Book XI: The Lion
Some time ago, a sultan Leopard,By means of many a rich escheat,Had many an ox in meadow sweet,And many a stag in forest, fleet,And (what a savage sort of shepherd!)Full many a sheep upon the plains,That lay within his wide domains.Not far away, one morn,There was a lion born.Exchanged high compliments of state,As is the custom with the great,The sultan call'd his vizier Fox,Who had a deeper knowledge-box,And said to him, 'This lion's whelp you dread;What can he do, his father being dead?Our pity rather let him share,An orphan so beset with care.The luckiest lion ever known,If, letting conquest quite alone,He should have power to keep his own.'Sir Renard said,And shook his head,'Such orphans, please your majesty,Will get no pity out of me.We ought to keep within his favour,Or else with all our might endeavourTo thrust him out of life and throne,Ere yet his claws and teeth are grown.There's not a moment to be lost.His horoscope I've cast;He'll never quarrel to his cost;But then his friendship fastWill be to friends of greater worthThan any lion's e'er on earth.Try then, my liege, to make it ours,Or else to check his rising powers.'The warning fell in vain.The sultan slept; and beasts and menDid so, throughout his whole domain,Till lion's whelp became a lion.Then came at once the tocsin cry on,Alarm and fluttering consternation.The vizier call'd to consultation,A sigh escaped him as he said,'Why all this mad excitement now,When hope is fled, no matter how?A thousand men were useless aid,--The more, the worse,--since all their powerWould be our mutton to devour.Appease this lion; sole he doth exceedThe helpers all that on us feed.And three hath he, that cost him nought--His courage, strength, and watchful thought.Quick send a wether for his use:If not contented, send him more;Yes, add an ox, and see you chooseThe best our pastures ever bore.Thus save the rest.'--But such adviceThe sultan spurn'd, as cowardice.And his, and many states beside,Did ills, in consequence, betide.However fought this world allied,The beast maintain'd his power and pride.If you must let the lion grow,Don't let him live to be your foe.
Words in this poem
- escheat v. i.
- To revert, or become forfeited, to the lord, the crown, or the State, as lands by the failure of persons entitled to hold the same, or by forfeiture.
- morn n.
- The first part of the day; the morning; -- used chiefly in poetry. [OE. morwen, morgen, AS. morgen; akin to D. morgen, OS. morgan, G. morgen, Icel. morginn, morgunn, Sw. morgon, Dan. morgen, Goth. maúrgins. Cf. Morrow, Morning.]
- whelp n.
- One of the young of a dog or a beast of prey; a puppy; a cub; as, a lion's whelps. [AS. hwelp; akin to D. welp, G. & OHG. welf, Icel. hvelpr, Dan. hvalp, Sw. valp.]
- renard n.
- A fox; -- so called in fables or familiar tales, and in poetry. [F. renard the fox, the name of the fox in a celebrated epic poem, and of German origin, G. Reinhard, OHG. Reginhard, properly, strong in counsel; regin counsel ]
- shook v. t.
- To pack, as staves, in a shook.
- 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.]
- favour n.
- Kind regard; propitious aspect; countenance; friendly disposition; kindness; good will. [Written also favour.]
- endeavour v. t.
- To exert physical or intellectual strength for the attainment of; to use efforts to effect; to strive to achieve or reach; to try; to attempt. [OE. endevor; pref. en- + dever, devoir, duty, F. devoir: cf. F. se mettre en devoir de faire quelque chose to try to do a thing, to go about it. See Devoir, Deb]
- liege a.
- Sovereign; independent; having authority or right to allegiance; as, a liege lord. [OE. lige, lege, F. lige, LL. ligius, legius, liege, unlimited, complete, prob. of German origin; cf. G. ledig free from bonds and obstacles, MHG. ledec, ledic, ]
- tocsin n.
- An alarm bell, or the ringing of a bell for the purpose of alarm. [F., fr. OF. toquier to touch, F. toquer (originally, a dialectic form of F. toucher) + seint (for sein) a bell, LL. signum, fr. L. signum a sign, signal. See To]
- consternation n.
- Amazement or horror that confounds the faculties, and incapacitates for refletion; terror, combined with amaxement; dismay. [L. consternatio, fr. consternare to overome, perplex, an accessory form of consternere to trow down, prostrate; con + sternere to spread out, throw down: cf. F.]
- mutton n.
- A sheep. Chapman. [OE. motoun, OF. moton, molton, a sheep, wether, F. mouton, LL. multo, by transposition of l fr. L. mutilus mutilated. See Mutilate.]
- wether n.
- A castrated ram. [OE. wether, AS. we; akin to OS. wethar, withar, a ram, D. weder, G. widder, OHG. widar, Icel. ver, Sw. vädur, Dan. vædder, Goth. wiprus a lamb, L. vitulus calf,]
- betide v. t.
- To happen to; to befall; to come to ; as, woe betide the wanderer. [OE. bitiden; pref. bi-, be- + tiden, fr. AS. tidan, to happen, fr. tid time. See Tide.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Book XI: The Lion 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 XI: The Lion, in The Fables of La Fontaine (1841), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #7241, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/la-fontaine-fables/11-1.html, id L28417.
Form and metre
Book XI: The Lion is 65 lines in a single stanza. It is in rhyming couplets, 55% of the lines: octosyllabic couplets. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 93%).
See other poems in octosyllabic couplets, 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 ABBBACCDDEEFFGGHHIIIJJ----KK-L-LMMNNOOOOOOO-PP-QQRRSS-T-TUUVVVVWW leopardA · escheatB · sweetB · fleetB · shepherdA · plainsC · domainsC · mornD · bornD · stateE · greatE · foxF · boxF · dreadG · deadG · shareH · careH · knownI · aloneI · ownI · saidJ · headJ · majesty · me · favour · endeavour · throneK · grownK · lost · castL · cost · fastL · worthM · earthM · oursN · powersN · vainO · menO · domainO · lionO · onO · consternationO · consultationO · said · nowP · howP · aid · powerQ · devourQ · exceedR · feedR · noughtS · thoughtS · use · moreT · choose · boreT · adviceU · cowardiceU · besideV · betideV · alliedV · prideV · growW · foeW
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Some time ago, a sultan Leopard, | 9 | ··˘/·/˘/˘ |
| By means of many a rich escheat, | 8 | ···/··˘/ |
| Had many an ox in meadow sweet, | 8 | ·/···/·· |
| And many a stag in forest, fleet, | 8 | ·/···/˘· |
| And (what a savage sort of shepherd!) | 9 | ···/˘··/˘ |
| Full many a sheep upon the plains, | 8 | ·/······ |
| That lay within his wide domains. | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Not far away, one morn, | 6 | ··˘/·· |
| There was a lion born. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Exchanged high compliments of state, | 8 | ˘/·/˘˘·· |
| As is the custom with the great, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| The sultan call'd his vizier Fox, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Who had a deeper knowledge-box, | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| And said to him, 'This lion's whelp you dread; | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| What can he do, his father being dead? | 9 | ·····/˘/· |
| Our pity rather let him share, | 8 | //˘/˘··· |
| An orphan so beset with care. | 8 | ·/˘·˘/·· |
| The luckiest lion ever known, | 8 | ·/˘˘//˘· |
| If, letting conquest quite alone, | 8 | ·/˘/˘·˘/ |
| He should have power to keep his own.' | 8 | ···/···· |
| Sir Renard said, | 4 | ·˘/· |
| And shook his head, | 4 | ···· |
| 'Such orphans, please your majesty, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘˘ |
| Will get no pity out of me. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| We ought to keep within his favour, | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| Or else with all our might endeavour | 9 | ····/·˘/˘ |
| To thrust him out of life and throne, | 8 | ········ |
| Ere yet his claws and teeth are grown. | 8 | ········ |
| There's not a moment to be lost. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| His horoscope I've cast; | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| He'll never quarrel to his cost; | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| But then his friendship fast | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Will be to friends of greater worth | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Than any lion's e'er on earth. | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| Try then, my liege, to make it ours, | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| Or else to check his rising powers.' | 9 | ·····/˘/˘ |
| The warning fell in vain. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| The sultan slept; and beasts and men | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Did so, throughout his whole domain, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Till lion's whelp became a lion. | 9 | ·/˘·˘/·/˘ |
| Then came at once the tocsin cry on, | 9 | ·····/˘·· |
| Alarm and fluttering consternation. | 9 | ˘/·/˘·˘/˘ |
| The vizier call'd to consultation, | 9 | ·/˘···˘/˘ |
| A sigh escaped him as he said, | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| 'Why all this mad excitement now, | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| When hope is fled, no matter how? | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| A thousand men were useless aid,-- | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| The more, the worse,--since all their power | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| Would be our mutton to devour. | 9 | ··//˘·˘/˘ |
| Appease this lion; sole he doth exceed | 9 | ˘/·/···˘/ |
| The helpers all that on us feed. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| And three hath he, that cost him nought-- | 8 | ········ |
| His courage, strength, and watchful thought. | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Quick send a wether for his use: | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| If not contented, send him more; | 8 | ··˘/˘··· |
| Yes, add an ox, and see you choose | 8 | ········ |
| The best our pastures ever bore. | 8 | ··//˘/˘· |
| Thus save the rest.'--But such advice | 8 | ······˘/ |
| The sultan spurn'd, as cowardice. | 8 | ·/˘··/˘˘ |
| And his, and many states beside, | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| Did ills, in consequence, betide. | 8 | ···/˘˘˘/ |
| However fought this world allied, | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| The beast maintain'd his power and pride. | 8 | ··˘/·/·· |
| If you must let the lion grow, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Don't let him live to be your foe. | 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.