Book XII: The League of the Rats
A mouse was once in mortal fearOf a cat that watch'd her portal near.What could be done in such a case?With prudent care she left the catship,And courted, with a humble grace,A neighbour of a higher race,Whose lordship--I should say his ratship--Lay in a great hotel;And who had boasted oft, 'tis said,Of living wholly without dread.'Well,' said this braggart, 'well,Dame Mouse, what should I do?Alone I cannot routThe foe that threatens you.I'll rally all the rats about,And then I'll play him such a trick!'The mouse her court'sy dropp'd,And off the hero scamper'd quick,Nor till he reach'd the buttery stopp'd,Where scores of rats were clustered,In riotous extravagance,All feasting at the host's expense.To him, arriving there much flustered,Indeed, quite out of breath,A rat among the feasters saith,'What news? what news? I pray you, speak.'The rat, recovering breath to squeak,Replied, 'To tell the matter in a trice,It is, that we must promptly aid the mice;For old Raminagrab is makingAmong their ranks a dreadful quaking.This cat, of cats the very devil,When mice are gone, will do us evil.''True, true,' said each and all;'To arms! to arms!' they cry and call.Some ratties by their fearsWere melted e'en to tears.It matter'd not a whisk,Nor check'd the valour brisk.Each took upon his backSome cheese in haversack,And roundly swore to riskHis carcass in the cause.They march'd as to a feast,Not flinching in the least.--But quite too late, for in his jawsThe cat already held the mouse.They rapidly approach'd the house--To save their friend, beyond a doubt.Just then the cat came growling out,The mouse beneath his whisker'd nose.And march'd along before his foes.At such a voice, our rats discreet,Foreboding a defeat,Effected, in a style most fleet,A fortunate retreat.Back hurried to his hole each rat,And afterwards took care to shun the cat.
Words in this poem
- neighbour v. i.
- To dwell in the vicinity; to be a neighbor, or in the neighborhood; to be near.
- 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]
- rally v. t.
- To collect, and reduce to order, as troops dispersed or thrown into confusion; to gather again; to reunite. [OF. ralier, F. rallier, fr. L. pref. re- + ad + ligare to bind. See Ra-, and 1st Ally.]
- saith
- 3d pers. sing. pres. of Say.
- squeak v. i.
- To utter a sharp, shrill cry, usually of short duration; to cry with an acute tone, as an animal; or, to make a sharp, disagreeable noise, as a pipe or quill, a wagon wheel, a door; to creak. [Probably of imitative origin; cf. Sw. sqväka to croak, Icel. skvakka to give a sound as of water shaken in a bottle.]
- trice v. t.
- To pull; to haul; to drag; to pull away. [OE. trisen; of Scand. or Low German origin; cf. Sw. trissa a sheave, pulley, triss a spritsail brace, Dan. tridse a pulley, tridse to haul by means of a pulley,]
- promptly adv.
- In a prompt manner.
- dreadful a.
- Full of dread or terror; fearful.
- haversack n.
- A bag for oats or oatmeal. [F. havresac, G. habersack, sack for oats. See 2d Haver, and Sack a bag.]
- roundly adv.
- In a round form or manner.
- carcass n.
- A dead body, whether of man or beast; a corpse; now commonly the dead body of a beast. [F. carcasse, fr. It. carcassa, fr. L. caro flesh + capsa chest, box, case. Cf. Carnal, Case a sheath.]
- discreet a.
- Possessed of discernment, especially in avoiding error or evil, and in the adaptation of means to ends; prudent; sagacious; judicious; not rash or heedless; cautious. [F. discret, L. discretus separated (whence the meaning reserved, prudent), p. p. of discernere. See Discern, and cf. Discrete.]
- defeat v. t.
- To undo; to disfigure; to destroy. [From F. défait, OF. desfait, p. p. ofe défaire, OF. desfaire, to undo; L. dis- + facere to do. See Feat, Fact, and cf. Disfashion.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Book XII: The League of the Rats 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 League of the Rats, in The Fables of La Fontaine (1841), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #7241, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/la-fontaine-fables/12-25.html, id L28451.
Form and metre
Book XII: The League of the Rats is 58 lines in a single stanza. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 92%).
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 AABCBBCDEEDFGFGHIHIJKKJLLMMNNOOPPPP--QQRRQ-SS-TTUUVVWWWWXX fearA · nearA · caseB · catshipC · graceB · raceB · ratshipC · hotelD · saidE · dreadE · wellD · doF · routG · youF · aboutG · trickH · dropp'dI · quickH · stopp'dI · clusteredJ · extravaganceK · expenseK · flusteredJ · breathL · saithL · speakM · squeakM · triceN · miceN · makingO · quakingO · devilP · evilP · allP · callP · fears · tears · whiskQ · briskQ · backR · haversackR · riskQ · cause · feastS · leastS · jaws · mouseT · houseT · doubtU · outU · noseV · foesV · discreetW · defeatW · fleetW · retreatW · ratX · catX
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 |
|---|---|---|
| A mouse was once in mortal fear | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Of a cat that watch'd her portal near. | 9 | ······/˘· |
| What could be done in such a case? | 8 | ········ |
| With prudent care she left the catship, | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| And courted, with a humble grace, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| A neighbour of a higher race, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Whose lordship--I should say his ratship-- | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| Lay in a great hotel; | 6 | ····˘/ |
| And who had boasted oft, 'tis said, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Of living wholly without dread. | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| 'Well,' said this braggart, 'well, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Dame Mouse, what should I do? | 6 | ······ |
| Alone I cannot rout | 6 | ˘/·/˘· |
| The foe that threatens you. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| I'll rally all the rats about, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| And then I'll play him such a trick!' | 8 | ········ |
| The mouse her court'sy dropp'd, | 6 | ······ |
| And off the hero scamper'd quick, | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| Nor till he reach'd the buttery stopp'd, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Where scores of rats were clustered, | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| In riotous extravagance, | 8 | ·/˘˘˘/˘˘ |
| All feasting at the host's expense. | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| To him, arriving there much flustered, | 9 | ··˘/˘··/˘ |
| Indeed, quite out of breath, | 6 | ˘/···· |
| A rat among the feasters saith, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| 'What news? what news? I pray you, speak.' | 8 | ········ |
| The rat, recovering breath to squeak, | 8 | ··˘/˘··· |
| Replied, 'To tell the matter in a trice, | 10 | ˘/···/˘··· |
| It is, that we must promptly aid the mice; | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| For old Raminagrab is making | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| Among their ranks a dreadful quaking. | 9 | ·····/˘/˘ |
| This cat, of cats the very devil, | 9 | ·····/˘/˘ |
| When mice are gone, will do us evil.' | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| 'True, true,' said each and all; | 6 | ······ |
| 'To arms! to arms!' they cry and call. | 8 | ········ |
| Some ratties by their fears | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Were melted e'en to tears. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| It matter'd not a whisk, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Nor check'd the valour brisk. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Each took upon his back | 6 | ······ |
| Some cheese in haversack, | 6 | ···/˘˘ |
| And roundly swore to risk | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| His carcass in the cause. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| They march'd as to a feast, | 6 | ······ |
| Not flinching in the least.-- | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| But quite too late, for in his jaws | 8 | ········ |
| The cat already held the mouse. | 8 | ··˘/˘··· |
| They rapidly approach'd the house-- | 8 | ·/˘˘˘/·· |
| To save their friend, beyond a doubt. | 8 | ········ |
| Just then the cat came growling out, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| The mouse beneath his whisker'd nose. | 8 | ········ |
| And march'd along before his foes. | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| At such a voice, our rats discreet, | 8 | ····/·˘/ |
| Foreboding a defeat, | 6 | ˘/˘·˘/ |
| Effected, in a style most fleet, | 8 | ˘/˘····· |
| A fortunate retreat. | 6 | ·/˘˘˘/ |
| Back hurried to his hole each rat, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| And afterwards took care to shun the cat. | 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.