Book VIII: The Hog, the Goat, and the Sheep
A goat, a sheep, and porker fat,All to the market rode together.Their own amusement was not thatWhich caused their journey thither.Their coachman did not mean to 'set them down'To see the shows and wonders of the town.The porker cried, in piercing squeals,As if with butchers at his heels.The other beasts, of milder mood,The cause by no means understood.They saw no harm, and wonder'd whyAt such a rate the hog should cry.'Hush there, old piggy!' said the man,'And keep as quiet as you can.What wrong have you to squeal about,And raise this dev'lish, deaf'ning shout?These stiller persons at your sideHave manners much more dignified.Pray, have you heardA single wordCome from that gentleman in wool?That proves him wise.' 'That proves him fool!'The testy hog replied;'For did he knowTo what we go,He'd cry almost to split his throat;So would her ladyship the goat.They only think to lose with ease,The goat her milk, the sheep his fleece:They're, maybe, right; but as for me,This ride is quite another matter.Of service only on the platter,My death is quite a certainty.Adieu, my dear old piggery!'The porker's logic proved at onceHimself a prophet and a dunce.
Hope ever gives a present ease,But fear beforehand kills:The wisest he who least foreseesInevitable ills.
Words in this poem
- rode n.
- Redness; complexion. [See Rud.]
- amusement n.
- Deep thought; muse. [Cf. F. amusement.]
- coachman n.
- A man whose business is to drive a coach or carriage.
- squeal v. i.
- To cry with a sharp, shrill, prolonged sound, as certain animals do, indicating want, displeasure, or pain. [Of Scand. origin; cf. Sw. sqväla, Norw. skvella. Cf. Squeak, Squall.]
- stiller n.
- One who stills, or quiets.
- ladyship n.
- The rank or position of a lady; -- given as a title (preceded by her or your.) Your ladyship shall observe their gravity. B. Jonson.
- maybe adv.
- Perhaps; possibly; peradventure. [For it may be.]
- platter n.
- One who plats or braids. [From Plat to braid.]
- piggery n.
- A place where swine are kept.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Book VIII: The Hog, the Goat, and the Sheep 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 VIII: The Hog, the Goat, and the Sheep, in The Fables of La Fontaine (1841), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #7241, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/la-fontaine-fables/8-12.html, id L28366.
Form and metre
Book VIII: The Hog, the Goat, and the Sheep is 40 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 A-A-BBCC--DDEEFFGGHH---IIJJ---KK---- fatA · together · thatA · thither · downB · townB · squealsC · heelsC · mood · understood · whyD · cryD · manE · canE · aboutF · shoutF · sideG · dignifiedG · heardH · wordH · wool · fool · replied · knowI · goI · throatJ · goatJ · ease · fleece · me · matterK · platterK · certainty · piggery · once · dunce
- 2 ABAB easeA · killsB · foreseesA · illsB
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 goat, a sheep, and porker fat, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| All to the market rode together. | 9 | ···/˘·˘/˘ |
| Their own amusement was not that | 8 | ··˘/˘··· |
| Which caused their journey thither. | 8 | ··˘·/˘/˘ |
| Their coachman did not mean to 'set them down' | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| To see the shows and wonders of the town. | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| The porker cried, in piercing squeals, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| As if with butchers at his heels. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| The other beasts, of milder mood, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| The cause by no means understood. | 8 | ······˘/ |
| They saw no harm, and wonder'd why | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| At such a rate the hog should cry. | 8 | ········ |
| 'Hush there, old piggy!' said the man, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| 'And keep as quiet as you can. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| What wrong have you to squeal about, | 8 | ········ |
| And raise this dev'lish, deaf'ning shout? | 8 | ········ |
| These stiller persons at your side | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| Have manners much more dignified. | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Pray, have you heard | 4 | ···· |
| A single word | 4 | ·/˘· |
| Come from that gentleman in wool? | 8 | ···/˘˘·· |
| That proves him wise.' 'That proves him fool!' | 8 | ········ |
| The testy hog replied; | 6 | ·/˘·˘/ |
| 'For did he know | 4 | ···· |
| To what we go, | 4 | ···· |
| He'd cry almost to split his throat; | 8 | ··/····· |
| So would her ladyship the goat. | 8 | ···/˘˘·· |
| They only think to lose with ease, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| The goat her milk, the sheep his fleece: | 8 | ········ |
| They're, maybe, right; but as for me, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| This ride is quite another matter. | 9 | ····˘/˘/˘ |
| Of service only on the platter, | 9 | ·/˘/˘··/˘ |
| My death is quite a certainty. | 8 | ·····/˘˘ |
| Adieu, my dear old piggery!' | 8 | ˘/···/˘˘ |
| The porker's logic proved at once | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| Himself a prophet and a dunce. | 8 | ˘/·/˘··· |
| Hope ever gives a present ease, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| But fear beforehand kills: | 6 | ··˘/·· |
| The wisest he who least foresees | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| Inevitable ills. | 6 | ˘/˘˘˘· |
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.