Book VI: The Ass and His Masters
A gardener's ass complain'd to DestinyOf being made to rise before the dawn.'The cocks their matins have not sung,' said he,'Ere I am up and gone.And all for what? To market herbs, it seems.Fine cause, indeed, to interrupt my dreams!'Fate, moved by such a prayer,Sent him a currier's load to bear,Whose hides so heavy and ill-scented were,They almost choked the foolish beast.'I wish me with my former lord,' he said;'For then, whene'er he turn'd his head,If on the watch, I caughtA cabbage-leaf, which cost me nought.But, in this horrid place, I findNo chance or windfall of the kind:--Or if, indeed, I do,The cruel blows I rue.'Anon it came to passHe was a collier's ass.Still more complaint. 'What now?' said Fate,Quite out of patience.'If on this jackass I must wait,What will become of kings and nations?Has none but he aught here to tease him?Have I no business but to please him?'And Fate had cause;--for all are so.Unsatisfied while here belowOur present lot is aye the worst.Our foolish prayers the skies infest.Were Jove to grant all we request,The din renew'd, his head would burst.
Words in this poem
- horrid a.
- Rough; rugged; bristling. [L. horridus. See Horror, and cf. Ordure.]
- windfall n.
- Anything blown down or off by the wind, as fruit from a tree, or the tree itself, or a portion of a forest prostrated by a violent wind, etc.
- anon adv.
- Straightway; at once. [OE. anoon, anon, anan, lit., in one (moment), fr. AS. on in + an one. See On and One.]
- jackass n.
- The male ass; a donkey. [2d jack + ass.]
- aught n.
- Property; possession. [AS. , fr. agan to own, p. p. ahte.]
- jove n.
- The chief divinity of the ancient Romans; Jupiter. [L. Jupiter, gen. Jovis, OL. Jovis, nom. & gen. for Djovis; akin to E. Tuesday. See Tuesday, and cf. Jupiter.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Book VI: The Ass and His Masters 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 VI: The Ass and His Masters, in The Fables of La Fontaine (1841), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #7241, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/la-fontaine-fables/6-11.html, id L28324.
Form and metre
Book VI: The Ass and His Masters is 32 lines in a single stanza. This poem did not settle on a metre of its own; the book it comes from is in iambic tetrameter.
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 -A-ABBCC--DD--EEFFGGH-H---IIJKKJ destiny · dawnA · he · goneA · seemsB · dreamsB · prayerC · bearC · were · beast · saidD · headD · caught · nought · findE · kindE · doF · rueF · passG · assG · fateH · patience · waitH · nations · him · him · soI · belowI · worstJ · infestK · requestK · burstJ
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 gardener's ass complain'd to Destiny | 9 | ·/˘·˘/·/˘ |
| Of being made to rise before the dawn. | 9 | ·/······· |
| 'The cocks their matins have not sung,' said he, | 10 | ·········· |
| 'Ere I am up and gone. | 6 | ······ |
| And all for what? To market herbs, it seems. | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Fine cause, indeed, to interrupt my dreams!' | 10 | ··˘/··˘/·· |
| Fate, moved by such a prayer, | 7 | ··˘···· |
| Sent him a currier's load to bear, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Whose hides so heavy and ill-scented were, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| They almost choked the foolish beast. | 8 | ·/···/˘· |
| 'I wish me with my former lord,' he said; | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| 'For then, whene'er he turn'd his head, | 9 | ········· |
| If on the watch, I caught | 6 | ······ |
| A cabbage-leaf, which cost me nought. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| But, in this horrid place, I find | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| No chance or windfall of the kind:-- | 8 | ···/···· |
| Or if, indeed, I do, | 6 | ··˘/·· |
| The cruel blows I rue.' | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Anon it came to pass | 6 | ˘/···· |
| He was a collier's ass. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Still more complaint. 'What now?' said Fate, | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| Quite out of patience. | 5 | ···/˘ |
| 'If on this jackass I must wait, | 8 | ···/···· |
| What will become of kings and nations? | 9 | ··˘/···/˘ |
| Has none but he aught here to tease him? | 9 | ········· |
| Have I no business but to please him?' | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| And Fate had cause;--for all are so. | 8 | ········ |
| Unsatisfied while here below | 8 | ˘/˘····· |
| Our present lot is aye the worst. | 8 | /˘/····· |
| Our foolish prayers the skies infest. | 8 | //˘···˘/ |
| Were Jove to grant all we request, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| The din renew'd, his head would burst. | 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.