The Eagle, the Cat, and the Sow
An Eagle built upon an oakA Cat and kittens had bespokeA hole about the middle bough;And underneath a woodlandSow Had placed her pigs upon the ground.Then treach'rous Puss a method foundTo overthrow, for her own good,The peace of this chance neighbourhoodFirst to the Eagle she ascends--"Perdition on your head impends,And, far too probable, on mine;For you observe that grubbingSwine Still works the tree to overset,Us and our young with ease to get."Thus having filled the Eagle's pateWith consternation very great,Down creeps she to the Sow below;"The Eagle is your deadly foe,And is determined not to spareYour pigs, when you shall take the air."Here too a terror being spread,By what this tattling gossip said,She slily to her kittens stole,And rested snug within her hole.Sneaking from thence with silent treadBy night her family she fed,But look'd out sharply all the day,Affecting terror and dismay.The Eagle lest the tree should fall,Keeps to the boughs, nor stirs at all;And anxious for her grunting race,The Sow is loth to quit her place.In short, they and their young ones starve,And leave a prey for Puss to carve.Hence warn'd ye credulous and young,Be cautious of a double tongue.
Words in this poem
- puss n.
- A cat; -- a fondling appellation. [Cf. D. poes, Ir. & Gael. pus.]
- perdition n.
- Entire loss; utter destruction; ruin; esp., the utter loss of the soul, or of final happiness in a future state; future misery or eternal death. [F., fr. L. perditio, fr. perdere, perditum, to ruin, to lose; per (cf. Skr. para away) + -dere (only in comp.) to put; akin to Gr. do. See Do.]
- probable a.
- Capable of being proved. [L. probabilis, fr. probare to try, approve, prove: cf. F. probable. See Prove, and cf. Provable.]
- overset v. t.
- To turn or tip (anything) over from an upright, or a proper, position so that it lies upon its side or bottom upwards; to upset; as, to overset a chair, a coach, a ship, or a building.
- pate n.
- A pie. See Patty. [F. pâté.]
- consternation n.
- Amazement or horror that confounds the faculties, and incapacitates for refletion; terror, combined with amaxement; dismay. [L. consternatio, fr. consternare to overome, perplex, an accessory form of consternere to trow down, prostrate; con + sternere to spread out, throw down: cf. F.]
- 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,]
- tattling a.
- Given to idle talk; apt to tell tales.
- stole n.
- A long, loose garment reaching to the feet. [AS. stole, L. stola, Gr. stall. See Stall.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Eagle, the Cat, and the Sow 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 Eagle, the Cat, and the Sow, in The Fables of Phaedrus (1765), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #25512, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/phaedrus-fables/the-eagle-the-cat-and-the-sow.html, id L21267.
Form and metre
The Eagle, the Cat, and the Sow is 36 lines in a single stanza. It is in rhyming couplets, 83% 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 AA--BBCCDD----EEFFGGHHIIHHJJKKLLMMNN oakA · bespokeA · bough · woodland · groundB · foundB · goodC · neighbourhoodC · ascendsD · impendsD · mine · grubbing · overset · get · pateE · greatE · belowF · foeF · spareG · airG · spreadH · saidH · stoleI · holeI · treadH · fedH · dayJ · dismayJ · fallK · allK · raceL · placeL · starveM · carveM · youngN · tongueN
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 |
|---|---|---|
| An Eagle built upon an oak | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| A Cat and kittens had bespoke | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| A hole about the middle bough; | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And underneath a woodland | 7 | ··˘/·/· |
| Sow Had placed her pigs upon the ground. | 9 | ········· |
| Then treach'rous Puss a method found | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| To overthrow, for her own good, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| The peace of this chance neighbourhood | 8 | ········ |
| First to the Eagle she ascends-- | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| "Perdition on your head impends, | 8 | ˘/˘···˘/ |
| And, far too probable, on mine; | 8 | ···/˘˘·· |
| For you observe that grubbing | 7 | ··˘/·/˘ |
| Swine Still works the tree to overset, | 9 | ······/˘˘ |
| Us and our young with ease to get." | 8 | ··/····· |
| Thus having filled the Eagle's pate | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| With consternation very great, | 8 | ··˘/˘/˘· |
| Down creeps she to the Sow below; | 8 | ········ |
| "The Eagle is your deadly foe, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| And is determined not to spare | 8 | ··˘/˘··· |
| Your pigs, when you shall take the air." | 8 | ········ |
| Here too a terror being spread, | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| By what this tattling gossip said, | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| She slily to her kittens stole, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| And rested snug within her hole. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Sneaking from thence with silent tread | 8 | /˘···/˘· |
| By night her family she fed, | 8 | ···/˘˘·· |
| But look'd out sharply all the day, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Affecting terror and dismay. | 8 | ˘/˘/˘·˘/ |
| The Eagle lest the tree should fall, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Keeps to the boughs, nor stirs at all; | 8 | ········ |
| And anxious for her grunting race, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| The Sow is loth to quit her place. | 8 | ········ |
| In short, they and their young ones starve, | 8 | ········ |
| And leave a prey for Puss to carve. | 8 | ········ |
| Hence warn'd ye credulous and young, | 8 | ···/˘˘·· |
| Be cautious of a double tongue. | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
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