A probable source of the tale is Petrus Alfonsi 's Disciplina clericalis , which have the same three motifs : the rash promise of the husbandman ; the wolf mistaking the moon for cheese ; and the wolf that descend 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 explain that the wolf lost both the oxen and the cheese because he " relinquished what was present for what was to come " ( Latin : pro futuro quod presens erat dimisit ) , Henryson 's moralitas more fully involve the husbandman .