Book V: The Horse and the Wolf
A wolf, what time the thawing breezeRenews the life of plants and trees,And beasts go forth from winter lairTo seek abroad their various fare,--A wolf, I say, about those days,In sharp look-out for means and ways,Espied a horse turn'd out to graze.His joy the reader may opine.'Once got,' said he, 'this game were fine;But if a sheep, 'twere sooner mine.I can't proceed my usual way;Some trick must now be put in play.'This said,He came with measured tread,As if a healer of disease,--Some pupil of Hippocrates,--And told the horse, with learned verbs,He knew the power of roots and herbs,--Whatever grew about those borders,--And not at all to flatterHimself in such a matter,Could cure of all disorders.If he, Sir Horse, would not concealThe symptoms of his case,He, Doctor Wolf, would gratis heal;For that to feed in such a place,And run about untied,Was proof itself of some disease,As all the books decide.'I have, good doctor, if you please,'Replied the horse, 'as I presume,Beneath my foot, an aposthume.''My son,' replied the learned leech,'That part, as all our authors teach,Is strikingly susceptibleOf ills which make acceptableWhat you may also have from me--The aid of skilful surgery;Which noble art, the fact is,For horses of the blood I practise.'The fellow, with this talk sublime,Watch'd for a snap the fitting time.Meanwhile, suspicious of some trick,The wary patient nearer draws,And gives his doctor such a kick,As makes a chowder of his jaws.Exclaim'd the wolf, in sorry plight,'I own those heels have served me right.I err'd to quit my trade,As I will not in future;Me nature surely madeFor nothing but a butcher.'
Words in this poem
- lair n.
- A place in which to lie or rest; especially, the bed or couch of a wild beast. [OE. leir, AS. leger; akin to D. leger, G. lager couch, lair, OHG. laga, Goth. ligrs, and to E. lie. See Lie to be prostrate, and cf. Layer, Leaguer.]
- opine v. t.
- To have an opinion; to judge; to think; to suppose. South. [L. opinari, p.p. opinatus; akin to opinus (in comp.) thinking, and perh. to E. apt: cf. F. opiner.]
- healer n.
- One who, or that which, heals.
- gratis adv.
- For nothing; without fee or recompense; freely; gratuitously. [L., contr. fr. gratiis out of favor or kindness, without recompense, for nothing, fr. gratia favor. See Grace.]
- presume v. t.
- To assume or take beforehand; esp., to do or undertake without leave or authority previously obtained. [F. présumer, L. praesumere, praesumptum; prae before + sumere to take. See Assume, Redeem.]
- meanwhile n.
- The intervening time; as, in the meantime (or mean time).
- chowder n.
- A dish made of fresh fish or clams, biscuit, onions, etc., stewed together. [F. chaudière a kettle, a pot. Cf. Caldron.]
- plight v. t.
- To weave; to braid; to fold; to plait. [OE. pliten; probably through Old French, fr. LL. plectare, L. plectere. See Plait, Ply.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Book V: The Horse and the Wolf 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 V: The Horse and the Wolf, in The Fables of La Fontaine (1841), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #7241, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/la-fontaine-fables/5-8.html, id L28300.
Form and metre
Book V: The Horse and the Wolf is 52 lines in a single stanza. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 93%).
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 AABBCCCDDDEEFFG-HHGIIGJKJKLMLMNNOOPP----QQRSRSTTU-U- breezeA · treesA · lairB · fareB · daysC · waysC · grazeC · opineD · fineD · mineD · wayE · playE · saidF · treadF · diseaseG · hippocrates · verbsH · herbsH · bordersG · flatterI · matterI · disordersG · concealJ · caseK · healJ · placeK · untiedL · diseaseM · decideL · pleaseM · presumeN · aposthumeN · leechO · teachO · susceptibleP · acceptableP · me · surgery · is · practise · sublimeQ · timeQ · trickR · drawsS · kickR · jawsS · plightT · rightT · tradeU · future · madeU · butcher
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 wolf, what time the thawing breeze | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Renews the life of plants and trees, | 8 | ˘/······ |
| And beasts go forth from winter lair | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| To seek abroad their various fare,-- | 8 | ··˘/·/˘· |
| A wolf, I say, about those days, | 8 | ········ |
| In sharp look-out for means and ways, | 8 | ········ |
| Espied a horse turn'd out to graze. | 7 | ······· |
| His joy the reader may opine. | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| 'Once got,' said he, 'this game were fine; | 8 | ········ |
| But if a sheep, 'twere sooner mine. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| I can't proceed my usual way; | 8 | ··˘/·/˘· |
| Some trick must now be put in play.' | 8 | ········ |
| This said, | 2 | ·· |
| He came with measured tread, | 7 | ···/˘˘· |
| As if a healer of disease,-- | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| Some pupil of Hippocrates,-- | 7 | ·/˘·/˘· |
| And told the horse, with learned verbs, | 8 | ······˘· |
| He knew the power of roots and herbs,-- | 8 | ···/···· |
| Whatever grew about those borders,-- | 9 | ·/˘····/˘ |
| And not at all to flatter | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Himself in such a matter, | 7 | ˘/···/˘ |
| Could cure of all disorders. | 7 | ····˘/˘ |
| If he, Sir Horse, would not conceal | 8 | ······˘/ |
| The symptoms of his case, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| He, Doctor Wolf, would gratis heal; | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| For that to feed in such a place, | 8 | ········ |
| And run about untied, | 6 | ····˘/ |
| Was proof itself of some disease, | 8 | ··˘/··˘/ |
| As all the books decide. | 6 | ····˘/ |
| 'I have, good doctor, if you please,' | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Replied the horse, 'as I presume, | 8 | ˘/····˘/ |
| Beneath my foot, an aposthume.' | 8 | ········ |
| 'My son,' replied the learned leech, | 8 | ··˘/··˘· |
| 'That part, as all our authors teach, | 8 | ····//˘· |
| Is strikingly susceptible | 8 | ·/˘˘˘/˘˘ |
| Of ills which make acceptable | 8 | ····˘/˘˘ |
| What you may also have from me-- | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| The aid of skilful surgery; | 8 | ···/˘/˘˘ |
| Which noble art, the fact is, | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| For horses of the blood I practise.' | 9 | ·/˘····/˘ |
| The fellow, with this talk sublime, | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| Watch'd for a snap the fitting time. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Meanwhile, suspicious of some trick, | 8 | /·˘/˘··· |
| The wary patient nearer draws, | 8 | ·/˘/˘/˘· |
| And gives his doctor such a kick, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| As makes a chowder of his jaws. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Exclaim'd the wolf, in sorry plight, | 8 | ˘/···/˘· |
| 'I own those heels have served me right. | 8 | ········ |
| I err'd to quit my trade, | 6 | ······ |
| As I will not in future; | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Me nature surely made | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| For nothing but a butcher.' | 7 | ·/˘··/˘ |
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.