Book XII: The Fox and the Turkeys
Against a robber fox, a treeSome turkeys served as citadel.That villain, much provoked to seeEach standing there as sentinel,Cried out, 'Such witless birdsAt me stretch out their necks, and gobble!No, by the powers! I'll give them trouble.'He verified his words.The moon, that shined full on the oak,Seem'd then to help the turkey folk.But fox, in arts of siege well versed,Ransack'd his bag of tricks accursed.He feign'd himself about to climb;Walk'd on his hinder legs sublime;Then death most aptly counterfeited,And seem'd anon resuscitated.A practiser of wizard artsCould not have fill'd so many parts.In moonlight he contrived to raiseHis tail, and make it seem a blaze:And countless other tricks like that.Meanwhile, no turkey slept or sat.Their constant vigilance at length,As hoped the fox, wore out their strength.Bewilder'd by the rigs he run,They lost their balance one by one.As Renard slew, he laid aside,Till nearly half of them had died;Then proudly to his larder bore,And laid them up, an ample store.
A foe, by being over-heeded,Has often in his plan succeeded.
Words in this poem
- witless a.
- Destitute of wit or understanding; wanting thought; hence, indiscreet; not under the guidance of judgment.
- gobble v. t.
- To swallow or eat greedily or hastily; to gulp. [Freq. of 2d gob.]
- folk n.
- In Anglo-Saxon times, the people of a group of townships or villages; a community; a tribe. [AS. folc; akin to D. volk, OS. & OHG. folk, G. volk, Icel. f, Sw. & Dan. folk, Lith. pulkas crowd, and perh. to E. follow.]
- aptly adv.
- In an apt or suitable manner; fitly; properly; pertinently; appropriately; readily.
- anon adv.
- Straightway; at once. [OE. anoon, anon, anan, lit., in one (moment), fr. AS. on in + an one. See On and One.]
- countless a.
- Incapable of being counted; not ascertainable; innumerable.
- meanwhile n.
- The intervening time; as, in the meantime (or mean time).
- 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 ]
- larder n.
- A room or place where meat and other articles of food are kept before they are cooked. [OF. lardier. See Lard, n.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Book XII: The Fox and the Turkeys 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 Fox and the Turkeys, in The Fables of La Fontaine (1841), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #7241, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/la-fontaine-fables/12-18.html, id L28444.
Form and metre
Book XII: The Fox and the Turkeys is 32 lines in 2 verse paragraphs. It is in rhyming couplets, 69% 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 ABABCB-CDDEEFF--GGHHIIJJKKLLMM treeA · citadelB · seeA · sentinelB · birdsC · gobbleB · trouble · wordsC · oakD · folkD · versedE · accursedE · climbF · sublimeF · counterfeited · resuscitated · artsG · partsG · raiseH · blazeH · thatI · satI · lengthJ · strengthJ · runK · oneK · asideL · diedL · boreM · storeM
- 2 AA heededA · succeededA
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Against a robber fox, a tree | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Some turkeys served as citadel. | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| That villain, much provoked to see | 8 | ·/˘·˘/·· |
| Each standing there as sentinel, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘˘ |
| Cried out, 'Such witless birds | 6 | ···/˘· |
| At me stretch out their necks, and gobble! | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| No, by the powers! I'll give them trouble.' | 9 | ···/···/˘ |
| He verified his words. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| The moon, that shined full on the oak, | 8 | ········ |
| Seem'd then to help the turkey folk. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| But fox, in arts of siege well versed, | 8 | ········ |
| Ransack'd his bag of tricks accursed. | 8 | /······· |
| He feign'd himself about to climb; | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| Walk'd on his hinder legs sublime; | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| Then death most aptly counterfeited, | 9 | ···/˘/˘·˘ |
| And seem'd anon resuscitated. | 9 | ··˘/˘/˘·˘ |
| A practiser of wizard arts | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Could not have fill'd so many parts. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| In moonlight he contrived to raise | 8 | ·/··˘/·· |
| His tail, and make it seem a blaze: | 8 | ········ |
| And countless other tricks like that. | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| Meanwhile, no turkey slept or sat. | 8 | /··/˘··· |
| Their constant vigilance at length, | 8 | ·/˘/˘˘·· |
| As hoped the fox, wore out their strength. | 8 | ········ |
| Bewilder'd by the rigs he run, | 8 | ˘/˘····· |
| They lost their balance one by one. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| As Renard slew, he laid aside, | 8 | ·˘/···˘/ |
| Till nearly half of them had died; | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Then proudly to his larder bore, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| And laid them up, an ample store. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| A foe, by being over-heeded, | 9 | ···/˘··/˘ |
| Has often in his plan succeeded. | 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.