Book VIII: The Rat and the Oyster
A country rat, of little brains,Grown weary of inglorious rest,Left home with all its straws and grains,Resolved to know beyond his nest.When peeping through the nearest fence,'How big the world is, how immense!'He cried; 'there rise the Alps, and thatIs doubtless famous Ararat.'His mountains were the works of moles,Or dirt thrown up in digging holes!Some days of travel brought him whereThe tide had left the oysters bare.Since here our traveller saw the sea,He thought these shells the ships must be.'My father was, in truth,' said he,'A coward, and an ignoramus;He dared not travel: as for me,I've seen the ships and ocean famous;Have cross'd the deserts without drinking,And many dangerous streams unshrinking;Such things I know from having seen and felt them.'And, as he went, in tales he proudly dealt them,Not being of those rats whose knowledgeComes by their teeth on books in college.Among the shut-up shell-fish, oneWas gaping widely at the sun;It breathed, and drank the air's perfume,Expanding, like a flower in bloom.Both white and fat, its meatAppear'd a dainty treat.Our rat, when he this shell espied,Thought for his stomach to provide.'If not mistaken in the matter,'Said he, 'no meat was ever fatter,Or in its flavour half so fine,As that on which to-day I dine.'Thus full of hope, the foolish chapThrust in his head to taste,And felt the pinching of a trap--The oyster closed in haste.
We're first instructed, by this case,That those to whom the world is newAre wonder-struck at every view;And, in the second place,That the marauder finds his match,And he is caught who thinks to catch.
Words in this poem
- inglorious a.
- Not glorious; not bringing honor or glory; not accompanied with fame, honor, or celebrity; obscure; humble; as, an inglorious life of ease. [L. inglorious; pref. in- not + gloria glory, fame: cf. F. inglorieux. See Glory.]
- doubtless a.
- Free from fear or suspicion.
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- drank n.
- Wild oats, or darnel grass. See Drake a plant. [Cf. 3d Drake.]
- 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.]
- flavour n.
- That quality of anything which affects the smell; odor; fragrances; as, the flavor of a rose. [OF. fleur, flaur (two syllables), odor, cf. F. fleurer to emit an odor, It. flatore a bad odor, prob. fr. L. flare to bow, whence the sense of exhalation. Cf. B]
- dine v. i.
- To eat the principal regular meal of the day; to take dinner. [F. dîner, OF. disner, LL. disnare, contr. fr. an assumed disjunare; dis- + an assumed junare (OF. juner) to fast, for L. jejunare, fr. jejunus fasting. See Jeju]
- marauder n.
- A rover in quest of booty or plunder; a plunderer; one who pillages. De Quincey. [From Maraud, v.: cf. F. maraudeur.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Book VIII: The Rat and the Oyster 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 Rat and the Oyster, in The Fables of La Fontaine (1841), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #7241, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/la-fontaine-fables/8-9.html, id L28363.
Form and metre
Book VIII: The Rat and the Oyster is 46 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 ABABCC--DDEEFFFGFGHH----IIJJKKLLMMNNOPOP brainsA · restB · grainsA · nestB · fenceC · immenseC · that · ararat · molesD · holesD · whereE · bareE · seaF · beF · heF · ignoramusG · meF · famousG · drinkingH · unshrinkingH · them · them · knowledge · college · oneI · sunI · perfumeJ · bloomJ · meatK · treatK · espiedL · provideL · matterM · fatterM · fineN · dineN · chapO · tasteP · trapO · hasteP
- 2 ABBACC caseA · newB · viewB · placeA · matchC · catchC
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 country rat, of little brains, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Grown weary of inglorious rest, | 8 | ·/˘·˘/˘· |
| Left home with all its straws and grains, | 8 | ········ |
| Resolved to know beyond his nest. | 8 | ˘/······ |
| When peeping through the nearest fence, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| 'How big the world is, how immense!' | 8 | ······˘/ |
| He cried; 'there rise the Alps, and that | 8 | ········ |
| Is doubtless famous Ararat.' | 8 | ·/˘/˘/˘· |
| His mountains were the works of moles, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Or dirt thrown up in digging holes! | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Some days of travel brought him where | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| The tide had left the oysters bare. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Since here our traveller saw the sea, | 8 | ··//˘··· |
| He thought these shells the ships must be. | 8 | ········ |
| 'My father was, in truth,' said he, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| 'A coward, and an ignoramus; | 9 | ·/˘···˘/˘ |
| He dared not travel: as for me, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| I've seen the ships and ocean famous; | 9 | ·····/˘/˘ |
| Have cross'd the deserts without drinking, | 9 | ···/˘··/˘ |
| And many dangerous streams unshrinking; | 8 | ·//˘···· |
| Such things I know from having seen and felt them.' | 11 | ·····/˘···· |
| And, as he went, in tales he proudly dealt them, | 11 | ·······/˘·· |
| Not being of those rats whose knowledge | 9 | ·/˘····/˘ |
| Comes by their teeth on books in college. | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| Among the shut-up shell-fish, one | 8 | ········ |
| Was gaping widely at the sun; | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| It breathed, and drank the air's perfume, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Expanding, like a flower in bloom. | 8 | ˘/˘··/·· |
| Both white and fat, its meat | 6 | ······ |
| Appear'd a dainty treat. | 6 | ˘/·/˘· |
| Our rat, when he this shell espied, | 8 | /˘······ |
| Thought for his stomach to provide. | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| 'If not mistaken in the matter,' | 9 | ··˘/˘··/˘ |
| Said he, 'no meat was ever fatter, | 9 | ·····/˘/˘ |
| Or in its flavour half so fine, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| As that on which to-day I dine.' | 8 | ········ |
| Thus full of hope, the foolish chap | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Thrust in his head to taste, | 6 | ······ |
| And felt the pinching of a trap-- | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| The oyster closed in haste. | 7 | ·/˘·˘·· |
| We're first instructed, by this case, | 8 | ··˘/˘··· |
| That those to whom the world is new | 8 | ········ |
| Are wonder-struck at every view; | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| And, in the second place, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| That the marauder finds his match, | 8 | ··˘/˘··· |
| And he is caught who thinks to catch. | 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.