Book VIII: The Cat and the Rat
Four creatures, wont to prowl,--Sly Grab-and-Snatch, the cat,Grave Evil-bode, the owl,Thief Nibble-stitch, the rat,And Madam Weasel, prim and fine,--Inhabited a rotten pine.A man their home discover'd there,And set, one night, a cunning snare.The cat, a noted early-riser,Went forth, at break of day,To hunt her usual prey.Not much the wiserFor morning's feeble ray,The noose did suddenly surprise her.Waked by her strangling cry,Grey Nibble-stitch drew nigh:As full of joy was heAs of despair was she,For in the noose he sawHis foe of mortal paw.'Dear friend,' said Mrs. Grab-and-Snatch,'Do, pray, this cursed cord detach.I've always known your skill,And often your good-will;Now help me from this worst of snares,In which I fell at unawares.'Tis by a sacred right,You, sole of all your race,By special love and grace,Have been my favourite--The darling of my eyes.'Twas order'd by celestial cares,No doubt; I thank the blessed skies,That, going out to say my prayers,As cats devout each morning do,This net has made me pray to you.Come, fall to work upon the cord.'Replied the rat, 'And what rewardShall pay me, if I dare?''Why,' said the cat, 'I swearTo be your firm ally:Henceforth, eternally,These powerful claws are yours,Which safe your life insures.I'll guard from quadruped and fowl;I'll eat the weasel and the owl.''Ah,' cried the rat, 'you fool!I'm quite too wise to be your tool.'He said, and sought his snug retreat,Close at the rotten pine-tree's feet.Where plump he did the weasel meet;Whom shunning by a happy dodge,He climb'd the hollow trunk to lodge;And there the savage owl he saw.Necessity became his law,And down he went, the rope to gnaw.Strand after strand in two he bit,And freed, at last, the hypocrite.That moment came the man in sight;The new allies took hasty flight.
A good while after that,Our liberated catEspied her favourite rat,Quite out of reach, and on his guard.'My friend,' said she, 'I take your shyness hard;Your caution wrongs my gratitude;Approach, and greet your staunch ally.Do you suppose, dear rat, that IForget the solemn oath I mew'd?''Do I forget,' the rat replied,'To what your nature is allied?To thankfulness, or even pity,Can cats be ever bound by treaty?'
Alliance from necessityIs safe just while it has to be.
Words in this poem
- prowl v. t.
- To rove over, through, or about in a stealthy manner; esp., to search in, as for prey or booty. [OE. prollen to search about; of uncertain origin, perh. for proglen, a dim. of prog to beg, or proke to poke. Cf. Proke.]
- inhabited a.
- Uninhabited. Brathwait.
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- cursed a.
- Deserving a curse; execrable; hateful; detestable; abominable.
- thank n.
- A expression of gratitude; an acknowledgment expressive of a sense of favor or kindness received; obligation, claim, or desert, or gratitude; -- now generally used in the plural. [AS. Þanc, Þonc, thanks, favor, thought; akin to OS. thank favor, pleasure, thanks, D. & G. dank thanks, Icel. Þ\'94kk, Dan. tak, Sw. tack, Goth. Þagks thanks; -]
- shall v. i.
- To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
- henceforth adv.
- From this time forward; henceforward.
- eternally adv.
- In an eternal manner.
- 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.]
- shyness n.
- The quality or state of being shy.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Book VIII: The Cat and the Rat 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 Cat and the Rat, in The Fables of La Fontaine (1841), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #7241, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/la-fontaine-fables/8-22.html, id L28376.
Form and metre
Book VIII: The Cat and the Rat is 75 lines in 3 verse paragraphs. It is in rhyming couplets, 56% of the lines: octosyllabic couplets. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 91%).
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 ABABCCDDEFFEF-GGGGHHIIJJKKLMMLNONOPPQQRR--SSTTUUVVVWWXXXYYZZ prowlA · catB · owlA · ratB · fineC · pineC · thereD · snareD · riserE · dayF · preyF · wiserE · rayF · her · cryG · nighG · heG · sheG · sawH · pawH · snatchI · detachI · skillJ · willJ · snaresK · unawaresK · rightL · raceM · graceM · favouriteL · eyesN · caresO · skiesN · prayersO · doP · youP · cordQ · rewardQ · dareR · swearR · ally · eternally · yoursS · insuresS · fowlT · owlT · foolU · toolU · retreatV · feetV · meetV · dodgeW · lodgeW · sawX · lawX · gnawX · bitY · hypocriteY · sightZ · flightZ
- 2 AAABBCDDCEE-- thatA · catA · ratA · guardB · hardB · gratitudeC · allyD · iD · mew'dC · repliedE · alliedE · pity · treaty
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Four creatures, wont to prowl,-- | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Sly Grab-and-Snatch, the cat, | 6 | ······ |
| Grave Evil-bode, the owl, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Thief Nibble-stitch, the rat, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| And Madam Weasel, prim and fine,-- | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| Inhabited a rotten pine. | 8 | ˘/˘˘·/˘· |
| A man their home discover'd there, | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| And set, one night, a cunning snare. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| The cat, a noted early-riser, | 9 | ···/˘/˘/˘ |
| Went forth, at break of day, | 6 | ······ |
| To hunt her usual prey. | 7 | ···/˘˘· |
| Not much the wiser | 5 | ···/˘ |
| For morning's feeble ray, | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| The noose did suddenly surprise her. | 8 | ···/˘˘/· |
| Waked by her strangling cry, | 7 | ···/˘˘· |
| Grey Nibble-stitch drew nigh: | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| As full of joy was he | 6 | ······ |
| As of despair was she, | 6 | ··˘/·· |
| For in the noose he saw | 6 | ······ |
| His foe of mortal paw. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| 'Dear friend,' said Mrs. Grab-and-Snatch, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| 'Do, pray, this cursed cord detach. | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| I've always known your skill, | 6 | ·/···· |
| And often your good-will; | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Now help me from this worst of snares, | 8 | ········ |
| In which I fell at unawares. | 8 | ······˘/ |
| 'Tis by a sacred right, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| You, sole of all your race, | 6 | ······ |
| By special love and grace, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Have been my favourite-- | 6 | ······ |
| The darling of my eyes. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| 'Twas order'd by celestial cares, | 8 | ·/˘·˘/˘· |
| No doubt; I thank the blessed skies, | 7 | ······· |
| That, going out to say my prayers, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| As cats devout each morning do, | 8 | ··˘/·/˘· |
| This net has made me pray to you. | 8 | ········ |
| Come, fall to work upon the cord.' | 8 | ········ |
| Replied the rat, 'And what reward | 8 | ˘/····˘/ |
| Shall pay me, if I dare?' | 6 | ······ |
| 'Why,' said the cat, 'I swear | 6 | ······ |
| To be your firm ally: | 6 | ····/˘ |
| Henceforth, eternally, | 6 | //˘/˘˘ |
| These powerful claws are yours, | 7 | ·/˘˘··· |
| Which safe your life insures. | 6 | ····˘/ |
| I'll guard from quadruped and fowl; | 8 | ···/˘˘·· |
| I'll eat the weasel and the owl.' | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| 'Ah,' cried the rat, 'you fool! | 6 | ······ |
| I'm quite too wise to be your tool.' | 8 | ········ |
| He said, and sought his snug retreat, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Close at the rotten pine-tree's feet. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Where plump he did the weasel meet; | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Whom shunning by a happy dodge, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| He climb'd the hollow trunk to lodge; | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| And there the savage owl he saw. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Necessity became his law, | 8 | ˘/˘˘˘/·· |
| And down he went, the rope to gnaw. | 8 | ········ |
| Strand after strand in two he bit, | 8 | ········ |
| And freed, at last, the hypocrite. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| That moment came the man in sight; | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| The new allies took hasty flight. | 8 | ··˘/·/˘· |
| A good while after that, | 6 | ······ |
| Our liberated cat | 7 | /˘/˘·˘· |
| Espied her favourite rat, | 6 | ······ |
| Quite out of reach, and on his guard. | 8 | ········ |
| 'My friend,' said she, 'I take your shyness hard; | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Your caution wrongs my gratitude; | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Approach, and greet your staunch ally. | 8 | ˘/····˘/ |
| Do you suppose, dear rat, that I | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| Forget the solemn oath I mew'd?' | 8 | ˘/·/˘··· |
| 'Do I forget,' the rat replied, | 8 | ··˘/··˘/ |
| 'To what your nature is allied? | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| To thankfulness, or even pity, | 9 | ·····/˘/˘ |
| Can cats be ever bound by treaty?' | 9 | ···/˘··/˘ |
| Alliance from necessity | 8 | ˘/˘·˘/˘˘ |
| Is safe just while it has to be. | 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.