The Dog and the Lamb
A Dog bespoke a sucking Lamb,That used a she-goat as her dam,"You little fool, why, how you baa!This goat is not your own mamma:"Then pointed to a distant mead,Where several sheep were put to feed."I ask not," says the Lamb, "for herWho had me first at Nature's spur,And bore me for a time about,Then, like a fardel, threw me out;But her that is content to bilkHer own dear kids, to give me milk.""Yet she that yean'd you sure," says Tray,"Should be preferr'd" --"I tell thee nay--Whence could she know that what she hidWas black or white?--but grant she did--I being thus a male begot'Twas no great favor, since my lotWas hour by hour, throughout my life,To dread the butcher and his knife.Why should I therefore give my voiceFor her who had no pow'r or choiceIn my production, and not cleaveTo her so ready to relieve,When she beheld me left alone,And has such sweet indulgence shown?"Kind deeds parental love proclaim,Not mere necessity and name.
Words in this poem
- fardel n.
- A bundle or little pack; hence, a burden. [OF. fardel, F. fardeau; cf. Sp. fardel, fardillo, fardo, LL. fardellus; prob. fr. Ar. fard one of the two parts of an object divisible into two, hence, one of t]
- bilk v. t.
- To frustrate or disappoint; to deceive or defraud, by nonfulfillment of engagement; to leave in the lurch; to give the slip to; as, to bilk a creditor. Thackeray. [Origin unknown. Cf. Balk.]
- relieve v. t.
- To lift up; to raise again, as one who has fallen; to cause to rise. Piers Plowman. [OE. releven, F. relever to raise again, discharge, relieve, fr. L. relevare to lift up, raise, make light, relieve; pref. re- re- + levare to raise, fr. levis l]
- parental a.
- Of or pertaining to a parent or to parents; as, parental authority; parental obligations. [L. parentalis.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Dog and the Lamb is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Fables of Phædrus Literally translated into English prose with notes, Project Gutenberg ebook #25512; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Phaedrus, The Dog and the Lamb, in The Fables of Phaedrus (1765), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #25512, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/phaedrus-fables/the-dog-and-the-lamb.html, id L21286.
Form and metre
The Dog and the Lamb is 28 lines in a single stanza. It is in rhyming couplets, 93% of the lines: octosyllabic couplets. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 87%).
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 AA--BBCCDDEEFFGGHHIIJJKKLLMM lambA · damA · baa · mamma · meadB · feedB · herC · spurC · aboutD · outD · bilkE · milkE · trayF · nayF · hidG · didG · begotH · lotH · lifeI · knifeI · voiceJ · choiceJ · cleaveK · relieveK · aloneL · shownL · proclaimM · nameM
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 Dog bespoke a sucking Lamb, | 8 | ··˘/·/˘· |
| That used a she-goat as her dam, | 8 | ········ |
| "You little fool, why, how you baa! | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| This goat is not your own mamma:" | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Then pointed to a distant mead, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Where several sheep were put to feed. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| "I ask not," says the Lamb, "for her | 8 | ········ |
| Who had me first at Nature's spur, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And bore me for a time about, | 8 | ········ |
| Then, like a fardel, threw me out; | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| But her that is content to bilk | 8 | ····/˘·· |
| Her own dear kids, to give me milk." | 8 | ········ |
| "Yet she that yean'd you sure," says Tray, | 8 | ········ |
| "Should be preferr'd" --"I tell thee nay-- | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| Whence could she know that what she hid | 8 | ········ |
| Was black or white?--but grant she did-- | 8 | ········ |
| I being thus a male begot | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| 'Twas no great favor, since my lot | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Was hour by hour, throughout my life, | 8 | ·/·/···· |
| To dread the butcher and his knife. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Why should I therefore give my voice | 8 | ········ |
| For her who had no pow'r or choice | 8 | ········ |
| In my production, and not cleave | 8 | ··˘/˘··· |
| To her so ready to relieve, | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| When she beheld me left alone, | 8 | ··˘/··˘/ |
| And has such sweet indulgence shown?" | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| Kind deeds parental love proclaim, | 8 | ··˘/˘·˘/ |
| Not mere necessity and name. | 8 | ··˘/˘˘·· |
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