 A probable source of the tale is Petrus Alfonsi 's Disciplina <unk> , which has the same three motifs : the rash promise of the husbandman ; the wolf <unk> the moon for cheese ; and the wolf that descends into the well via a bucket , thereby trapping himself and freeing the fox . However , the discussion of legality and the questioning of language that take place alongside these motifs are entirely Henryson 's invention . Whereas the moral of Alfonsi 's tale explains that the wolf lost both the oxen and the cheese because he " relinquished what was present for what was to come " ( Latin : pro <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> ) , Henryson 's moralitas more fully involves the husbandman . 
