A COCK AND BULL STORY

There were never any doubt as to the guilt (1) … the accused. In the French country of Valois, in the year 1314, he (2) … deliberately killed a man. Several people had witnessed the attack. The accused (3) … sentenced to death and hanged soon afterwards. The accused was a bull.

Modern law does not recognize the idea that animals can (4) … a crime, but in medieval Europe it was quite common for animals to (5) … taken to court on all sorts (6) … charges – everything from witchcraft to murder. On one occasion the rats of Atun in central France (7) … called before the court on a charge of infesting local houses and barns. When they failed (8) … appear, their lawyer explained that their lives would have (9) … put in danger by the number of cats in the neighbourhood. He said that (10) … court would have to guarantee the safety of each of his clients on their way to and from the trial. The case (11) … postponed indefinitely.

In the 15^th century, a cock in the Swiss town of Basel was not so lucky. He was accused (12) … laying an egg, which the superstitious townsfolk saw as a sure sign that he was a sorcerer. As a result, the cock (13) … tied to a stake and burned, along with the egg. And in Lavegny, France in 1457, a sow that had killed and partly eaten a child was hanged (14) … murder. Her six piglet accomplices (15) … not punished, however, on the grounds that they had been too young (16) … know any better.

UNIT 4