Book VII: The Cat, the Weasel, and the Young Rabbit
John Rabbit's palace under groundWas once by Goody Weasel found.She, sly of heart, resolved to seizeThe place, and did so at her ease.She took possession while its lordWas absent on the dewy sward,Intent upon his usual sport,A courtier at Aurora's court.When he had browsed his fill of cloverAnd cut his pranks all nicely over,Home Johnny came to take his drowse,All snug within his cellar-house.The weasel's nose he came to see,Outsticking through the open door.'Ye gods of hospitality!'Exclaim'd the creature, vexèd sore,'Must I give up my father's lodge?Ho! Madam Weasel, please to budge,Or, quicker than a weasel's dodge,I'll call the rats to pay their grudge!'The sharp-nosed lady made reply,That she was first to occupy.The cause of war was surely small--A house where one could only crawl!And though it were a vast domain,Said she, 'I'd like to know what willCould grant to John perpetual reign,--The son of Peter or of Bill,--More than to Paul, or even me.'John Rabbit spoke--great lawyer he--Of custom, usage, as the law,Whereby the house, from sire to son,As well as all its store of straw,From Peter came at length to John.Who could present a claim, so goodAs he, the first possessor, could?'Now,' said the dame, 'let's drop dispute,And go before Raminagrobis,Who'll judge, not only in this suit,But tell us truly whose the globe is.'This person was a hermit cat,A cat that play'd the hypocrite,A saintly mouser, sleek and fat,An arbiter of keenest wit.John Rabbit in the judge concurr'd,And off went both their case to broachBefore his majesty, the furr'd.Said Clapperclaw, 'My kits, approach,And put your noses to my ears:I'm deaf, almost, by weight of years.'And so they did, not fearing aught.The good apostle, Clapperclaw,Then laid on each a well-arm'd paw,And both to an agreement brought,By virtue of his tuskèd jaw.
This brings to mind the fateOf little kings before the great.
Words in this poem 16
- goody n.
- A bonbon, cake, or the like; -- usually in the pl.
- courtier n.
- One who is in attendance at the court of a prince; one who has an appointment at court. [From Court.]
- johnny n.
- A familiar diminutive of John.
- drowse v. i.
- To sleep imperfectly or unsoundly; to slumber; to be heavy with sleepiness; to doze. [AS. dr, dr, to sink, become slow or inactive; cf. OD. droosen to be sleepy, fall asleep, LG. dr, druusken, to slumber, fall down with a noise; prob, akin to AS.]
- budge a.
- Brisk; stirring; jocund. South. [See Budge, v.]
- 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.]
- crawl v. i.
- To move slowly by drawing the body along the ground, as a worm; to move slowly on hands and kness; to creep. [Dan. kravle, or Icel. krafla, to paw, scrabble with the hands; akin to Sw. kr to crawl; cf. LG. krabbeln, D. krabbelen to scratch.]
- spoke n.
- The radius or ray of a wheel; one of the small bars which are inserted in the hub, or nave, and which serve to support the rim or felly. [OE. spoke, spake, AS, spaca; akin to D. speek, LG. speke, OHG. speihha, G. speiche. sq. root170. Cf. Spike a nail.]
- sire n.
- A lord, master, or other person in authority. See Sir. [F. sire, originally, an older person. See Sir.]
- dame n.
- A mistress of a family, who is a lady; a womam in authority; especially, a lady. [F. dame, LL. domna, fr. L. domina mistress, lady, fem. of dominus master, ruler, lord; akin to domare to tame, subdue. See Tame, and cf. Dam mother, Dan, Danger]
- saintly a.
- Like a saint; becoming a holy person.
- mouser n.
- A cat that catches mice.
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- broach v. t.
- To spit; to pierce as with a spit. [F. brocher, fr. broche. See Broach, n.]
- clapperclaw v. t.
- To fight and scratch. C. Smart. [Clap + claw.]
- aught n.
- Property; possession. [AS. , fr. agan to own, p. p. ahte.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Book VII: The Cat, the Weasel, and the Young Rabbit 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 VII: The Cat, the Weasel, and the Young Rabbit, in The Fables of La Fontaine (1841), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #7241, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/la-fontaine-fables/7-16.html, id L28352.
Form and metre
Book VII: The Cat, the Weasel, and the Young Rabbit is 57 lines in 2 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 92%).
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 AABBCCDDEE---F-FGHGHIIJJKLKLMMN-N-OOP-P-QRQRSTSTUUVWWVW groundA · foundA · seizeB · easeB · lordC · swardC · sportD · courtD · cloverE · overE · drowse · house · see · doorF · hospitality · soreF · lodgeG · budgeH · dodgeG · grudgeH · replyI · occupyI · smallJ · crawlJ · domainK · willL · reignK · billL · meM · heM · lawN · son · strawN · john · goodO · couldO · disputeP · raminagrobis · suitP · is · catQ · hypocriteR · fatQ · witR · concurr'dS · broachT · furr'dS · approachT · earsU · yearsU · aughtV · clapperclawW · pawW · broughtV · jawW
- 2 AA fateA · greatA
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 |
|---|---|---|
| John Rabbit's palace under ground | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| Was once by Goody Weasel found. | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| She, sly of heart, resolved to seize | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| The place, and did so at her ease. | 8 | ········ |
| She took possession while its lord | 8 | ··˘/˘··· |
| Was absent on the dewy sward, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Intent upon his usual sport, | 8 | ˘/···/˘· |
| A courtier at Aurora's court. | 8 | ·/˘·˘/˘· |
| When he had browsed his fill of clover | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| And cut his pranks all nicely over, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Home Johnny came to take his drowse, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| All snug within his cellar-house. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| The weasel's nose he came to see, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Outsticking through the open door. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| 'Ye gods of hospitality!' | 8 | ····˘/˘˘ |
| Exclaim'd the creature, vexèd sore, | 7 | ˘/·/˘·· |
| 'Must I give up my father's lodge? | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Ho! Madam Weasel, please to budge, | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| Or, quicker than a weasel's dodge, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| I'll call the rats to pay their grudge!' | 8 | ········ |
| The sharp-nosed lady made reply, | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| That she was first to occupy. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| The cause of war was surely small-- | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| A house where one could only crawl! | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And though it were a vast domain, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Said she, 'I'd like to know what will | 8 | ········ |
| Could grant to John perpetual reign,-- | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| The son of Peter or of Bill,-- | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| More than to Paul, or even me.' | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| John Rabbit spoke--great lawyer he-- | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Of custom, usage, as the law, | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| Whereby the house, from sire to son, | 8 | ·····/·· |
| As well as all its store of straw, | 8 | ········ |
| From Peter came at length to John. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Who could present a claim, so good | 8 | ··/˘···· |
| As he, the first possessor, could? | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| 'Now,' said the dame, 'let's drop dispute, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| And go before Raminagrobis, | 9 | ········· |
| Who'll judge, not only in this suit, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| But tell us truly whose the globe is.' | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| This person was a hermit cat, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| A cat that play'd the hypocrite, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| A saintly mouser, sleek and fat, | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| An arbiter of keenest wit. | 8 | ·/˘˘·/˘· |
| John Rabbit in the judge concurr'd, | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| And off went both their case to broach | 8 | ········ |
| Before his majesty, the furr'd. | 8 | ···/˘˘·· |
| Said Clapperclaw, 'My kits, approach, | 8 | ·/˘˘··˘/ |
| And put your noses to my ears: | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| I'm deaf, almost, by weight of years.' | 8 | ··/····· |
| And so they did, not fearing aught. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| The good apostle, Clapperclaw, | 8 | ··˘/˘/˘˘ |
| Then laid on each a well-arm'd paw, | 8 | ········ |
| And both to an agreement brought, | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| By virtue of his tuskèd jaw. | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| This brings to mind the fate | 6 | ······ |
| Of little kings before the great. | 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.