Book IX: The Oyster and the Litigants
Two pilgrims on the sand espiedAn oyster thrown up by the tide.In hope, both swallow'd ocean's fruit;But ere the fact there came dispute.While one stoop'd down to take the prey,The other push'd him quite away.Said he, ''Twere rather meetTo settle which shall eat.Why, he who first the oyster sawShould be its eater, by the law;The other should but see him do it.'Replied his mate, 'If thus you view it,Thank God the lucky eye is mine.''But I've an eye not worse than thine,'The other cried, 'and will be cursed,If, too, I didn't see it first.''You saw it, did you? Grant it true,I saw it then, and felt it too.'Amidst this sweet affair,Arrived a person very big,Ycleped Sir Nincom Periwig.They made him judge,--to set the matter square.Sir Nincom, with a solemn face,Took up the oyster and the case:In opening both, the first he swallow'd,And, in due time, his judgment follow'd.'Attend: the court awards you each a shellCost free; depart in peace, and use them well.'Foot up the cost of suits at law,The leavings reckon and awards,The cash you'll see Sir Nincom draw,And leave the parties--purse and cards.
Words in this poem
- 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,]
- 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; -]
- cursed a.
- Deserving a curse; execrable; hateful; detestable; abominable.
- amidst prep.
- In the midst or middle of; surrounded or encompassed by; among. [OE. amidde, amiddes, on midden, AS. on middan, in the middle, fr. midde the middle. The s is an adverbial ending, originally marking the genitive; the t is a la]
- ycleped p. p.
- Called; named; -- obsolete, except in archaic or humorous writings. [Spelt also yclept.] [AS. geclipod, p. p. of clipian, cleopian, cliopian, to call. See Clepe, and also the Note under Y-.]
- periwig n.
- A headdress of false hair, usually covering the whole head, and representing the natural hair; a wig. [OE. perrwige, perwicke, corrupt. fr. F. perruque; cf. OD. peruyk, from French. See Peruke, and cf. Wig.]
- depart v. i.
- To part; to divide; to separate. [OE. departen to divide, part, depart, F. départir to divide, distribute, se départir to separate one's self, depart; pref. dé- (L. de) + partir to part, depart,]
- leavings n.
- Things left; remnants; relics.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Book IX: The Oyster and the Litigants 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 IX: The Oyster and the Litigants, in The Fables of La Fontaine (1841), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #7241, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/la-fontaine-fables/9-9.html, id L28390.
Form and metre
Book IX: The Oyster and the Litigants is 32 lines in a single stanza. It is in rhyming couplets, 69% of the lines: octosyllabic couplets. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 93%).
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 AABBCCDDEE--FFGGHHIJJIKKLLMMN-N- espiedA · tideA · fruitB · disputeB · preyC · awayC · meetD · eatD · sawE · lawE · it · it · mineF · thineF · cursedG · firstG · trueH · tooH · affairI · bigJ · periwigJ · squareI · faceK · caseK · swallow'dL · follow'dL · shellM · wellM · lawN · awards · drawN · cards
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Two pilgrims on the sand espied | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| An oyster thrown up by the tide. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| In hope, both swallow'd ocean's fruit; | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| But ere the fact there came dispute. | 8 | ······˘/ |
| While one stoop'd down to take the prey, | 8 | ········ |
| The other push'd him quite away. | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| Said he, ''Twere rather meet | 6 | ···/˘· |
| To settle which shall eat. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Why, he who first the oyster saw | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Should be its eater, by the law; | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| The other should but see him do it.' | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| Replied his mate, 'If thus you view it, | 9 | ˘/······· |
| Thank God the lucky eye is mine.' | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| 'But I've an eye not worse than thine,' | 8 | ········ |
| The other cried, 'and will be cursed, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| If, too, I didn't see it first.' | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| 'You saw it, did you? Grant it true, | 8 | ········ |
| I saw it then, and felt it too.' | 8 | ········ |
| Amidst this sweet affair, | 6 | ˘/··˘/ |
| Arrived a person very big, | 8 | ˘/·/˘/˘· |
| Ycleped Sir Nincom Periwig. | 8 | ˘/···/˘˘ |
| They made him judge,--to set the matter square. | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Sir Nincom, with a solemn face, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Took up the oyster and the case: | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| In opening both, the first he swallow'd, | 9 | ·/˘····/˘ |
| And, in due time, his judgment follow'd. | 9 | ·····/˘/˘ |
| 'Attend: the court awards you each a shell | 10 | ˘/··˘/···· |
| Cost free; depart in peace, and use them well.' | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| Foot up the cost of suits at law, | 8 | ········ |
| The leavings reckon and awards, | 8 | ·/˘/˘·˘/ |
| The cash you'll see Sir Nincom draw, | 8 | ········ |
| And leave the parties--purse and cards. | 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.