A Fable
His Majesty the King of Beasts,Tired of fuss and formal feasts,Once resolved that he would goOn a tour incognito.But a suitable disguiseWas not easy to devise;Kingly natures do not careOther people’s things to wear.
The very thought filled him with shame.“No, I will simply change my name,”Said he, “and go just as I am,And call myself a Woolly Lamb.”
And so he did, and as you’ll guess,He had a measure of success.Disguised in name alone, he yetTook in ’most every one he met.
The first was Mister Wolf, who said,“Your Majesty--” “Off with his head!”The angry monarch roared. “I am,I’d have you know, a Woolly Lamb.”
Then Mistress Lamb, who, being near,Had heard, addressed him: “Brother dear--”“Odds cats!” the lion roared. “My word!Such insolence I never heard!”
His rage was a terrific sight(It almost spoiled his appetite).And so it went, until one dayHe met Sir Fox, who stopped to say(Keeping just far enough away,Yet in a casual, off-hand way,As if he did n’t care a fig),“Good-morning to you, Thingumjig.”
To-day we think it infra dig,To use such words as Thing um jig;But what is now a vulgar wordIn those days never had been heard.Sir Fox himself invented itThis great emergency to fit.
The King of Beasts, quite unpreparedFor this reception, simply stared.
Of course he was not going to showThere was a word he did not know.He bowed, and with his haughtiest airResumed his walk; but everywhereHe went his subjects, small and big,Took up the cry of Thingumjig.It followed him where’er he went;He did n’t dare his rage to vent.Suppose it were a compliment?His anger then would only showHere was a word he did not know!The only course for him ’t was clear,Was to pretend he did not hear.
And this he did until, at length,Long fasting so impaired his strengthHe gave his tour up in despair,Mid great rejoicing everywhere.
Words in this poem
- fuss n.
- A tumult; a bustle; unnecessary or annoying ado about trifles. [Cf. Fusome.]
- tour n.
- A going round; a circuit; hence, a journey in a circuit; a prolonged circuitous journey; a comprehensive excursion; as, the tour of Europe; the tour of France or England. [F. tour. See Turn, v. t.]
- incognito a.
- Without being known; in disguise; in an assumed character, or under an assumed title; -- said esp. of great personages who sometimes adopt a disguise or an assumed character in order to avoid notice. [It. incognito, masc., incognita, fem., L. incognitus unknown; pref. in- not + cognitus known, p. p. of cognoscere: cf. F. incognito, fr. It. See Cognition.]
- mister n.
- A trade, art, or occupation. [OF. mistier trade, office, ministry, need, F. métier trade, fr. L. ministerium service, office, ministry. See Ministry, Mystery trade.]
- angry a.
- Troublesome; vexatious; rigorous. [See Anger.]
- odds n.
- Difference in favor of one and against another; excess of one of two things or numbers over the other; inequality; advantage; superiority; hence, excess of chances; probability. [See Odd, a.]
- insolence n.
- The quality of being unusual or novel. [F. insolence, L. insolentia. See Insolent.]
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- infra adv.
- Below; beneath; under; after; -- often used as a prefix. [L. Cf. Inferior.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
A Fable is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Bashful Earthquake, & Other Fables and Verses, Project Gutenberg ebook #56765; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Oliver Herford, A Fable, in The Bashful Earthquake, and Other Fables and Verses (1898), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #56765, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/herford-bashful-earthquake/a-fable.html, id L26151.
Form and metre
A Fable is 57 lines in 10 stanzas. The rhyme scheme is AABB, complete in 5 of its 10 stanzas. This poem did not settle on a metre of its own; the book it comes from is in iambic tetrameter.
See other poems in iambic tetrameter.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 1 AA--BBCC beastsA · feastsA · go · incognito · disguiseB · deviseB · careC · wearC
- 2 AABB shameA · nameA · amB · lambB
- 3 AABB guessA · successA · yetB · metB
- 4 AABB saidA · headA · amB · lambB
- 5 AABB nearA · dearA · wordB · heardB
- 6 AABBBB-- sightA · appetiteA · dayB · sayB · awayB · wayB · fig · thingumjig
- 7 AABBCC digA · jigA · wordB · heardB · itC · fitC
- 8 AA unpreparedA · staredA
- 9 AABB--CCCAADD showA · knowA · airB · everywhereB · big · thingumjig · wentC · ventC · complimentC · showA · knowA · clearD · hearD
- 10 AABB lengthA · strengthA · despairB · everywhereB
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. Read against iambic tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| His Majesty the King of Beasts, | 8 | ·/˘˘···· |
| Tired of fuss and formal feasts, | 8 | /˘···/˘· |
| Once resolved that he would go | 8 | ·˘/˘···· |
| On a tour incognito. | 7 | ···˘˘/˘ |
| But a suitable disguise | 7 | ··/˘˘˘/ |
| Was not easy to devise; | 7 | ··/˘·˘/ |
| Kingly natures do not care | 7 | /˘/˘··· |
| Other people’s things to wear. | 7 | /˘/˘··· |
| The very thought filled him with shame. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| “No, I will simply change my name,” | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Said he, “and go just as I am, | 8 | ········ |
| And call myself a Woolly Lamb.” | 8 | ···/·/˘· |
| And so he did, and as you’ll guess, | 8 | ········ |
| He had a measure of success. | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| Disguised in name alone, he yet | 8 | ˘/··˘/·· |
| Took in ’most every one he met. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| The first was Mister Wolf, who said, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| “Your Majesty--” “Off with his head!” | 8 | ·/˘˘···· |
| The angry monarch roared. “I am, | 8 | ·/˘/···· |
| I’d have you know, a Woolly Lamb.” | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Then Mistress Lamb, who, being near, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Had heard, addressed him: “Brother dear--” | 8 | ··˘/·/˘· |
| “Odds cats!” the lion roared. “My word! | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Such insolence I never heard!” | 8 | ·/˘˘·/˘· |
| His rage was a terrific sight | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| (It almost spoiled his appetite). | 8 | ·/···/˘· |
| And so it went, until one day | 8 | ········ |
| He met Sir Fox, who stopped to say | 8 | ········ |
| (Keeping just far enough away, | 8 | /˘··˘/˘/ |
| Yet in a casual, off-hand way, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| As if he did n’t care a fig), | 8 | ········ |
| “Good-morning to you, Thingumjig.” | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| To-day we think it infra dig, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| To use such words as Thing um jig; | 8 | ········ |
| But what is now a vulgar word | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| In those days never had been heard. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Sir Fox himself invented it | 8 | ··˘/˘/˘· |
| This great emergency to fit. | 8 | ··˘/˘˘·· |
| The King of Beasts, quite unprepared | 8 | ······˘/ |
| For this reception, simply stared. | 8 | ··˘/˘/˘· |
| Of course he was not going to show | 8 | ·····/·· |
| There was a word he did not know. | 8 | ········ |
| He bowed, and with his haughtiest air | 8 | ········ |
| Resumed his walk; but everywhere | 8 | ˘/···/˘· |
| He went his subjects, small and big, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Took up the cry of Thingumjig. | 8 | ········ |
| It followed him where’er he went; | 9 | ·/˘·˘˘/·· |
| He did n’t dare his rage to vent. | 8 | ········ |
| Suppose it were a compliment? | 8 | ˘/···/˘˘ |
| His anger then would only show | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Here was a word he did not know! | 8 | ········ |
| The only course for him ’t was clear, | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| Was to pretend he did not hear. | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| And this he did until, at length, | 8 | ········ |
| Long fasting so impaired his strength | 8 | ·/˘·˘/·· |
| He gave his tour up in despair, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Mid great rejoicing everywhere. | 8 | ··˘/˘/˘· |
The reader shows the same poem with its rhymes coloured and a stress row above each line, the notes beside their stanzas, and any word's definition on a tap; the analysis page takes the whole book apart. How every part of this site was made.