Book II: The Council Held by the Rats
Old Rodilard, a certain cat,Such havoc of the rats had made,'Twas difficult to find a ratWith nature's debt unpaid.The few that did remain,To leave their holes afraid,From usual food abstain,Not eating half their fill.And wonder no one willThat one who made of rats his revel,With rats pass'd not for cat, but devil.Now, on a day, this dread rat-eater,Who had a wife, went out to meet her;And while he held his caterwauling,The unkill'd rats, their chapter calling,Discuss'd the point, in grave debate,How they might shun impending fate.Their dean, a prudent rat,Thought best, and better soon than late,To bell the fatal cat;That, when he took his hunting round,The rats, well caution'd by the sound,Might hide in safety under ground;Indeed he knew no other means.And all the restAt once confess'dTheir minds were with the dean's.No better plan, they all believed,Could possibly have been conceived,No doubt the thing would work right well,If any one would hang the bell.But, one by one, said every rat,'I'm not so big a fool as that.'The plan, knock'd up in this respect,The council closed without effect.
And many a council I have seen,Or reverend chapter with its dean,That, thus resolving wisely,Fell through like this precisely.
To argue or refuteWise counsellors abound;The man to executeIs harder to be found.
Words in this poem
- havoc n.
- Wide and general destruction; devastation; waste. [W. hafog devastation, havoc; or, if this be itself fr. E. havoc, cf. OE. havot, or AS. hafoc hawk, which is a cruel or rapacious bird, or F. hai, voux! a cry to]
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- caterwauling n.
- The cry of cats; a harsh, disagreeable noise or cry like the cry of cats.
- reverend a.
- Worthy of reverence; entitled to respect mingled with fear and affection; venerable. [F. révérend, L. reverendus, fr. revereri. See Revere.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Book II: The Council Held by 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 II: The Council Held by the Rats, in The Fables of La Fontaine (1841), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #7241, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/la-fontaine-fables/2-2.html, id L28234.
Form and metre
Book II: The Council Held by the Rats is 43 lines in 3 stanzas. The metre is common measure, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 92%).
See other poems in common measure.
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 ABABCBCDDDD----EEFEFGGGHIIHJJKKLLMM catA · madeB · ratA · unpaidB · remainC · afraidB · abstainC · fillD · willD · revelD · devilD · eater · her · caterwauling · calling · debateE · fateE · ratF · lateE · catF · roundG · soundG · groundG · meansH · restI · confess'dI · dean'sH · believedJ · conceivedJ · wellK · bellK · ratL · thatL · respectM · effectM
- 2 AA-- seenA · deanA · wisely · precisely
- 3 ABAB refuteA · aboundB · executeA · foundB
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 common measure. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Old Rodilard, a certain cat, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Such havoc of the rats had made, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| 'Twas difficult to find a rat | 8 | ·/˘˘···· |
| With nature's debt unpaid. | 6 | ·/˘·˘/ |
| The few that did remain, | 6 | ····˘/ |
| To leave their holes afraid, | 6 | ····˘/ |
| From usual food abstain, | 7 | ·/˘˘·˘/ |
| Not eating half their fill. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| And wonder no one will | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| That one who made of rats his revel, | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| With rats pass'd not for cat, but devil. | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| Now, on a day, this dread rat-eater, | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| Who had a wife, went out to meet her; | 9 | ········· |
| And while he held his caterwauling, | 9 | ·····/˘˘˘ |
| The unkill'd rats, their chapter calling, | 9 | ·····/˘/˘ |
| Discuss'd the point, in grave debate, | 8 | ˘/····˘/ |
| How they might shun impending fate. | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| Their dean, a prudent rat, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Thought best, and better soon than late, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| To bell the fatal cat; | 6 | ···/˘· |
| That, when he took his hunting round, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| The rats, well caution'd by the sound, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Might hide in safety under ground; | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Indeed he knew no other means. | 8 | ˘/···/˘· |
| And all the rest | 4 | ···· |
| At once confess'd | 4 | ··˘/ |
| Their minds were with the dean's. | 6 | ······ |
| No better plan, they all believed, | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| Could possibly have been conceived, | 8 | ·/˘˘··˘/ |
| No doubt the thing would work right well, | 8 | ········ |
| If any one would hang the bell. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| But, one by one, said every rat, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| 'I'm not so big a fool as that.' | 8 | ········ |
| The plan, knock'd up in this respect, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| The council closed without effect. | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| And many a council I have seen, | 8 | ·/·/˘··· |
| Or reverend chapter with its dean, | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| That, thus resolving wisely, | 7 | ··˘/˘/˘ |
| Fell through like this precisely. | 7 | ····˘/˘ |
| To argue or refute | 6 | ·/˘·˘/ |
| Wise counsellors abound; | 6 | ·/˘˘˘/ |
| The man to execute | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Is harder to be found. | 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.