in this branch.] Ysengrin finds two rams, Bellin and Bernard, fighting over how they should divide the field they inherited from their parents. The wolf declares that he will eat one of the rams, but they ask him to first help settle their dispute. The wolf agrees and asks how he should proceed. The rams tell Ysengrin to stand in the center of the field, and they will race toward him from opposite sides of the field; the winner will gain possession of the field and the loser will be eaten. The wolf stands in the field and the rams run toward him, but instead of stopping they strike the wolf, piercing him with their horns and breaking his ribs.

[This branch is only marginally a Reynard story. It does not involve the fox at all, and the only Reynardian animals are a bear named Patois and the wolf, who both have minor peripheral roles.] The story is about two peasants, husband and wife. The woman is daughter of the lord of the manner; the man is a rich commoner. When the woman berates her husband over his inability to bear arms, he attempts to fool her by going to the woods with a shield and a sword, comes back with the shield battered, and boasts of defeating an enemy. Suspicious, the woman disguises herself as a knight and follows him; when she see him hacking at his own shield she challenges him (in her guise as a knight) to either fight or to kiss the knight's ass. The cowardly man chooses the second option and is surprised at the shape of the knight's lower anatomy. Later, the man returns home and finds his wife with a lover. He is angry but his wife threatens to call the knight, so the cowardly man has to keep quiet.

[This branch has two parts. While part one is a conventional Reynard story, part two decidedly is not.] Reynard, Ysengrin, Chanticleer and Brichemer work together to clear a large field. Brichemer the stag digs up stones with his horns, Chanticleer the cock pulls out roots, Ysengrin the wolf carries away the debris, while Reynard supervises from the side, claiming to be protecting the others from possible attackers. Once the field is cleared, Reynard asks what they should plant there, but they do not agree; Chanticleer wants hemp, Brichemer wants barley, and Ysengrin wants wheat. Reynard says wheat is the best, the others agree, and the four prepare and sow the field with wheat and fence it securely. They agree to share the wheat equally when it is ripe, and go their separate ways. By June the wheat is tall. Ysengrin seizes an animal, tears it to pieces and eats it all, leaving his belly swollen. Concerned that he is now too heavy to easily escape enemies, he goes to the wheat field to hide in the tall stalks while he digests his meal, but in walking through the grain he tramples and damages the crop. The wolf howls loudly; Brichemer hears the noise and comes to see what is happening. He discovers the damage and asks Ysengrin why he did it. The wolf replies that he is afflicted by dropsy. Brichemer says he knows nothing of medicine and cannot cure the wolf, but for himself he would feel better if he ate some of the wheat. The wolf assures him he will not tell anyone, and the stag eats until his belly is also swollen, then lies down next to Ysengrin. Chanticleer arrives and is angry that the wolf and stag have damaged and eaten the grain when they agreed to share equally, so Ysengrin tells him to take his share. The cock eats so much that he cannot leave and lies down next to the others, and they all fall asleep. When Reynard sees what the others have done he wants to kill them, calls them traitors, insults them and demands justice. Ysengrin is angry because of the insults and tells Reynard the only reason he does not kill him is because of the oath of peace he swore to king Noble. Reynard suggests they refer the matter to the king's justice, so they travel to court. [Part two is very different, and is likely to be objectionable to modern readers. It is sexist, misogynistic, and crude. The king is now named Connin, a reference to the French word "con", which is a vulgar term for the vagina that is frequently used in this part.] King Connin has made an ugly hole that he claims is a vagina. Reynard says it does not look like one and offers to improve it. He does so using body parts taken by force from Brichemer, Chanticleer and Ysengrin. The king is pleased with the result and Reynard has his revenge on the others.

Reynard is once again at the court of King Noble to answer for his crimes. He reminds the king of his good service and asks the king to judge fairly. Ysengrin objects, repeating his charge that Reynard raped Hersent his wife. Reynard recounts how he was nearly tricked by Ysengrin and Roenel the dog (Branch Va) despite the king having given the fox safe conduct to the meeting. Then Chanticleer makes his complaint against the fox, telling how he ate one of the hens, a charge which the cock's wife Pinte confirms. Reynard reminds the king how he cured him when he was ill (Branch X), and defends himself for killing the hen by deflecting the blame onto others. Brun the bear then states his complaint against the fox, who tricked him into putting his head in a split log (Branch I) and thus suffered serious wounds; Reynard denies he intended the bear's harm, shifts the blame to the peasants who attacked him, and offers to help the bear get his revenge on the man. The bear protests, but is told by the other animals at court that his wounds have healed, that he was not so badly hurt, and should forgive the fox. Tibert the cat makes his complaint, that the fox had tricked him into a noose that nearly killed him (Branch I); Reynard replies that the cat hates him and is lying about the fox tricking him, and says he will forgive the cat if the cat does the same. In this way the fox slyly twists the truth, which causes a long-winded argument in the court about the correct judgement. Eventually Reynard is condemned to death, and realizes only his cunning can save him. He tells Noble that there is a wealthy king named Yvoris who has a daughter but no other heirs, who has offered the daughter as a wife to Noble. The fox says he would arrange the marriage himself if he was not condemned to die, but since he is, he recommends Noble send another messenger instead. Since no one knows where the mythical King Yvoris can be found, none of the lion's subjects volunteer, leaving Reynard the only one who can carry the message. Reluctantly, Noble agrees to delay the execution, and Reynard goes on his way. He first stops at his castle, where his wife Hermeline urges him to go to Spain to learn necromancy. The fox goes on the long and difficult journey, and after arriving in Toledo he sneaks into the house of a necromancer where he intends to steal a chicken, but the servants discover him and beat him badly. After that the fox lives quietly in the necromancer's house, learning to use magic. When he is ready he uses his new knowledge to return home in only one hour, and after greeting his wife he reports to the king, telling him his journey was successful and that the daughter of King Yvoris is on her way to marry him. As the king prepares for her arrival, Reynard uses magic to create beasts, one of which was a lioness who was supposedly Noble's promised wife. The lion is delighted, but Reynard is not finished with his trickery. He has the lioness denounce Ysengrin for being rude to her, and demands the wolf's hood and gloves; since these are the fur on his head and on his paws, the wolf is once again wounded by Reynard's spite. Then the fox causes Brun to be humiliated in front of the assembled court, and continues in this manner until he has shamed everyone, including the deluded King Noble. The ending of this branch is very rough and crude.

This peculiar branch begins with Adam and Eve after they were expelled from Eden. God gives Adam a rod which he uses to strike the ocean, causing various animals to be created, including a sheep, wolf, dog and fox. The fox, says the author, represents Reynard and the wolf represents Ysengrin; both are plunderers and thieves. At that time the two were not yet enemies, with Reynard calling Ysengrin "uncle" and the wolf calling the fox "nephew". The author then gives a confused sermon on avarice, with a digression on the legend of Balaam and the ass. The story continues its chaotic course with a very sick Reynard coming to Ysengrin for help. The wolf and his wife have three hams hanging up; when Reynard sees them he warns Ysengrin to take care that they are not stolen by his unscrupulous neighbors. Later the fox comes back when the wolves are asleep and steals all three hams. When the wolves wake to see the hams are gone, they do not know who to blame. Reynard comes to them and claims they have hidden the hams themselves so their relatives will not get any; the wolves deny that, and Reynard leaves gloating over his trick.

Reynard has been fasting and is very hungry. As he is hunting near a river he sees Pinçart the heron fishing near shore, and debates with himself how he will capture the bird. He throws bundles on ferns into the river; they float toward the heron who is startled but soon realizes they are harmless. Reynard gathers a large bundle of ferns and crawls inside it, then sets it drifting downriver to the heron, who is not frightened. Reynard seizes the heron by the neck, drags it to shore, and kills and eats it. It is not yet dark so Reynard decides to wait under a haystack and return home in the evening. While he is sleeping in the haystack, the river floods and sweeps the haystack away with Reynard trapped on top. A peasant in a boat sees the fox and wants his fur. Coming up to the haystack he attempts to hit the fox with an oar, but Reynard avoids the blows. The peasant climbs onto the haystack to get at the fox, who jumps into the boat and floats away, leaving the peasant stranded. [A version of the floating haystack story is also told in Branches VII and XIII.]

[This branch tells a similar story to branch XV]. Tibert the cat, Fromond the ant, Hermine the ermine and Rousseau the squirrel have stolen a sausage (andouille) and are trying to determine how to share it. They decide they will play a game and the winner will get the entire sausage. Reynard arrives causing the cat to grab the sausage and climb up a cross, while the other three animals flee. Reynard asks why the cat is up on the cross; the cat says he wants to stay safe from those who would steal his prize, including Reynard. The fox demands a share but the cat refuses. Reynard pretends to see a mouse, which is the cat's favorite food. Tibert in his desire for the mouse becomes careless and drops the sausage, which Reynard immediately takes.

This branch, in a mixture of Italian and French, is not always included in the Roman de Renart corpus. For a transcript of the 814 line poem, see E. Teza, Rainardo e Lesengrino.