Book XII: The Woods and the Woodman
A certain wood-chopper lost or brokeFrom his axe's eye a bit of oak.The forest must needs be somewhat sparedWhile such a loss was being repair'd.Came the man at last, and humbly pray'dThat the woods would kindly lend to him--A moderate loan--a single limb,Whereof might another helve be made,And his axe should elsewhere drive its trade.O, the oaks and firs that then might stand,A pride and a joy throughout the land,For their ancientness and glorious charms!The innocent Forest lent him arms;But bitter indeed was her regret;For the wretch, his axe new-helved and whet,Did nought but his benefactress spoilOf the finest trees that graced her soil;And ceaselessly was she made to groan,Doing penance for that fatal loan.
Behold the world-stage and its actors,Where benefits hurt benefactors!--A weary theme, and full of pain;For where's the shade so cool and sweet,Protecting strangers from the heat,But might of such a wrong complain?Alas! I vex myself in vain;Ingratitude, do what I will,Is sure to be the fashion still.
Words in this poem
- broke v. i.
- To transact business for another. Brome. [See Broker, and cf. Brook.]
- needs adv.
- Of necessity; necessarily; indispensably; -- often with must, and equivalent to of need. [Orig. gen. of need, used as an adverb. Cf. - wards.]
- humbly adv.
- With humility; lowly.
- whereof adv.
- Of which; of whom; formerly, also, with which; -- used relatively.
- helve n.
- The handle of an ax, hatchet, or adze. [OE. helve, helfe, AS. hielf, helf, hylf, cf. OHG. halb; and also E. halter, helm of a rudder.]
- ancientness n.
- The quality of being ancient; antiquity; existence from old times.
- glorious a.
- Exhibiting attributes, qualities, or acts that are worthy of or receive glory; noble; praiseworthy; excellent; splendid; illustrious; inspiring admiration; as, glorious deeds. [OF. glorios, glorious, F. glorieux, fr. L. gloriosus. See Glory, n.]
- whet v. t.
- To rub or on with some substance, as a piece of stone, for the purpose of sharpening; to sharpen by attrition; as, to whet a knife. [AS. hwettan; akin to D. wetten, G. wetzen, OHG. wezzen, Icel. hvetja, Sw. vättja, and AS. hwæt vigorous, brave, OS. hwat, OHG. waz, was, sharp, Icel. hvatr, bol]
- benefactress n.
- A woman who confers a benefit.
- graced a.
- Endowed with grace; beautiful; full of graces; honorable.
- ingratitude n.
- Want of gratitude; insensibility to, forgetfulness of, or ill return for, kindness or favors received; unthankfulness; ungratefulness. [F. ingratitude, L. ingratitudo. See Ingrate.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Book XII: The Woods and the Woodman 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 Woods and the Woodman, in The Fables of La Fontaine (1841), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #7241, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/la-fontaine-fables/12-16.html, id L28442.
Form and metre
Book XII: The Woods and the Woodman is 28 lines in 2 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 84%).
See 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 AABBCDDCCEEFFGGHHII brokeA · oakA · sparedB · repair'dB · pray'dC · himD · limbD · madeC · tradeC · standE · landE · charmsF · armsF · regretG · whetG · spoilH · soilH · groanI · loanI
- 2 AABCCBBDD actorsA · benefactorsA · painB · sweetC · heatC · complainB · vainB · willD · stillD
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 |
|---|---|---|
| A certain wood-chopper lost or broke | 9 | ·/˘·/˘··· |
| From his axe's eye a bit of oak. | 9 | ··/˘····· |
| The forest must needs be somewhat spared | 9 | ·/˘···//· |
| While such a loss was being repair'd. | 8 | ·····/˘/ |
| Came the man at last, and humbly pray'd | 9 | ······/˘· |
| That the woods would kindly lend to him-- | 9 | ····/˘··· |
| A moderate loan--a single limb, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Whereof might another helve be made, | 9 | ···˘/˘··· |
| And his axe should elsewhere drive its trade. | 9 | ····/···· |
| O, the oaks and firs that then might stand, | 9 | ········· |
| A pride and a joy throughout the land, | 9 | ········· |
| For their ancientness and glorious charms! | 9 | ··/˘˘·/˘· |
| The innocent Forest lent him arms; | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| But bitter indeed was her regret; | 9 | ·/˘˘/··˘/ |
| For the wretch, his axe new-helved and whet, | 9 | ········· |
| Did nought but his benefactress spoil | 9 | ········· |
| Of the finest trees that graced her soil; | 9 | ··/˘····· |
| And ceaselessly was she made to groan, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Doing penance for that fatal loan. | 8 | //˘··/˘· |
| Behold the world-stage and its actors, | 9 | ˘/·····/˘ |
| Where benefits hurt benefactors!-- | 9 | ·/˘˘·/˘·˘ |
| A weary theme, and full of pain; | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| For where's the shade so cool and sweet, | 8 | ········ |
| Protecting strangers from the heat, | 8 | ˘/˘/˘··· |
| But might of such a wrong complain? | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Alas! I vex myself in vain; | 8 | ˘/···/·· |
| Ingratitude, do what I will, | 8 | ˘/˘˘···· |
| Is sure to be the fashion still. | 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.