Book VII: The Heron
One day,--no matter when or where,--A long-legg'd heron chanced to fareBy a certain river's brink,With his long, sharp beakHelved on his slender neck;'Twas a fish-spear, you might think.The water was clear and still,The carp and the pike there at willPursued their silent fun,Turning up, ever and anon,A golden side to the sun.With ease might the heron have madeGreat profits in his fishing trade.So near came the scaly fry,They might be caught by the passer-by.But he thought he better mightWait for a better appetite--For he lived by rule, and could not eat,Except at his hours, the best of meat.Anon his appetite return'd once more;So, approaching again the shore,He saw some tench taking their leaps,Now and then, from their lowest deeps.With as dainty a taste as Horace's rat,He turn'd away from such food as that.'What, tench for a heron! poh!I scorn the thought, and let them go.'The tench refused, there came a gudgeon;'For all that,' said the bird, 'I budge on.I'll ne'er open my beak, if the gods please,For such mean little fishes as these.'He did it for less;For it came to pass,That not another fish could he see;And, at last, so hungry was he,That he thought it of some availTo find on the bank a single snail.Such is the sure resultOf being too difficult.Would you be strong and great,Learn to accommodate.Get what you can, and trust for the rest;The whole is oft lost by seeking the best.Above all things beware of disdain;Where, at most, you have little to gain.The people are many that makeEvery day this sad mistake.'Tis not for the herons I put this case,Ye featherless people, of human race.--List to another tale as true,And you'll hear the lesson brought home to you.
Words in this poem
- brink n.
- The edge, margin, or border of a steep place, as of a precipice; a bank or edge, as of a river or pit; a verge; a border; as, the brink of a chasm. Also Fig. [Dan. brink edge, verge; akin to Sw. brink declivity, hill, Icel. brekka; cf. LG. brink a grassy hill, W. bryn hill, bryncyn hillock.]
- anon adv.
- Straightway; at once. [OE. anoon, anon, anan, lit., in one (moment), fr. AS. on in + an one. See On and One.]
- tench n.
- A European fresh-water fish (Tinca tinca, or T. vulgaris) allied to the carp. It is noted for its tenacity of life. [OF. tenche, F. tanche, L. tinca.]
- dainty n.
- Value; estimation; the gratification or pleasure taken in anything. [OE. deinie, dainte, deintie, deyntee, OF. deintié delicacy, orig., dignity, honor, fr. L. dignitas, fr. dignus worthy. See Deign, and cf. Dignity.]
- gudgeon n.
- A small European freshwater fish (Gobio fluviatilis), allied to the carp. It is easily caught and often used for food and for bait. [OE. gojon, F. goujon, from L. gobio, or gob, Gr. 1st Goby.]
- budge a.
- Brisk; stirring; jocund. South. [See Budge, v.]
- beware v. t.
- To avoid; to take care of; to have a care for.
- featherless a.
- Destitute of feathers.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Book VII: The Heron 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 Heron, in The Fables of La Fontaine (1841), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #7241, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/la-fontaine-fables/7-4.html, id L28340.
Form and metre
Book VII: The Heron is 51 lines in a single stanza. It is in rhyming couplets, 71% of the lines: octosyllabic couplets. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 81%).
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 AAB--BCCD-DEEFFGGHHII--JJKKLLMM--NNOOPPQQRRSSTTUUVV whereA · fareA · brinkB · beak · neck · thinkB · stillC · willC · funD · anon · sunD · madeE · tradeE · fryF · byF · mightG · appetiteG · eatH · meatH · moreI · shoreI · leaps · deeps · ratJ · thatJ · pohK · goK · gudgeonL · onL · pleaseM · theseM · less · pass · seeN · heN · availO · snailO · resultP · difficultP · greatQ · accommodateQ · restR · bestR · disdainS · gainS · makeT · mistakeT · caseU · raceU · trueV · youV
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 |
|---|---|---|
| One day,--no matter when or where,-- | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| A long-legg'd heron chanced to fare | 9 | ··/˘/˘··· |
| By a certain river's brink, | 7 | ··/˘/˘· |
| With his long, sharp beak | 5 | ····· |
| Helved on his slender neck; | 7 | ·˘··/˘· |
| 'Twas a fish-spear, you might think. | 7 | ······· |
| The water was clear and still, | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| The carp and the pike there at will | 8 | ········ |
| Pursued their silent fun, | 7 | ˘/˘·/˘· |
| Turning up, ever and anon, | 8 | /˘·/˘·˘/ |
| A golden side to the sun. | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| With ease might the heron have made | 8 | ····/˘·· |
| Great profits in his fishing trade. | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| So near came the scaly fry, | 7 | ····/˘· |
| They might be caught by the passer-by. | 9 | ······/˘· |
| But he thought he better might | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Wait for a better appetite-- | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| For he lived by rule, and could not eat, | 9 | ········· |
| Except at his hours, the best of meat. | 9 | ····/···· |
| Anon his appetite return'd once more; | 10 | ˘/·/˘·˘/·· |
| So, approaching again the shore, | 8 | ·˘/˘˘/·· |
| He saw some tench taking their leaps, | 8 | ····/˘·· |
| Now and then, from their lowest deeps. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| With as dainty a taste as Horace's rat, | 10 | ··/˘···/˘· |
| He turn'd away from such food as that. | 9 | ··˘/····· |
| 'What, tench for a heron! poh! | 7 | ····/˘· |
| I scorn the thought, and let them go.' | 8 | ········ |
| The tench refused, there came a gudgeon; | 9 | ··˘/···/˘ |
| 'For all that,' said the bird, 'I budge on. | 9 | ········· |
| I'll ne'er open my beak, if the gods please, | 10 | ··/˘······ |
| For such mean little fishes as these.' | 9 | ···/˘/˘·· |
| He did it for less; | 5 | ····· |
| For it came to pass, | 5 | ····· |
| That not another fish could he see; | 9 | ··˘/˘···· |
| And, at last, so hungry was he, | 8 | ····/˘·· |
| That he thought it of some avail | 8 | ······˘/ |
| To find on the bank a single snail. | 9 | ······/˘· |
| Such is the sure result | 6 | ····˘/ |
| Of being too difficult. | 7 | ·/˘·/˘˘ |
| Would you be strong and great, | 6 | ······ |
| Learn to accommodate. | 6 | ··˘/˘· |
| Get what you can, and trust for the rest; | 9 | ········· |
| The whole is oft lost by seeking the best. | 10 | ······/˘·· |
| Above all things beware of disdain; | 9 | ····˘/·˘/ |
| Where, at most, you have little to gain. | 9 | ·····/˘·· |
| The people are many that make | 8 | ·/˘·/˘·· |
| Every day this sad mistake. | 8 | /˘˘···˘/ |
| 'Tis not for the herons I put this case, | 10 | ····/˘···· |
| Ye featherless people, of human race. | 9 | ·/˘/˘·/˘· |
| --List to another tale as true, | 8 | ··˘/˘··· |
| And you'll hear the lesson brought home to you. | 10 | ····/˘···· |
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.