The Dog and the Wolf
I will, as briefly as I may,The sweets of liberty display.A Wolf half famish'd, chanced to seeA Dog, as fat as dog could be:For one day meeting on the road,They mutual compliments bestowed:"Prithee," says Isgrim, faint and weak,"How came you so well fed and sleek?I starve, though stronger of the two.""It will be just as well with you,"The Dog quite cool and frank replied,"If with my master you'll abide.""For what?" "Why merely to attend,And from night thieves the door defend.""I gladly will accept the post,What! shall I bear with snow and frostAnd all this rough inclement plight,Rather than have a home at night,And feed on plenty at my ease?""Come, then, with me" --the Wolf agrees.But as they went the mark he found,Where the Dog's collar had been bound:"What's this, my friend?" "Why, nothing.""Nay, Be more explicit, sir, I pray.""I'm somewhat fierce and apt to bite,Therefore they hold me pretty tight,That in the day-time I may sleep,And night by night my vigils keep.At evening tide they let me out,And then I freely walk about:Bread comes without a care of mine.I from my master's table dine;The servants throw me many a scrap,With choice of pot-liquor to lap;So, I've my bellyful, you find.""But can you go where you've a mind?""Not always, to be flat and plain.""Then, Dog, enjoy your post again,For to remain this servile thing,Old Isgrim would not be a king."
Words in this poem
- prithee interj.
- A corruption of pray thee; as, I prithee; generally used without I.
- gladly adv.
- Preferably; by choice. [From Glad, a.]
- 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,]
- inclement a.
- Not clement; destitute of a mild and kind temper; void of tenderness; unmerciful; severe; harsh. [L. inclemens; pref. in- not + clemens mild: cf. F. inclément. See Clement.]
- plight v. t.
- To weave; to braid; to fold; to plait. [OE. pliten; probably through Old French, fr. LL. plectare, L. plectere. See Plait, Ply.]
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- 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]
- scrap n.
- Something scraped off; hence, a small piece; a bit; a fragment; a detached, incomplete portion. [OE. scrappe, fr. Icel. skrap trifle, cracking. See Scrape, v. t.]
- bellyful n.
- As much as satisfies the appetite. Hence: A great abundance; more than enough. Lloyd.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Dog and the Wolf 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 Wolf, in The Fables of Phaedrus (1765), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #25512, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/phaedrus-fables/the-dog-and-the-wolf.html, id L21279.
Form and metre
The Dog and the Wolf is 40 lines in a single stanza. It is in rhyming couplets, 85% of the lines: octosyllabic couplets. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 88%).
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 AABBCCDDEEFFGG--HHIIJJ--KKLLMMNNOOPP--QQ mayA · displayA · seeB · beB · roadC · bestowedC · weakD · sleekD · twoE · youE · repliedF · abideF · attendG · defendG · post · frost · plightH · nightH · easeI · agreesI · foundJ · boundJ · nothing · pray · biteK · tightK · sleepL · keepL · outM · aboutM · mineN · dineN · scrapO · lapO · findP · mindP · plain · again · thingQ · kingQ
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 |
|---|---|---|
| I will, as briefly as I may, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| The sweets of liberty display. | 8 | ···/˘˘˘/ |
| A Wolf half famish'd, chanced to see | 8 | ········ |
| A Dog, as fat as dog could be: | 8 | ········ |
| For one day meeting on the road, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| They mutual compliments bestowed: | 8 | ·/˘/˘˘˘/ |
| "Prithee," says Isgrim, faint and weak, | 8 | /˘······ |
| "How came you so well fed and sleek? | 8 | ········ |
| I starve, though stronger of the two." | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| "It will be just as well with you," | 8 | ········ |
| The Dog quite cool and frank replied, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| "If with my master you'll abide." | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| "For what?" "Why merely to attend, | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| And from night thieves the door defend." | 8 | ······˘/ |
| "I gladly will accept the post, | 8 | ·/˘·˘/·· |
| What! shall I bear with snow and frost | 8 | ········ |
| And all this rough inclement plight, | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| Rather than have a home at night, | 8 | /˘······ |
| And feed on plenty at my ease?" | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| "Come, then, with me" --the Wolf agrees. | 8 | ······˘/ |
| But as they went the mark he found, | 8 | ········ |
| Where the Dog's collar had been bound: | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| "What's this, my friend?" "Why, nothing." | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| "Nay, Be more explicit, sir, I pray." | 9 | ···˘/˘··· |
| "I'm somewhat fierce and apt to bite, | 8 | ·//····· |
| Therefore they hold me pretty tight, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| That in the day-time I may sleep, | 8 | ········ |
| And night by night my vigils keep. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| At evening tide they let me out, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| And then I freely walk about: | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Bread comes without a care of mine. | 8 | ········ |
| I from my master's table dine; | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| The servants throw me many a scrap, | 8 | ·/˘··/·· |
| With choice of pot-liquor to lap; | 8 | ····/˘·· |
| So, I've my bellyful, you find." | 8 | ···/˘˘·· |
| "But can you go where you've a mind?" | 8 | ········ |
| "Not always, to be flat and plain." | 8 | ·/······ |
| "Then, Dog, enjoy your post again, | 8 | ··˘/··˘/ |
| For to remain this servile thing, | 8 | ··˘/·/˘· |
| Old Isgrim would not be a king." | 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.