Book XII: The Eagle and the Magpie
The eagle, through the air a queen,And one far different, I ween,In temper, language, thought, and mien,--The magpie,--once a prairie cross'd.The by-path where they met was drear,And Madge gave up herself for lost;But having dined on ample cheer,The eagle bade her, 'Never fear;You're welcome to my company;For if the king of gods can beFull oft in need of recreation,--Who rules the world,--right well may I,Who serve him in that high relation:Amuse me, then, before you fly.'Our cackler, pleased, at quickest rateOf this and that began to prate.Not he of whom old Flaccus writes,The most impertinent of wights,Or any babbler, for that matter,Could more incontinently chatter.At last she offer'd to make known--A better spy had never flown--All things, whatever she might see,In travelling from tree to tree.But, with her offer little pleased--Nay, gathering wrath at being teased,--For such a purpose, never rove,--Replied th' impatient bird of Jove.'Adieu, my cackling friend, adieu;My court is not the place for you:Heaven keep it free from such a bore!'Madge flapp'd her wings, and said no more.
'Tis far less easy than it seemsAn entrance to the great to gain.The honour oft hath cost extremesOf mortal pain.The craft of spies, the tattling art,And looks more gracious than the heart,Are odious there;But still, if one would meet success,Of different parishes the dressHe, like the pie, must wear.
Words in this poem
- ween v. i.
- To think; to imagine; to fancy. [OE. wenen, AS. w, fr. w hope, expectation, opinion; akin to D. waan, OFries. w, OS. & OHG. wan, G. wahn delusion, Icel. van hope, expectation, Goth. w, and D. w]
- drear n.
- Sadness; dismalness.
- bade
- A form of the pat tense of Bid.
- amuse v. t.
- To occupy or engage the attention of; to lose in deep thought; to absorb; also, to distract; to bewilder. [F. amuser to make stay, to detain, to amuse, ad) + OF. muser. See Muse, v.]
- cackler n.
- A fowl that cackles.
- incontinently adv.
- In an incontinent manner; without restraint, or without due restraint; -- used esp. of the passions or appetites.
- flown a.
- Flushed, inflated.
- jove n.
- The chief divinity of the ancient Romans; Jupiter. [L. Jupiter, gen. Jovis, OL. Jovis, nom. & gen. for Djovis; akin to E. Tuesday. See Tuesday, and cf. Jupiter.]
- cackling n.
- The broken noise of a goose or a hen.
- honour n.
- Esteem due or paid to worth; high estimation; respect; consideration; reverence; veneration; manifestation of respect or reverence. [OE. honor, honour, onour, onur, OF. honor, onor, honur, onur, honour, onour, F. honneur, fr. L. honor, honos.]
- craft n.
- Strength; might; secret power. [AS. cr strength, skill, art, cunning; akin to OS., G., Sw., & Dan. kraft strength, D. kracht, Icel. kraptr; perh. originally, a drawing together, stretching, fr]
- tattling a.
- Given to idle talk; apt to tell tales.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Book XII: The Eagle and the Magpie 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 XII: The Eagle and the Magpie, in The Fables of La Fontaine (1841), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #7241, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/la-fontaine-fables/12-11.html, id L28437.
Form and metre
Book XII: The Eagle and the Magpie is 42 lines in 2 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 90%).
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 AAABCBCC-DEDEDFF--GGHHIIJJKKLLMM queenA · weenA · mienA · cross'dB · drearC · lostB · cheerC · fearC · company · beD · recreationE · iD · relationE · flyD · rateF · prateF · writes · wights · matterG · chatterG · knownH · flownH · seeI · treeI · pleasedJ · teasedJ · roveK · joveK · adieuL · youL · boreM · moreM
- 2 ABABCCDEED seemsA · gainB · extremesA · painB · artC · heartC · thereD · successE · dressE · wearD
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 |
|---|---|---|
| The eagle, through the air a queen, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| And one far different, I ween, | 8 | ···/˘˘·· |
| In temper, language, thought, and mien,-- | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| The magpie,--once a prairie cross'd. | 8 | ·/···/˘· |
| The by-path where they met was drear, | 8 | ········ |
| And Madge gave up herself for lost; | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| But having dined on ample cheer, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| The eagle bade her, 'Never fear; | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| You're welcome to my company; | 8 | ·/˘··/˘˘ |
| For if the king of gods can be | 8 | ········ |
| Full oft in need of recreation,-- | 9 | ······˘/˘ |
| Who rules the world,--right well may I, | 8 | ········ |
| Who serve him in that high relation: | 9 | ······˘/˘ |
| Amuse me, then, before you fly.' | 8 | ˘/······ |
| Our cackler, pleased, at quickest rate | 8 | //˘··/˘· |
| Of this and that began to prate. | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| Not he of whom old Flaccus writes, | 8 | ········ |
| The most impertinent of wights, | 8 | ··˘/˘˘·· |
| Or any babbler, for that matter, | 9 | ·/˘/˘··/˘ |
| Could more incontinently chatter. | 9 | ··˘/˘˘˘/˘ |
| At last she offer'd to make known-- | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| A better spy had never flown-- | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| All things, whatever she might see, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| In travelling from tree to tree. | 8 | ·/˘˘···· |
| But, with her offer little pleased-- | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| Nay, gathering wrath at being teased,-- | 8 | ·/˘˘··/· |
| For such a purpose, never rove,-- | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| Replied th' impatient bird of Jove. | 8 | ˘/˘/˘··· |
| 'Adieu, my cackling friend, adieu; | 8 | ˘/·/˘·˘/ |
| My court is not the place for you: | 8 | ········ |
| Heaven keep it free from such a bore!' | 8 | /······· |
| Madge flapp'd her wings, and said no more. | 8 | ········ |
| 'Tis far less easy than it seems | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| An entrance to the great to gain. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| The honour oft hath cost extremes | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| Of mortal pain. | 4 | ·/˘· |
| The craft of spies, the tattling art, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And looks more gracious than the heart, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Are odious there; | 5 | ·/˘˘· |
| But still, if one would meet success, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Of different parishes the dress | 8 | ·/˘/˘˘·· |
| He, like the pie, must wear. | 6 | ······ |
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.