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Fables of La Fontaine � a New Edition, with Notes by Gibbs, J. W. M., La Fontaine, Jean de, 1621-1695, Wright, Elizur, 1804-1885

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The Fables Of La Fontaine 1882 * * * * * Preface

* * * * * The Fly And The Game. The Dog And Cat. The Golden Pitcher.

Party Strife. The Cat And The Thrush.

* * * * * Advertisement

* * * * * A Preface,

* * * * * * * * * *

Ballade Sur Escobar. Envoi. Ballad Upon Escobar. Address.

Iii.-the Frog That Wished To Be As Big As The Ox.[3] Iv.-the Two Mules. V.-the Wolf And The Dog.[5]

Vi.-the Heifer, The Goat, And The Sheep, In Company With The Lion.[6] Vii.-the Wallet.[7] Viii.-the Swallow And The Little Birds.[8]

Ix.-the City Rat And The Country Rat.[10] X.-the Wolf And The Lamb.[11] Xi.-the Man And His Image.[12]

Xii.-the Dragon With Many Heads, And The Dragon With Many Tails.[14] Xiii.-the Thieves And The Ass.[16] Xiv.-simonides Preserved By The Gods.[17]

Xv.-death And The Unfortunate.[19] Xvi.-death And The Woodman.[21] Xvii.-the Man Between Two Ages, And His Two Mistresses.[22] Xviii.-the Fox And The Stork.[23]

Xix.-the Boy And The Schoolmaster.[24] Xx.-the Cock And The Pearl.[25] Xxi.-the Hornets And The Bees.[26]

Xxii.-the Oak And The Reed.[28] * * * * * Book Ii. I.-against The Hard To Suit.[1]

Ii.-the Council Held By The Rats [4] Iii.-the Wolf Accusing The Fox Before The Monkey.[6]

Iv.-the Two Bulls And The Frog.[9] V.-the Bat And The Two Weasels.[10] Vi.-the Bird Wounded By An Arrow.[12]

Vii.-the Bitch And Her Friend.[13] Viii.-the Eagle And The Beetle.[14]

Ix.-the Lion And The Gnat.[15] X.-the Ass Loaded With Sponges, And The Ass Loaded With Salt.[16] Xi.-the Lion And The Rat.[17]

Xii.-the Dove And The Ant.[18] Xiii.-the Astrologer Who Stumbled Into A Well.[19] Xiv.-the Hare And The Frogs.[20]

Xv.-the Cock And The Fox.[21] Xvi.-the Raven Wishing To Imitate The Eagle.[22] Xvii.-the Peacock Complaining To Juno.[24]

Xviii.-the Cat Metamorphosed Into A Woman.[26] Xix.-the Lion And The Ass Hunting.[28] Xx.-the Will Explained By Aesop.[29]

* * * * * Book Iii. I.-the Miller, His Son, And The Ass [1]

Ii.-the Members And The Belly.[5]

Iii.-the Wolf Turned Shepherd.[9] Iv.-the Frogs Asking A King.[10] V.-the Fox And The Goat.[11]

Vi.-the Eagle, The Wild Sow, And The Cat.[12] Vii.-the Drunkard And His Wife.[14] Viii.-the Gout And The Spider.[15]

Xv.-philomel And Progne.[22] Xvi.-the Woman Drowned.[24] Xvii.-the Weasel In The Granary.[25] Xviii.-the Cat And The Old Rat.[27]

* * * * * Book Iv. I.-the Lion In Love.[1] Ii.-the Shepherd And The Sea.[3]

Iii.-the Fly And The Ant.[4] Iv.-the Gardener And His Lord.

V.-the Ass And The Little Dog.[5] Vi.-the Battle Of The Rats And The Weasels.[7]

Vii.-the Monkey And The Dolphin.[9] Viii.-the Man And The Wooden God.[11]

Ix.-the Jay In The Feathers Of The Peacock.[12] X.-the Camel And The Floating Sticks.[14] Xi.-the Frog And The Rat.[15]

Xii.-the Animals Sending Tribute To Alexander.[17]

Xiii.-the Horse Wishing To Be Revenged Upon The Stag.[18] Xiv.-the Fox And The Bust.[19] Xv.-the Wolf, The Goat, And The Kid.[20] Xvi.-the Wolf, The Mother, And Her Child.[21]

Xvii.-the Words Of Socrates.[22] Xviii.-the Old Man And His Sons.[23] Xix.-the Oracle And The Atheist.[25] Xx.-the Miser Who Had Lost His Treasure.[26]

Xxi.-the Eye Of The Master.[27] Xxii.-the Lark And Her Young Ones With The Owner Of A Field.[28]

* * * * * Book V. I.-the Woodman And Mercury.[1]

Ii.-the Earthen Pot And The Iron Pot.[4] Iii.-the Little Fish And The Fisher.[5] Iv.-the Ears Of The Hare.[6] V.-the Fox With His Tail Cut Off.[8]

Vi.-the Old Woman And Her Two Servants.[9] Vii.-the Satyr And The Traveller.[10] Viii.-the Horse And The Wolf.[11]

Xv.-the Stag And The Vine.[19] Xvi.-the Serpent And The File.[20] Xvii.-the Hare And The Partridge. Xviii.-the Eagle And The Owl.[21]

Xix.-the Lion Going To War.[23] Xx.-the Bear And The Two Companions.[24]

Xxi.-the Ass Dressed In The Lion's Skin.[27] * * * * * Book Vi. I.-the Shepherd And The Lion.[1]

Ii.-the Lion And The Hunter.[4] Iii.-phoebus And Boreas.[5] Iv.-jupiter And The Farmer.[6]

V.-the Cockerel, The Cat, And The Young Mouse.[7] Vi.-the Fox, The Monkey, And The Animals.[8] Vii.-the Mule Boasting Of His Genealogy.[9]

Viii.-the Old Man And The Ass.[10] Ix.-the Stag Seeing Himself In The Water.[11] X.-the Hare And The Tortoise.[12] Xi.-the Ass And His Masters.[15]

Xii.-the Sun And The Frogs.[16] Xiii.-the Countryman And The Serpent.[17] Xiv.-the Sick Lion And The Fox.[18] Xv.-the Fowler, The Hawk, And The Lark.[19] Xvi.-the Horse And The Ass.[20]

Xvii.-the Dog That Dropped The Substance For The Shadow.[21] Xviii.-the Carter In The Mire.[22] Xix.-the Charlatan.[23]

Xx.-discord. Xxi.-the Young Widow.[26] Epilogue.

* * * * * Book Vii.[1] I.-the Animals Sick Of The Plague.[4]

Ii.-the Ill-married.

Iii.-the Rat Retired From The World. Iv.-the Heron.[7] V.-the Maid.[9]

Vi.-the Wishes. Vii.-the Lion's Court.[10]

Viii.-the Vultures And The Pigeons.[12] Ix.-the Coach And The Fly.[13]

X.-the Dairywoman And The Pot Of Milk. Xi.-the Curate And The Corpse.[15]

Xiii.-the Two Cocks.[18] Xiv.-the Ingratitude And Injustice Of Men Towards Fortune.[19] Xv.-the Fortune-tellers.

Xvi.-the Cat, The Weasel, And The Young Rabbit.[22]

Xvii.-the Head And The Tail Of The Serpent.[24] Xviii.-an Animal In The Moon.[26]

* * * * * Book Viii. I.-death And The Dying.[1]

Ii.-the Cobbler And The Financier. Iii.-the Lion, The Wolf, And The Fox.[3]

Iv.-the Power Of Fables.

V.-the Man And The Flea.[11] Vi.-the Women And The Secret.[12] Vii.-the Dog That Carried His Master's Dinner.

Viii.-the Joker And The Fishes.[13] Ix.-the Rat And The Oyster[14]

X.-the Bear And The Amateur Gardener.[15] Xi.-the Two Friends.[17]

Xii.-the Hog, The Goat, And The Sheep.[19] Xiii.-thyrsis And Amaranth.

Xiv.-the Funeral Of The Lioness.[22] Xv.-the Rat And The Elephant.

Xvi.-the Horoscope.

Xvii.-the Ass And The Dog.[25] Xviii.-the Pashaw And The Merchant.[27]

Xix.-the Use Of Knowledge.[29] Xx.-jupiter And The Thunderbolts.

Xxi.-the Falcon And The Capon.[30] Xxii.-the Cat And The Rat.[33]

Xxiii.-the Torrent And The River.[34] Xxiv.-education. Xxv.-the Two Dogs And The Dead Ass.[35]

Xxvi.-democritus And The People Of Abdera. Xxvii.-the Wolf And The Hunter.[38]

* * * * * Book Ix. I.-the Faithless Depositary.[1]

Ii.-the Two Doves.[2]

Iii.-the Monkey And The Leopard.[3] Iv.-the Acorn And The Pumpkin. V.-the Schoolboy, The Pedant, And The Owner Of A Garden.

Vi.-the Sculptor And The Statue Of Jupiter. Vii.-the Mouse Metamorphosed Into A Maid.[7]

Viii.-the Fool Who Sold Wisdom.[8] Ix.-the Oyster And The Litigants.

X.-the Wolf And The Lean Dog.[11] Xi.-nothing Too Much.[13] Xii.-the Wax-candle.[14]

Xiii.-jupiter And The Passenger.[17] Xiv.-the Cat And The Fox.

Xv.-the Husband, The Wife, And The Thief.[18] Xvi.-the Treasure And The Two Men.[20]

Xvii.-the Monkey And The Cat. Xviii.-the Kite And The Nightingale.[22] Xix.-the Shepherd And His Flock.[25]

* * * * * Book X. I.-the Two Rats, The Fox, And The Egg.

Ii.-the Man And The Adder.[6]

Iii.-the Tortoise And The Two Ducks.[7] Iv.-the Fishes And The Cormorant.[8]

V.-the Burier And His Comrade.[9] Vi.-the Wolf And The Shepherds.[10]

Vii.-the Spider And The Swallow.[12] Viii.-the Partridge And The Cocks.[16]

Ix.-the Dog Whose Ears Were Cropped. X.-the Shepherd And The King.[17]

Xi.-the Fishes And The Shepherd Who Played The Flute.[18] Xii.-the Two Parrots, The King, And His Son.[19]

Xiii.-the Lioness And The Bear. Xiv.-the Two Adventurers And The Talisman.[21]

Xv.-the Rabbits.[23]

* * * * * Book Xi. I.-the Lion.[1]

Ii.-the Gods Wishing To Instruct A Son Of Jupiter.[2] Iii.-the Farmer, The Dog, And The Fox.[4]

Iv.-the Mogul's Dream.[6] V.-the Lion, The Monkey, And The Two Asses.[9]

Vi.-the Wolf And The Fox.

Vii.-the Peasant Of The Danube.[11]

Viii.-the Old Man And The Three Young Ones.[13] Ix.-the Mice And The Owl.

Epilogue. * * * * * Book Xii. I.-the Companions Of Ulysses.

Ii.-the Cat And The Two Sparrows.[4] Iii.-the Miser And The Monkey.[5]

Iv.-the Two Goats.[6] V.-the Old Cat And The Young Mouse.

Vi.-the Sick Stag.[13] Vii.-the Bat, The Bush, And The Duck.[14]

Viii.-the Quarrel Of The Dogs And Cats, And That Of The Cats And Mice. Ix.-the Wolf And The Fox.

X.-the Lobster And Her Daughter.[18] Xi.-the Eagle And The Magpie.[20] Xii.-the King, The Kite, And The Falconer.[21]

Xiii.-the Fox, The Flies, And The Hedgehog.[24] Xiv.-love And Folly.[25] Xv.-the Raven, The Gazelle, The Tortoise, And The Rat.[27]

Xvi.-the Woods And The Woodman.[32] Xvii.-the Fox, The Wolf, And The Horse.[33] Xviii.-the Fox And The Turkeys.

Xix.-the Ape. Xx.-the Scythian Philosopher. Xxi.-the Elephant And The Ape Of Jupiter.

Xxii.-the Fool And The Sage.[34] Xxiii.-the English Fox.[35]

Xxiv.-the Sun And The Frogs.[40] Xxv.-the League Of The Rats.

Xxvi.-daphnis And Alcimadure.

Xxvii.-the Arbiter, The Almoner, And The Hermit.

[2] Both Aesop and Phaedrus have a version of this fable.

III.--THE FROG THAT WISHED TO BE AS BIG AS THE OX.[3]

The tenant of a bog,
An envious little frog,
Not bigger than an egg,
A stately bullock spies,
And, smitten with his size,
Attempts to be as big.
With earnestness and pains,
She stretches, swells, and strains,
And says, 'Sis Frog, look here! see me!
Is this enough?' 'No, no.'
'Well, then, is this?' 'Poh! poh!
Enough! you don't begin to be.'
And thus the reptile sits,
Enlarging till she splits.
The world is full of folks
Of just such wisdom;--
The lordly dome provokes
The cit to build his dome;
And, really, there is no telling
How much great men set little ones a swelling.

[3] The story of this fable is given in Horace, _Satires_, II. 3, Phaedrus and Corrozet have also versions of it. For an account of Phaedrus and his Fables see the Translator's Preface. Gilles Corrozet was one of the French fabulists immediately preceding La Fontaine. He was a Parisian bookseller-author who lived between 1516 and 1568.

IV.--THE TWO MULES.

Two mules were bearing on their backs,
One, oats; the other, silver of the tax.[4]
The latter glorying in his load,
March'd proudly forward on the road;
And, from the jingle of his bell,
'Twas plain he liked his burden well.
But in a wild-wood glen
A band of robber men
Rush'd forth upon the twain.
Well with the silver pleased,
They by the bridle seized
The treasure-mule so vain.
Poor mule! in struggling to repel
His ruthless foes, he fell
Stabb'd through; and with a bitter sighing,
He cried, 'Is this the lot they promised me?
My humble friend from danger free,
While, weltering in my gore, I'm dying?'
'My friend,' his fellow-mule replied,
'It is not well to have one's work too high.
If thou hadst been a miller's drudge, as I,
Thou wouldst not thus have died.'

[4] _The silver of the tax_.--An allusion to the French _gabelle_, or old salt tax, which, like all taxes levied upon the mass of the people, was a very productive one. Its collection caused several peasants' insurrections.

V.--THE WOLF AND THE DOG.[5]