Book I: The Thieves and the Ass
Two thieves, pursuing their profession,Had of a donkey got possession,Whereon a strife arose,Which went from words to blows.The question was, to sell, or not to sell;But while our sturdy champions fought it well,Another thief, who chanced to pass,With ready wit rode off the ass.
This ass is, by interpretation,Some province poor, or prostrate nation.The thieves are princes this and that,On spoils and plunder prone to fat,--As those of Austria, Turkey, Hungary.(Instead of two, I've quoted three--Enough of such commodity.)These powers engaged in war all,Some fourth thief stops the quarrel,According all to one key,By riding off the donkey.
Words in this poem
- donkey n.
- An ass; or (less frequently) a mule. [Prob. dun, in allusion to the color of the animal + a dim. termination.]
- whereon adv.
- On which; -- used relatively; as, the earth whereon we live.
- strife n.
- The act of striving; earnest endeavor. [OF. estrif. See Strive.]
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- rode n.
- Redness; complexion. [See Rud.]
- commodity n.
- Convenience; accommodation; profit; benefit; advantage; interest; commodiousness. [F. commodit, fr. L. commoditas. See Commode.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Book I: The Thieves and the Ass is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Fables of La Fontaine, Project Gutenberg ebook #7241, the Elizur Wright translation; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Jean de La Fontaine, Book I: The Thieves and the Ass, in The Fables of La Fontaine (1841), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #7241, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/la-fontaine-fables/1-13.html, id L28223.
Form and metre
Book I: The Thieves and the Ass is 19 lines in 2 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 89%).
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 AABBCCDD professionA · possessionA · aroseB · blowsB · sellC · wellC · passD · assD
- 2 AABB-C-DDC- interpretationA · nationA · thatB · fatB · hungary · threeC · commodity · allD · quarrelD · keyC · donkey
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Two thieves, pursuing their profession, | 9 | ··˘/˘·˘/˘ |
| Had of a donkey got possession, | 9 | ···/˘·˘/˘ |
| Whereon a strife arose, | 6 | ˘/··˘/ |
| Which went from words to blows. | 6 | ······ |
| The question was, to sell, or not to sell; | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| But while our sturdy champions fought it well, | 10 | ··//˘/˘··· |
| Another thief, who chanced to pass, | 8 | ˘/˘····· |
| With ready wit rode off the ass. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| This ass is, by interpretation, | 9 | ····˘·˘/˘ |
| Some province poor, or prostrate nation. | 9 | ·/˘··/˘/˘ |
| The thieves are princes this and that, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| On spoils and plunder prone to fat,-- | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| As those of Austria, Turkey, Hungary. | 9 | ···/˘/˘/˘ |
| (Instead of two, I've quoted three-- | 8 | ˘/···/˘· |
| Enough of such commodity.) | 8 | ˘/··˘/˘˘ |
| These powers engaged in war all, | 8 | ·/˘˘/··· |
| Some fourth thief stops the quarrel, | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| According all to one key, | 7 | ˘/˘···· |
| By riding off the donkey. | 7 | ·/˘··/˘ |
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.