Book III: The Gout and the Spider
When Nature angrily turn'd outThose plagues, the spider and the gout,--'See you,' said she, 'those huts so meanly built,These palaces so grand and richly gilt?By mutual agreement fixYour choice of dwellings; or if not,To end th' affair by lot,Draw out these little sticks.''The huts are not for me,' the spider cried;'And not for me the palace,' cried the gout;For there a sort of men she spiedCall'd doctors, going in and out,From whom, she could not hope for ease.So hied her to the huts the fell disease,And, fastening on a poor man's toe,Hoped there to fatten on his woe,And torture him, fit after fit,Without a summons e'er to quit,From old Hippocrates.The spider, on the lofty ceiling,As if she had a life-lease feeling.Wove wide her cunning toils,Soon rich with insect spoils.A maid destroy'd them as she swept the room:Repair'd, again they felt the fatal broom.The wretched creature, every day,From house and home must pack away.At last, her courage giving out,She went to seek her sister gout,And in the field descried her,Quite starved: more evils did betide herThan e'er befel the poorest spider--Her toiling host enslaved her so,And made her chop, and dig, and hoe!(Says one, "Kept brisk and busy,The gout is made half easy.")'O, when,' exclaim'd the sad disease,'Will this my misery stop?O, sister spider, if you please,Our places let us swop.'The spider gladly heard,And took her at her word,--And flourish'd in the cabin-lodge,Not forced the tidy broom to dodgeThe gout, selecting her abodeWith an ecclesiastic judge,Turn'd judge herself, and, by her code,He from his couch no more could budge.The salves and cataplasms Heaven knows,That mock'd the misery of his toes;While aye, without a blush, the curse,Kept driving onward worse and worse.Needless to say, the sisterhoodThought their exchange both wise and good.
Words in this poem
- wove
- p. pr. & rare vb. n. of Weave.
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- betide v. t.
- To happen to; to befall; to come to ; as, woe betide the wanderer. [OE. bitiden; pref. bi-, be- + tiden, fr. AS. tidan, to happen, fr. tid time. See Tide.]
- gladly adv.
- Preferably; by choice. [From Glad, a.]
- dodge v. i.
- To start suddenly aside, as to avoid a blow or a missile; to shift place by a sudden start. [Of uncertain origin: cf. dodder, v., daddle, dade, or dog, v. t.]
- abode n.
- Act of waiting; delay. [OE. abad, abood, fr. abiden to abide. See Abide. For the change of vowel, cf. abode, imp. of abide.]
- budge a.
- Brisk; stirring; jocund. South. [See Budge, v.]
- needless a.
- Having no need.
- 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 III: The Gout and the Spider 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 Gout and the Spider, in The Fables of La Fontaine (1841), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #7241, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/la-fontaine-fables/3-8.html, id L28260.
Form and metre
Book III: The Gout and the Spider is 54 lines in a single stanza. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 91%).
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 AABBCDDCEFEFGGHHII-JJKKLLMMNN---OO--P-P-QQRRSTSTUUVVWW outA · goutA · builtB · giltB · fixC · notD · lotD · sticksC · criedE · goutF · spiedE · outF · easeG · diseaseG · toeH · woeH · fitI · quitI · hippocrates · ceilingJ · feelingJ · toilsK · spoilsK · roomL · broomL · dayM · awayM · outN · goutN · her · her · spider · soO · hoeO · busy · easy · diseaseP · stop · pleaseP · swop · heardQ · wordQ · lodgeR · dodgeR · abodeS · judgeT · codeS · budgeT · knowsU · toesU · curseV · worseV · sisterhoodW · goodW
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 |
|---|---|---|
| When Nature angrily turn'd out | 8 | ·/˘/˘˘·· |
| Those plagues, the spider and the gout,-- | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| 'See you,' said she, 'those huts so meanly built, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| These palaces so grand and richly gilt? | 9 | ·/˘···/˘· |
| By mutual agreement fix | 8 | ·/˘˘˘/˘· |
| Your choice of dwellings; or if not, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| To end th' affair by lot, | 6 | ··˘/·· |
| Draw out these little sticks.' | 6 | ···/˘· |
| 'The huts are not for me,' the spider cried; | 9 | ·······/· |
| 'And not for me the palace,' cried the gout; | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| For there a sort of men she spied | 8 | ········ |
| Call'd doctors, going in and out, | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| From whom, she could not hope for ease. | 8 | ········ |
| So hied her to the huts the fell disease, | 10 | ········˘/ |
| And, fastening on a poor man's toe, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Hoped there to fatten on his woe, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| And torture him, fit after fit, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Without a summons e'er to quit, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| From old Hippocrates. | 5 | ··/˘· |
| The spider, on the lofty ceiling, | 9 | ·/˘··/˘/˘ |
| As if she had a life-lease feeling. | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| Wove wide her cunning toils, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Soon rich with insect spoils. | 6 | ···/·· |
| A maid destroy'd them as she swept the room: | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| Repair'd, again they felt the fatal broom. | 10 | ˘/˘/···/˘· |
| The wretched creature, every day, | 8 | ·/˘/˘/˘· |
| From house and home must pack away. | 8 | ······˘/ |
| At last, her courage giving out, | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| She went to seek her sister gout, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And in the field descried her, | 6 | ······ |
| Quite starved: more evils did betide her | 9 | ···/˘·˘/· |
| Than e'er befel the poorest spider-- | 9 | ·····/˘/˘ |
| Her toiling host enslaved her so, | 8 | ·/˘·˘/·· |
| And made her chop, and dig, and hoe! | 8 | ········ |
| (Says one, "Kept brisk and busy, | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| The gout is made half easy.") | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| 'O, when,' exclaim'd the sad disease, | 8 | ··˘/··˘/ |
| 'Will this my misery stop? | 7 | ···/˘˘· |
| O, sister spider, if you please, | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| Our places let us swop.' | 7 | /˘/˘··· |
| The spider gladly heard, | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| And took her at her word,-- | 6 | ······ |
| And flourish'd in the cabin-lodge, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Not forced the tidy broom to dodge | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| The gout, selecting her abode | 8 | ··˘/˘·˘/ |
| With an ecclesiastic judge, | 8 | ··˘·˘/˘· |
| Turn'd judge herself, and, by her code, | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| He from his couch no more could budge. | 8 | ········ |
| The salves and cataplasms Heaven knows, | 8 | ······/· |
| That mock'd the misery of his toes; | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| While aye, without a blush, the curse, | 8 | ········ |
| Kept driving onward worse and worse. | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| Needless to say, the sisterhood | 8 | /˘···/˘˘ |
| Thought their exchange both wise and good. | 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.