Book XII: The Old Cat and the Young Mouse
To please a youthful prince, whom FameA temple in my writings vows,What fable answers to the name,"The Cat and Mouse?"Shall I in verse the fair present,With softest look but hard intent,Who serves the hearts her charms enticeAs does the cat its captive mice?Or make my subject Fortune's sport?She treats the friends that make her court,And follow closest her advice,As treats the cat the silly mice.
Shall I for theme a king selectWho sole, of all her favourites,Commands the goddess's respect?For whom she from her wheel alights.Who, never stay'd by foes a trice,Whene'er they block his way,Can with the strongest playAs doth the cat with mice!Insensibly, while casting thus about,Quite anxious for my subject's sake,A theme I meet, and, if I don't mistake,Shall spoil it, too, by spinning out.The prince will treat my muse, for that,As mice are treated by the cat.
A young and inexperienced mouseHad faith to try a veteran cat,--Raminagrobis, death to rat,And scourge of vermin through the house,--Appealing to his clemencyWith reasons sound and fair.'Pray let me live; a mouse like meIt were not much to spare.Am I, in such a family,A burden? Would my largest wishOur wealthy host impoverish?A grain of wheat will make my meal;A nut will fat me like a seal.I'm lean at present; please to wait,And for your heirs reserve my fate.'The captive mouse thus spake.Replied the captor, 'You mistake;To me shall such a thing be said?Address the deaf! address the dead!A cat to pardon!--old one too!Why, such a thing I never knew.Thou victim of my paw,By well-establish'd law,Die as a mousling should,And beg the sisterhoodWho ply the thread and shears,To lend thy speech their ears.Some other like repastMy heirs may find, or fast.'He ceased. The moral's plain.Youth always hopes its ends to gain,Believes all spirits like its own:Old age is not to mercy prone.
Words in this poem
- shall v. i.
- To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
- 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,]
- insensibly adv.
- In a manner not to be felt or perceived; imperceptibly; gradually.
- scourge n.
- A lash; a strap or cord; especially, a lash used to inflict pain or punishment; an instrument of punishment or discipline; a whip. [F. escourgée, fr. L. excoriata (sc. scutica) a stripped off (lash or whip), fr. excoriate to strip, to skin. See Excoriate.]
- vermin n.
- An animal, in general. [OE. vermine, F. vermine, from L. vermis a worm; cf. LL. vermen a worm, L. verminosus full of worms. See Vermicular, Worm.]
- appealing a.
- That appeals; imploring.
- captor n.
- One who captures any person or thing, as a prisoner or a prize. [L., a cather (of animals), fr. caper to take.]
- sisterhood n.
- The state or relation of being a sister; the office or duty of a sister. [Sister + hood.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Book XII: The Old Cat and the Young Mouse 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 Old Cat and the Young Mouse, in The Fables of La Fontaine (1841), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #7241, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/la-fontaine-fables/12-5.html, id L28431.
Form and metre
Book XII: The Old Cat and the Young Mouse is 59 lines in 3 verse paragraphs. It is in rhyming couplets, 64% of the lines: octosyllabic couplets. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 90%).
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 A-A-BBCCDDCC fameA · vows · nameA · mouse · presentB · intentB · enticeC · miceC · sportD · courtD · adviceC · miceC
- 2 A-A-BCCBDEEDFF selectA · favourites · respectA · alights · triceB · wayC · playC · miceB · aboutD · sakeE · mistakeE · outD · thatF · catF
- 3 ABBA-C-C-DDEEFFGGHHIIJJKKLLMMNNOO mouseA · catB · ratB · houseA · clemency · fairC · me · spareC · family · wishD · impoverishD · mealE · sealE · waitF · fateF · spakeG · mistakeG · saidH · deadH · tooI · knewI · pawJ · lawJ · shouldK · sisterhoodK · shearsL · earsL · repastM · fastM · plainN · gainN · ownO · proneO
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 |
|---|---|---|
| To please a youthful prince, whom Fame | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| A temple in my writings vows, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| What fable answers to the name, | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| "The Cat and Mouse?" | 4 | ···· |
| Shall I in verse the fair present, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| With softest look but hard intent, | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| Who serves the hearts her charms entice | 8 | ······˘/ |
| As does the cat its captive mice? | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Or make my subject Fortune's sport? | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| She treats the friends that make her court, | 8 | ········ |
| And follow closest her advice, | 8 | ·/˘/˘·˘/ |
| As treats the cat the silly mice. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Shall I for theme a king select | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Who sole, of all her favourites, | 8 | ········ |
| Commands the goddess's respect? | 8 | ˘/·/˘˘˘/ |
| For whom she from her wheel alights. | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Who, never stay'd by foes a trice, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Whene'er they block his way, | 7 | ······· |
| Can with the strongest play | 6 | ···/˘· |
| As doth the cat with mice! | 6 | ······ |
| Insensibly, while casting thus about, | 10 | ˘/˘˘·/˘··· |
| Quite anxious for my subject's sake, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| A theme I meet, and, if I don't mistake, | 10 | ········˘/ |
| Shall spoil it, too, by spinning out. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| The prince will treat my muse, for that, | 8 | ········ |
| As mice are treated by the cat. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| A young and inexperienced mouse | 8 | ···˘˘/˘· |
| Had faith to try a veteran cat,-- | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Raminagrobis, death to rat, | 8 | ········ |
| And scourge of vermin through the house,-- | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Appealing to his clemency | 8 | ˘/˘··/˘˘ |
| With reasons sound and fair. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| 'Pray let me live; a mouse like me | 8 | ········ |
| It were not much to spare. | 6 | ······ |
| Am I, in such a family, | 8 | ·····/˘˘ |
| A burden? Would my largest wish | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Our wealthy host impoverish? | 8 | /˘/˘·˘/˘ |
| A grain of wheat will make my meal; | 8 | ········ |
| A nut will fat me like a seal. | 8 | ········ |
| I'm lean at present; please to wait, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| And for your heirs reserve my fate.' | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| The captive mouse thus spake. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Replied the captor, 'You mistake; | 8 | ˘/·/˘·˘/ |
| To me shall such a thing be said? | 8 | ········ |
| Address the deaf! address the dead! | 8 | /···/··· |
| A cat to pardon!--old one too! | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Why, such a thing I never knew. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Thou victim of my paw, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| By well-establish'd law, | 6 | ··˘/˘· |
| Die as a mousling should, | 6 | ······ |
| And beg the sisterhood | 6 | ···/˘˘ |
| Who ply the thread and shears, | 6 | ······ |
| To lend thy speech their ears. | 6 | ······ |
| Some other like repast | 6 | ·/˘·˘/ |
| My heirs may find, or fast.' | 6 | ······ |
| He ceased. The moral's plain. | 7 | ··˘·/˘· |
| Youth always hopes its ends to gain, | 8 | ·/······ |
| Believes all spirits like its own: | 8 | ˘/·/˘··· |
| Old age is not to mercy prone. | 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.