Book III: The Fox and the Goat
A fox once journey'd, and for companyA certain bearded, horned goat had he;Which goat no further than his nose could see.The fox was deeply versed in trickery.These travellers did thirst compelTo seek the bottom of a well.There, having drunk enough for two,Says fox, 'My friend, what shall we do?'Tis time that we were thinkingOf something else than drinking.Raise you your feet upon the wall,And stick your horns up straight and tall;Then up your back I'll climb with ease,And draw you after, if you please.''Yes, by my beard,' the other said,''Tis just the thing. I like a headWell stock'd with sense, like thine.Had it been left to mine,I do confess,I never should have thought of this.'So Renard clamber'd out,And, leaving there the goat,Discharged his obligationsBy preaching thus on patience:--'Had Heaven put sense thy head within,To match the beard upon thy chin,Thou wouldst have thought a bit,Before descending such a pit.I'm out of it; good bye:With prudent effort tryYourself to extricate.For me, affairs of statePermit me not to wait.'
Whatever way you wend,Consider well the end.
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,]
- 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 ]
- wend n.
- A large extent of ground; a perambulation; a circuit.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Book III: The Fox and the Goat 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 III: The Fox and the Goat, in The Fables of La Fontaine (1841), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #7241, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/la-fontaine-fables/3-5.html, id L28257.
Form and metre
Book III: The Fox and the Goat is 35 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 92%).
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 -AA-BBCCDDEEFFGGHH------IIJJKKLLL company · heA · seeA · trickery · compelB · wellB · twoC · doC · thinkingD · drinkingD · wallE · tallE · easeF · pleaseF · saidG · headG · thineH · mineH · confess · this · out · goat · obligations · patience · withinI · chinI · bitJ · pitJ · byeK · tryK · extricateL · stateL · waitL
- 2 AA wendA · endA
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 fox once journey'd, and for company | 9 | ···/˘··/˘ |
| A certain bearded, horned goat had he; | 9 | ·/˘/˘···· |
| Which goat no further than his nose could see. | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| The fox was deeply versed in trickery. | 9 | ···/˘··/˘ |
| These travellers did thirst compel | 8 | ·/˘˘··˘/ |
| To seek the bottom of a well. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| There, having drunk enough for two, | 8 | ·/˘·˘/·· |
| Says fox, 'My friend, what shall we do? | 8 | ········ |
| 'Tis time that we were thinking | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Of something else than drinking. | 7 | ·/˘··/˘ |
| Raise you your feet upon the wall, | 8 | ········ |
| And stick your horns up straight and tall; | 8 | ········ |
| Then up your back I'll climb with ease, | 8 | ········ |
| And draw you after, if you please.' | 8 | ········ |
| 'Yes, by my beard,' the other said, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| ''Tis just the thing. I like a head | 8 | ········ |
| Well stock'd with sense, like thine. | 6 | ······ |
| Had it been left to mine, | 6 | ······ |
| I do confess, | 4 | ··˘/ |
| I never should have thought of this.' | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| So Renard clamber'd out, | 6 | ·˘//˘· |
| And, leaving there the goat, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Discharged his obligations | 7 | ˘/··˘/˘ |
| By preaching thus on patience:-- | 7 | ·/˘··/˘ |
| 'Had Heaven put sense thy head within, | 8 | ·/······ |
| To match the beard upon thy chin, | 8 | ········ |
| Thou wouldst have thought a bit, | 6 | ······ |
| Before descending such a pit. | 8 | ··˘/˘··· |
| I'm out of it; good bye: | 6 | ······ |
| With prudent effort try | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| Yourself to extricate. | 6 | ˘/·/˘· |
| For me, affairs of state | 6 | ··˘/·· |
| Permit me not to wait.' | 6 | ˘/···· |
| Whatever way you wend, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Consider well the end. | 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.