Book I: The Fox and the Stork
Old Mister Fox was at expense, one day,To dine old Mistress Stork.The fare was light, was nothing, sooth to say,Requiring knife and fork.That sly old gentleman, the dinner-giver,Was, you must understand, a frugal liver.This once, at least, the total matterWas thinnish soup served on a platter,For madam's slender beak a fruitless puzzle,Till all had pass'd the fox's lapping muzzle.But, little relishing his laughter,Old gossip Stork, some few days after,Return'd his Foxship's invitation.Without a moment's hesitation,He said he'd go, for he must own heNe'er stood with friends for ceremony.And so, precisely at the hour,He hied him to the lady's bower;Where, praising her politeness,He finds her dinner right nice.Its punctuality and plenty,Its viands, cut in mouthfuls dainty,Its fragrant smell, were powerful to excite,Had there been need, his foxish appetite.But now the dame, to torture him,Such wit was in her,Served up her dinnerIn vases made so tall and slim,They let their owner's beak pass in and out,But not, by any means, the fox's snout!All arts without avail,With drooping head and tail,As ought a fox a fowl had cheated,The hungry guest at last retreated.
Ye knaves, for you is this recital,You'll often meet Dame Stork's requital.
Words in this poem
- 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.]
- dine v. i.
- To eat the principal regular meal of the day; to take dinner. [F. dîner, OF. disner, LL. disnare, contr. fr. an assumed disjunare; dis- + an assumed junare (OF. juner) to fast, for L. jejunare, fr. jejunus fasting. See Jeju]
- sooth a.
- True; faithful; trustworthy. [OE. soth, AS. s, for san; akin to OS. s, OHG. sand, Icel. sannr, Sw. sann, Dan. sand, Skr. sat, sant, real, genuine, present, being; properly p. pr. from a root]
- platter n.
- One who plats or braids. [From Plat to braid.]
- fruitless a.
- Lacking, or not bearing, fruit; barren; destitute of offspring; as, a fruitless tree or shrub; a fruitless marriage.
- politeness n.
- High finish; smoothness; burnished elegance. Evelyn.
- punctuality n.
- The quality or state of being punctual; especially, adherence to the exact time of an engagement; exactness. [Cf. F. ponctualité.]
- dainty n.
- Value; estimation; the gratification or pleasure taken in anything. [OE. deinie, dainte, deintie, deyntee, OF. deintié delicacy, orig., dignity, honor, fr. L. dignitas, fr. dignus worthy. See Deign, and cf. Dignity.]
- dame n.
- A mistress of a family, who is a lady; a womam in authority; especially, a lady. [F. dame, LL. domna, fr. L. domina mistress, lady, fem. of dominus master, ruler, lord; akin to domare to tame, subdue. See Tame, and cf. Dam mother, Dan, Danger]
- ought p. p.
- Was or were under obligation to pay; owed. [Orig. the preterit of the verb to owe. OE. oughte, aughte, ahte, AS. ahte. sq. root110. See Owe.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Book I: The Fox and the Stork 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 Fox and the Stork, in The Fables of La Fontaine (1841), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #7241, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/la-fontaine-fables/1-18.html, id L28228.
Form and metre
Book I: The Fox and the Stork is 36 lines in 2 verse paragraphs. It is in rhyming couplets, 61% of the lines: heroic couplets. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 93%).
See other poems in heroic couplets, other poems in iambic pentameter.
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 ABABCCDDEEFFGG--HHII--JJK--KLLMMNN dayA · storkB · sayA · forkB · giverC · liverC · matterD · platterD · puzzleE · muzzleE · laughterF · afterF · invitationG · hesitationG · he · ceremony · hourH · bowerH · politenessI · niceI · plenty · dainty · exciteJ · appetiteJ · himK · her · dinner · slimK · outL · snoutL · availM · tailM · cheatedN · retreatedN
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 pentameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Old Mister Fox was at expense, one day, | 10 | ·/˘···˘/·· |
| To dine old Mistress Stork. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| The fare was light, was nothing, sooth to say, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Requiring knife and fork. | 7 | ˘/˘˘··· |
| That sly old gentleman, the dinner-giver, | 10 | ···/˘·/˘/˘ |
| Was, you must understand, a frugal liver. | 11 | ····˘/·/˘/˘ |
| This once, at least, the total matter | 9 | ·····/˘/˘ |
| Was thinnish soup served on a platter, | 9 | ·/˘····/˘ |
| For madam's slender beak a fruitless puzzle, | 11 | ·/˘/˘··/˘/˘ |
| Till all had pass'd the fox's lapping muzzle. | 11 | ·····/˘/˘/˘ |
| But, little relishing his laughter, | 9 | ·/˘/˘˘·/˘ |
| Old gossip Stork, some few days after, | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| Return'd his Foxship's invitation. | 9 | ˘/····˘/˘ |
| Without a moment's hesitation, | 9 | ···/˘·˘/˘ |
| He said he'd go, for he must own he | 9 | ········· |
| Ne'er stood with friends for ceremony. | 9 | ·····/˘·˘ |
| And so, precisely at the hour, | 9 | ··˘/˘··/˘ |
| He hied him to the lady's bower; | 9 | ·····/˘/˘ |
| Where, praising her politeness, | 7 | ·/˘·˘/˘ |
| He finds her dinner right nice. | 7 | ···/˘·· |
| Its punctuality and plenty, | 9 | ··˘/˘˘·/˘ |
| Its viands, cut in mouthfuls dainty, | 8 | ····/·/˘ |
| Its fragrant smell, were powerful to excite, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘·˘/ |
| Had there been need, his foxish appetite. | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| But now the dame, to torture him, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Such wit was in her, | 5 | ····· |
| Served up her dinner | 5 | ···/˘ |
| In vases made so tall and slim, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| They let their owner's beak pass in and out, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| But not, by any means, the fox's snout! | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| All arts without avail, | 6 | ····˘/ |
| With drooping head and tail, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| As ought a fox a fowl had cheated, | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| The hungry guest at last retreated. | 9 | ·/˘···˘/˘ |
| Ye knaves, for you is this recital, | 9 | ······˘/˘ |
| You'll often meet Dame Stork's requital. | 9 | ·/˘···˘/˘ |
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.