Chapter XXI: Book XII: I.--The Companions of Ulysses (2)

Sound reason and a tender heart
With thee are friends that never part.
A hundred traits might swell the roll;--
Suffice to name thy nobleness of soul;
Thy power to guide both men and things;
Thy temper open, bland and free,
A gift that draweth friends to thee,
To which thy firm affection clings,
Unmarr'd by age or change of clime,
Or tempests of this stormy time;--
All which deserve, in highest lyric,
A rich and lofty panegyric;
But no such thing wouldst thou desire,
Whom pomp displeases, praises tire.
Hence mine is simple, short, and plain;
Yet, madam, I would fain
Tack on a word or two
Of homage to your country due,--
A country well beloved by you.

With mind to match the outward case,
The English are a thinking race.
They pierce all subjects through and through;
Well arm'd with facts, they hew their way,
And give to science boundless sway.
Quite free from flattery, I say,
Your countrymen, for penetration,
Must bear the palm from every nation;
For e'en the dogs they breed excel
Our own in nicety of smell.
Your foxes, too, are cunninger,
As readily we may infer
From one that practised, 'tis believed,
A stratagem the best conceived.
The wretch, once, in the utmost strait
By dogs of nose so delicate,
Approach'd a gallows, where,
A lesson to like passengers,
Or clothed in feathers or in furs,
Some badgers, owls, and foxes, pendent were.
Their comrade, in his pressing need,
Arranged himself among the dead.
I seem to see old Hannibal
Outwit some Roman general,
And sit securely in his tent,
The legions on some other scent.
But certain dogs, kept back
To tell the errors of the pack,
Arriving where the traitor hung,
A fault in fullest chorus sung.
Though by their bark the welkin rung,
Their master made them hold the tongue.
Suspecting not a trick so odd,
Said he, 'The rogue's beneath the sod.
My dogs, that never saw such jokes,
Won't bark beyond these honest folks.'

The rogue would try the trick again.
He did so to his cost and pain.
Again with dogs the welkin rings;
Again our fox from gallows swings;
But though he hangs with greater faith,
This time, he does it to his death.
So uniformly is it true,
A stratagem is best when new.
The hunter, had himself been hunted,
So apt a trick had not invented;
Not that his wit had been deficient;--
With that, it cannot be denied,
Your English folks are well-provision'd;--
But wanting love of life sufficient,
Full many an Englishman has died.
One word to you, and I must quit
My much-inviting subject:
A long eulogium is a project
For which my lyre is all unfit.
The song or verse is truly rare,
Which can its meed of incense bear,
And yet amuse the general ear,
Or wing its way to lands afar.
Your prince[37] once told you, I have heard,
(An able judge, as rumour says,)
That he one dash of love preferr'd
To all a sheet could hold of praise.
Accept--'tis all I crave--the offering
Which here my muse has dared to bring--
Her last, perhaps, of earthly acts;
She blushes at its sad defects.
Still, by your favour of my rhyme,
Might not the self-same homage please, the while,
The dame who fills your northern clime
With wingèd emigrants sublime
From Cytherea's isle?[38]
By this, you understand, I mean
Love's guardian goddess, Mazarin.[39]

[35] Abstemius.
[36] _Madame Harvey_.--An English lady (_née_ Montagu), the
widow of an officer of Charles II. (of England) who is said to have
died at Constantinople. She was a visitor at the English embassy in
Paris, and moved in the highest circles generally of that city; a
circumstance which enabled La Fontaine to make her acquaintance and
secure her as one of his best friends and patrons. She died in 1702.
[37] _Your Prince_.--Charles II. of England.
[38] _Cytherea's isle_.--Where Venus was worshipped.
[39] _Goddess Mazarin_.--The Duchess de Mazarin, niece to the
Cardinal. She was at this time in England, where she died (at
Chelsea) in 1699. She married the Duke de la Meilleraie, but it was
stipulated that she should adopt the name and arms of Mazarin.

XXIV.--THE SUN AND THE FROGS.[40]

Long from the monarch of the stars
The daughters of the mud received
Support and aid; nor dearth nor wars,
Meanwhile, their teeming nation grieved.
They spread their empire far and wide
Through every marsh, by every tide.
The queens of swamps--I mean no more
Than simply frogs (great names are cheap)--
Caball'd together on the shore,
And cursed their patron from the deep,
And came to be a perfect bore.
Pride, rashness, and ingratitude,
The progeny of fortune good,
Soon brought them to a bitter cry,--
The end of sleep for earth and sky.
Their clamours, if they did not craze,
Would truly seem enough to raise
All living things to mutiny
Against the power of Nature's eye.
The sun,[41] according to their croak,
Was turning all the world to smoke.
It now behoved to take alarm,
And promptly powerful troops to arm.
Forthwith in haste they sent
Their croaking embassies;
To all their states they went,
And all their colonies.
To hear them talk, the all
That rides upon this whirling ball,
Of men and things, was left at stake
Upon the mud that skirts a lake!
The same complaint, in fens and bogs,
Still ever strains their lungs;
And yet these much-complaining frogs
Had better hold their tongues;
For, should the sun in anger rise,
And hurl his vengeance from the skies,
That kingless, half-aquatic crew
Their impudence would sorely rue.

[40] Phaedrus, I., 6. Fable XII., Book VI., gives another version of the
same story.
[41] _The sun_.--This fable has reference to the current troubles
between France and the Dutch. Louis XIV. is the sun. He had adopted
the sun as his emblem.

XXV.--THE LEAGUE OF THE RATS.

A mouse was once in mortal fear
Of a cat that watch'd her portal near.
What could be done in such a case?
With prudent care she left the catship,
And courted, with a humble grace,
A neighbour of a higher race,
Whose lordship--I should say his ratship--
Lay in a great hotel;
And who had boasted oft, 'tis said,
Of living wholly without dread.
'Well,' said this braggart, 'well,
Dame Mouse, what should I do?
Alone I cannot rout
The foe that threatens you.
I'll rally all the rats about,
And then I'll play him such a trick!'
The mouse her court'sy dropp'd,
And off the hero scamper'd quick,
Nor till he reach'd the buttery stopp'd,
Where scores of rats were clustered,
In riotous extravagance,
All feasting at the host's expense.
To him, arriving there much flustered,
Indeed, quite out of breath,
A rat among the feasters saith,
'What news? what news? I pray you, speak.'
The rat, recovering breath to squeak,
Replied, 'To tell the matter in a trice,
It is, that we must promptly aid the mice;
For old Raminagrab is making
Among their ranks a dreadful quaking.
This cat, of cats the very devil,
When mice are gone, will do us evil.'
'True, true,' said each and all;
'To arms! to arms!' they cry and call.
Some ratties by their fears
Were melted e'en to tears.
It matter'd not a whisk,
Nor check'd the valour brisk.
Each took upon his back
Some cheese in haversack,
And roundly swore to risk
His carcass in the cause.
They march'd as to a feast,
Not flinching in the least.--
But quite too late, for in his jaws
The cat already held the mouse.
They rapidly approach'd the house--
To save their friend, beyond a doubt.
Just then the cat came growling out,
The mouse beneath his whisker'd nose.
And march'd along before his foes.
At such a voice, our rats discreet,
Foreboding a defeat,
Effected, in a style most fleet,
A fortunate retreat.
Back hurried to his hole each rat,
And afterwards took care to shun the cat.

XXVI.--DAPHNIS AND ALCIMADURE.

An Imitation Of Theocritus.[42]

To Madame De La Mésangère.[43]

Offspring of her to whom, to-day,
While from thy lovely self away,
A thousand hearts their homage pay,
Besides the throngs whom friendship binds to please,
And some whom love presents thee on their knees!
A mandate which I cannot thrust aside
Between you both impels me to divide
Some of the incense which the dews distil
Upon the roses of a sacred hill,
And which, by secret of my trade,
Is sweet and most delicious made.
To you, I say, ... but all to say
Would task me far beyond my day;
I need judiciously to choose;
Thus husbanding my voice and muse,
Whose strength and leisure soon would fail.
I'll only praise your tender heart, and hale,
Exalted feelings, wit, and grace,
In which there's none can claim a higher place,
Excepting her whose praise is your entail.
Let not too many thorns forbid to touch
These roses--I may call them such--
If Love should ever say as much.
By him it will be better said, indeed;
And they who his advices will not heed,
Scourge fearfully will he,
As you shall shortly see.

A blooming miracle of yore
Despised his godship's sovereign power;
They call'd her name Alcimadure.
A haughty creature, fierce and wild,
She sported, Nature's tameless child.
Rough paths her wayward feet would lead
To darkest glens of mossy trees;
Or she would dance on daisied mead,
With nought of law but her caprice.
A fairer could not be,
Nor crueller, than she.
Still charming in her sternest mien,--
E'en when her haughty look debarr'd,--
What had she been to lover in
The fortress of her kind regard!
Daphnis, a high-born shepherd swain,
Had loved this maiden to his bane.
Not one regardful look or smile,
Nor e'en a gracious word, the while,
Relieved the fierceness of his pain.
O'erwearied with a suit so vain,
His hope was but to die;
No power had he to fly.
He sought, impell'd by dark despair,
The portals of the cruel fair.
Alas! the winds his only listeners were!
The mistress gave no entrance there--
No entrance to the palace where,
Ingrate, against her natal day,
She join'd the treasures sweet and gay
In garden or in wild-wood grown,
To blooming beauty all her own.
'I hoped,' he cried,
'Before your eyes I should have died;
But, ah! too deeply I have won your hate;
Nor should it be surprising news
To me, that you should now refuse
To lighten thus my cruel fate.
My sire, when I shall be no more,
Is charged to lay your feet before
The heritage your heart neglected.
With this my pasturage shall be connected,
My trusty dog, and all that he protected;
And, of my goods which then remain,
My mourning friends shall rear a fane.
There shall your image stand, midst rosy bowers,
Reviving through the ceaseless hours
An altar built of living flowers.
Near by, my simple monument
Shall this short epitaph present:
"Here Daphnis died of love. Stop, passenger,
And say thou, with a falling tear,
This youth here fell, unable to endure
The ban of proud Alcimadure."'

He would have added, but his heart
Now felt the last, the fatal dart.
Forth march'd the maid, in triumph deck'd,
And of his murder little reck'd.
In vain her steps her own attendants check'd,
And plead
That she, at least, should shed,
Upon her lover dead,
Some tears of due respect.
The rosy god, of Cytherea born,
She ever treated with the deepest scorn:
Contemning him, his laws, and means of damage,
She drew her train to dance around his image,
When, woful to relate,
The statue fell, and crush'd her with its weight!
A voice forth issued from a cloud,--
And echo bore the words aloud
Throughout the air wide spread,--
"Let all now love--the insensible is dead."
Meanwhile, down to the Stygian tide
The shade of Daphnis hied,
And quaked and wonder'd there to meet
The maid, a ghostess, at his feet.
All Erebus awaken'd wide,
To hear that beauteous homicide
Beg pardon of the swain who died--
For being deaf to love confess'd,
As was Ulysses to the prayer
Of Ajax, begging him to spare,
Or as was Dido's faithless guest.[44]

[42] Theocritus, Idyl xxiii.
[43] _Madame de la Mésangère._--This lady was the daughter of Madame
de la Sablière.--Translator. She was the lady termed La Marquise
with whom Fontenelle sustained his imaginary "conversation" in the
"Plurality of Worlds," a book which became very popular both in
France and England.
[44] _Dido's faithless guest_.--Aeneas, with whom Dido, according to
Virgil and Ovid, was in love, but who loved not, and sailed away.

XXVII.--THE ARBITER, THE ALMONER, AND THE HERMIT.

Three saints, for their salvation jealous,
Pursued, with hearts alike most zealous,
By routes diverse, their common aim.
All highways lead to Rome: the same
Of heaven our rivals deeming true,
Each chose alone his pathway to pursue.
Moved by the cares, delays, and crosses
Attach'd to suits by legal process,
One gave himself as judge, without reward,
For earthly fortune having small regard.
Since there are laws, to legal strife
Man damns himself for half his life.
For half?--Three-fourths!--perhaps the whole!
The hope possess'd our umpire's soul,
That on his plan he should be able
To cure this vice detestable.--
The second chose the hospitals.
I give him praise: to solace pain
Is charity not spent in vain,
While men in part are animals.
The sick--for things went then as now they go--
Gave trouble to the almoner, I trow.
Impatient, sour, complaining ever,
As rack'd by rheum, or parch'd with fever,--
'His favourites are such and such;
With them he watches over-much,
And lets us die,' they say,--
Such sore complaints from day to day
Were nought to those that did await
The reconciler of debate.
His judgments suited neither side;
Forsooth, in either party's view,
He never held the balance true,
But swerved in every cause he tried.

Discouraged by such speech, the arbiter
Betook himself to see the almoner.
As both received but murmurs for their fees,
They both retired, in not the best of moods,
To break their troubles to the silent woods,
And hold communion with the ancient trees.
There, underneath a rugged mountain,
Beside a clear and silent fountain,
A place revered by winds, to sun unknown,
They found the other saint, who lived alone.
Forthwith they ask'd his sage advice.
'Your own,' he answer'd, 'must suffice;
Who but yourselves your wants should know?
To know one's self, is, here below,
The first command of the Supreme.
Have you obey'd among the bustling throngs?
Such knowledge to tranquillity belongs;
Elsewhere to seek were fallacy extreme.
Disturb the water--do you see your face?
See we ourselves within a troubled breast?
A murky cloud in such a case,
Though once it were a crystal vase!
But, brothers, let it simply rest,
And each shall see his features there impress'd.
For inward thought a desert home is best.'

Such was the hermit's answer brief;
And, happily, it gain'd belief.

But business, still, from life must not be stricken
Since men will doubtless sue at law, and sicken,
Physicians there must be, and advocates,--
Whereof, thank God, no lack the world awaits,
While wealth and honours are the well-known baits.
Yet, in the stream of common wants when thrown,
What busy mortal but forgets his own?
O, you who give the public all your care,
Be it as judge, or prince, or minister,
Disturb'd by countless accidents most sinister,
By adverse gales abased, debased by fair,--
Yourself you never see, nor _see_ you aught.
Comes there a moment's rest for serious thought,
There comes a flatterer too, and brings it all to nought.
This lesson seals our varied page:
O, may it teach from age to age!
To kings I give it, to the wise propose;
Where could my labours better close?[45]

[45] This fable was first printed in the "Recueil de vers choisis du P.
Bouhours," published in 1693, and afterwards given as the last of La
Fontaine's Book XII.

* * * * *

FINIS.

* * * * *

INDEX TO THE FABLES.

A.

Abdera, People of, and Democritus. VIII. 26. Acorn and Pumpkin. IX. 4. Aesop and the Will. II. 20. Adder and Man. X. 2. Adventurers and Talisman. X. 14. Advantage of Knowledge. VIII. 19. Alcimadure and Daphnis. XII. 26. Almoner, Arbiter, and Hermit. XII. 27. Amaranth and Thyrsis. VIII. 13. Animal in the Moon. VII. 18. Animals, Monkey, and Fox. VI. 6. Animals sending Tribute, &c. IV. 12. Animals sick of the Plague. VII. 1. Ant and Dove. II. 12. Ant and Fly. IV. 3. Ant and Grasshopper. I. 1. Ape of Jupiter and Elephant. XII. 21. Ape of Paris. XII. 19. Arbiter, Almoner, and Hermit. XII. 27. Ass and Dog. VIII. 17. Ass and his Masters. VI. 11. Ass and Horse. VI. 16. Ass and Lion, hunting. II. 19. Ass and Little Dog. IV. 5. Ass and Old Man. VI. 8. Ass and Thieves. I. 13. Ass bearing Relics. V. 14. Ass, Dead, and Two Dogs. VIII. 25. Ass in Lion's Skin. V. 21. Ass loaded with Sponges, and the Ass loaded with Salt. II. 10. Ass, Miller, and Son. III. 1. Asses, Two, Lion, and Monkey. XI. 5. Astrologer who fell into a Well. II. 13. Atheist and Oracle. IV. 19.

B.

Bat, Bush, and Duck. XII. 7. Bat and Two Weasels. II. 5. Bear and Gardener. VIII. 10. Bear and Lioness. X. 13. Bear and Two Companions. V. 20. Bees and Hornets. I. 21. Beetle and Eagle. II. 8. Belly and Members. III. 2. Bird wounded by an Arrow. II. 6. Birds, Little, and Swallow. I. 8. Bitch and her Friend. II. 7. Boreas and Phoebus. VI. 3. Boy and Schoolmaster. I. 19. Bulls, Two, and Frog. II. 4. Burier and his Comrade. X. 5. Bust and Fox. IV. 14.

C.

Camel and Floating Sticks. IV. 10. Candle, Wax. IX. 12. Capon and Falcon. VIII. 21. Cartman in the Mire. VI. 18. Cat and Fox. IX. 14. Cat and Monkey. IX. 17. Cat and Old Rat. III. 18. Cat and Rat. VIII. 22. Cat and Two Sparrows. XII. 2. Cat, Cockerel, and Mouse. VI. 5. Cat, Eagle, and Wild Sow. III. 6. Cat metamorphosed to a Woman. II. 18. Cat, Old, and Young Mouse. XII. 5. Cat, Weasel, and Young Rabbit. VII. 16. Cats and Dogs, &c., Quarrel of the. XII. 8. Charlatan. VI. 19. Child and Fortune. V. 11. Coach and Fly. VII. 9. Cobbler and Financier. VIII. 2. Cock and Fox. II. 15. Cock and Pearl. I. 20. Cockerel, Cat, and Young Mouse. VI. 5. Cocks and Partridge. X. 8. Cocks, The Two. VII. 13. Combat of Rats and Weasels. IV. 6. Companions of Ulysses. XII. 1. Cook and Swan. III. 12. Cormorant and Fishes. X. 4. Corpse and Curate. VII. 11. Council held by the Rats. II. 2. Countryman and Serpent. VI. 13. Court of the Lion. VII. 7. Curate and Corpse. VII. 11.

D.

Dairy-woman and Pot of Milk. VII. 10. Daphnis and Alcimadure. XII. 26. Death and the Dying. VIII. 1. Death and the Unfortunate. I. 15. Death and Wood-Chopper. I. 16. Democritus and the People of Abdera. VIII. 26. Depositary, The Faithless. IX. 1. Discord. VI. 20. Doctors. V. 12. Dog and Ass. VIII. 17. Dog and Wolf. I. 5. Dog carrying his Master's Dinner. VIII. 7. Dog, Farmer, and Fox. XI. 3. Dog, Lean, and Wolf. IX. 10. Dog, Little, and Ass. IV. 5. Dog who lost the Substance for the Shadow. VI. 17. Dog with his Ears cut off. X. 9. Dogs, Cats, &c., The Quarrel of the. XII. 8. Dogs, The Two, and Dead Ass. VIII. 25. Dolphin and Monkey. IV. 7. Dove and Ant. II. 12. Doves, The Two. IX. 2. Duck, Bat, and Bush. XII. 7. Ducks and Tortoise. X. 3. Dragon of Many Heads, and Dragon of Many Tails. I. 12. Dream of the Mogul. XI. 4. Drunkard and his Wife. III. 7.

E.

Eagle and Beetle. II. 8. Eagle and Magpie. XII. 11. Eagle and Owl. V. 18. Eagle and Raven. II. 16. Eagle, Wild Sow, and Cat. III. 6. Ears of the Hare. V. 4. Earthen Pot and Iron Pot. V. 2. Education. VIII. 24. Elephant and Ape of Jupiter. XII. 21. Elephant and Rat. VIII. 15. English Fox. XII. 23. Eye of the Master. IV. 21.

F.

Fables, The Power of. VIII. 4. Falcon and Capon. VIII. 21. Falconer, King, and Kite. XII. 12. Farmer and Jupiter. VI. 4. Farmer, Dog, and Fox. XI. 3. File and Serpent. V. 16. Financier and Cobbler. VIII. 2. Fish, Little, and Fisher. V. 3. Fishes and Cormorant. X. 4. Fishes and Joker. VIII. 8. Fishes and Shepherd who played the Flute. X. 11. Flea and Man. VIII. 5. Floating Sticks and Camel. IV. 10. Flies, Fox, and Hedgehog. XII. 13. Fly and Ant. IV. 3. Fly and Coach. VII. 9. Folly and Love. XII. 14. Fool and Sage. XII. 22. Fool who sold Wisdom. IX. 8. Forest and Woodman. XII. 16. Fortune and the Boy. V. 11. Fortune, Ingratitude towards. VII. 14. Fortune-Tellers. VII. 15. Fortune, the Man who ran after, &c. VII. 12. Fowler, Hawk, and Lark. VI. 15. Fox and Bust. IV. 14. Fox and Cat. IX. 14. Fox and Cock. II. 15. Fox, Farmer, and Dog. XI. 3. Fox and Goat. III. 5. Fox and Grapes. III. 11. Fox and Raven. I. 2. Fox and Sick Lion. VI. 14. Fox and Stork. I. 18. Fox and Turkeys. XII. 18. Fox and Wolf. XI. 6., XII. 9. Fox and Wolf before the Monkey. II. 3. Fox, English. XII. 23. Fox, Flies, and Hedgehog. XII. 13. Fox, Lion, and Wolf. VIII. 3. Fox, Monkey, and Animals. VI. 6. Fox, Two Rats, and Egg. X. 1. Fox with his Tail cut off. V. 5. Fox, Wolf, and Horse. XII. 17. Friends, The Two. VIII. 11. Frog and Rat. IV. 11. Frog and Two Bulls. II. 4. Frog who would be as big as the Ox. I. 3. Frogs and Hare. II. 14. Frogs and Sun. VI. 12., XII. 24. Frogs asking a King. III. 4. Funeral of the Lioness. VIII. 14.

G.

Gardener and Bear. VIII. 10. Gardener and his Lord. IV. 4. Gardener, Pedant, and School-boy. IX. 5. Gazelle, Raven, Tortoise, and Rat. XII. 15. Gnat and Lion. II. 9. Goat and Fox. III. 5. Goat, Heifer, Sheep, and Lion. I. 6. Goat, Hog, and Sheep. VII. 12. Goat, Kid, and Wolf. IV. 15. Goats, The Two. XII. 4. Gods wishing to educate a Son of Jupiter. XI. 2. Gout and Spider. III. 8. Grapes and Fox. III. 11. Grasshopper and Ant. I. 1.

H.

Hard to suit, Against the. II. 1. Hare and Frogs. II. 14. Hare and Partridge. V. 17. Hare and Tortoise. VI. 10. Hare, Ears of the. V. 4. Hawk, Fowler, and Lark. VI. 15. Head and Tail of the Serpent. VII. 17. Hedgehog, Fox, and Flies. XII. 13. Heifer, Sheep, Goat, and Lion. I. 6. Hen with Golden Eggs. V. 13. Hermit, Arbiter, and Almoner. XII. 27. Heron. VII. 4. Hog, Goat, and Sheep. VIII. 12. Hornets and Honey-Bees. I. 21. Horoscope. VIII. 16. Horse and Ass. VI. 16. Horse and Stag. IV. 13. Horse and Wolf. V. 8. Horse, Fox, and Wolf. XII. 17. Hunter and Lion. VI. 2. Hunter and Wolf. VIII. 27. Husband, Wife, and Thief. IX. 15.

I.

Idol of Wood and Man. IV. 8. Ill-Married. VII. 2. Image, Man and his. I. 11.

J.

Jay and the Peacock's Feathers. IV. 9. Joker and Fishes. VIII. 8. Juno and Peacock. II. 17. Jupiter and Farmer. VI. 4. Jupiter and the Thunderbolts. VIII. 20. Jupiter and Traveller. IX. 13.

K.

Kid, Goat, and Wolf. IV. 15. King, Kite, and Falconer. XII. 12. King and Shepherd. X. 10. King, his Son, and the Two Parrots. X. 12. King's Son, Merchant, Noble, and Shepherd. X. 16. Kite and Nightingale. IX. 18. Kite, King, and Falconer. XII. 12. Knowledge, The Use of. VIII. 19.

L.

Lamb and Wolf. I. 10. Lark and her Young Ones, &c. IV. 22. Lark, Fowler, and Hawk. VI. 15. League of the Rats. XII. 25. Leopard and Monkey. IX. 3. Lion. XI. 1. Lion and Ass hunting. II. 19. Lion, Goat, Heifer, and Sheep. I. 6. Lion and Gnat. II. 9. Lion and Hunter. VI. 2. Lion and Rat. II. 11. Lion and Shepherd. VI. 1. Lion beaten by Man. III. 10. Lion, Court of the. VII. 7. Lion going to War. V. 19. Lion grown old. III. 14. Lion in Love. IV. 1. Lion, Monkey, and two Asses. XI. 5. Lion, The Sick, and Fox. VI. 14. Lion, Wolf, and Fox. VIII. 3. Lioness and Bear. X. 13. Lioness, Funeral of the. VIII. 14. Litigants and Oyster. IX. 9. Lobster and Daughter. XII. 10. Love and Folly. XII. 14. Love, Lion in. IV. 1.

M.

Magpie and Eagle. XII. 11. Maid. VII. 5. Man and Adder. X. 2. Man and Flea. VIII. 5. Man and his Image. I. 11. Man and Two Mistresses. I. 17. Man and Wooden God. IV. 8. Man beating a Lion. III. 20. Man who ran after Fortune. &c. VII. 12. Master, The Eye of the. IV. 21. Members and Belly. III. 2. Men, The Two, and Treasure. IX. 16. Merchant and Pashaw. VIII. 18. Merchant, Noble, Shepherd, and King's Son. X. 16. Mercury and Woodman. V. 1. Miller, Son, and Ass. III. 1. Mice and Cats, Quarrel of the, &c. XII. 8. Mice and Owl. XI. 9. Miser and Monkey. XII. 3. Miser who had lost his Treasure. IV. 20. Mogul's Dream. XI. 4. Monkey and Cat. IX. 17. Monkey and Dolphin. IV. 7. Monkey and Leopard. IX. 3. Monkey and Miser. XII. 3. Monkey, Fox, and Animals. VI. 6. Monkey judging Wolf and Fox. II. 3. Monkey, Lion, and Two Asses. XI. 5. Mother, Child, and Wolf. IV. 16. Mountain in Labour, V. 10. Mouse, Cockerel, and Cat. VI. 5. Mouse metamorphosed into a Maid. IX. 7. Mouse, Young, and Cat. XII. 5. Mule boasting of his Genealogy. VI. 7. Mules, The Two. I. 4.

N.

Nightingale and Kite. IX. 18. Nobleman, Merchant, Shepherd, and King's Son. X. 16. Nothing too Much. IX. 11.

O.

Oak and Reed. I. 22. Old Cat and Young Mouse. XII. 5. Old Man and Ass. VI. 8. Old Man and his Sons. IV. 18. Old Man and Three Young Ones. XI. 8. Old Woman and Two Servants. V. 6. Oracle and the Atheist. IV. 19. Owl and Eagle. V. 18. Owl and Mice. XI. 9. Oyster and Litigants. IX. 9. Oyster and Rat. VIII. 9.

P.

Parrots, The Two, the King, and his Son. X. 12. Partridge and Cocks. X. 8. Partridge and Hare. V. 17. Pashaw and Merchant. VIII. 18. Peacock complaining to Juno. II. 17. Pearl and Cock. I. 20. Peasant of the Danube. XI. 7. Pedant, Schoolboy, and Gardener. IX. 5. Philomel and Progne. III. 15. Phoebus and Boreas. VI. 3. Pigeons and Vultures. VII. 8. Pigeons, The Two. IX. 2. Ploughman and his Sons. V. 9. Pot of Earth and the Pot of Iron. V. 2. Pot of Milk and Dairy-woman. VII. 10. Power of Fables. VIII. 4. Pumpkin and Acorn. IX. 4.

Q.

Quarrel of the Dogs and Cats, &c. XII. 8.

R.

Rabbit, Cat, and Weasel. VII. 16. Rabbits. X. 15. Rat and Cat. VIII. 22. Rat and Elephant. VIII. 15. Rat and Frog. IV. 11. Rat and Lion. II. 11. Rat and Oyster. VIII. 9. Rat, City, and Country Rat. I. 9. Rat, Old, and Cat. III. 18. Rat retired from the World. VII. 3. Rat, Tortoise, Raven, and Gazelle. XII. 15. Rats and Weasels, Combat of. IV. 6. Rats, Council of the. II. 2. Rats, League of the. XII. 25. Rats, Two, Fox, and Egg. X. 1. Raven wishing to imitate the Eagle. II. 16. Raven and Fox. I. 2. Raven, Tortoise, Gazelle, and Rat. XII. 15. Reed and Oak. I. 22. River and Torrent. VIII. 23. Robber, Husband, and Wife. IX. 15.

S.

Sage and Fool. XII. 22. Satyr and Traveller. V. 7. Schoolboy, Pedant, and Gardener. IX. 5. Schoolmaster and Boy. I. 19. Sculptor and Statue of Jupiter. IX. 6. Scythian Philosopher. XII. 20. Sea, The Shepherd and the. IV. 2. Serpent and Countryman. VI. 13. Serpent and File. V. 16. Serpent, Head and Tail of. VII. 17. Servants, Two, and Old Woman. V. 6. Sheep and Wolves. III. 13. Sheep, Heifer, Goat, and Lion. I. 6. Sheep, Hog, and Goat. VIII. 12. Shepherd and his Flock. IX. 19. Shepherd and King. X. 10. Shepherd and Lion. VI. 1. Shepherd and Sea. IV. 2. Shepherd and Wolf. III. 3. Shepherd, Merchant, Noble, and King's Son. X. 16. Shepherd who played the Flute, and Fishes. X. 11. Shepherds and Wolf. X. 6. Simonides preserved by the Gods. I. 14. Socrates, The Words of. IV. 17. Sow (Wild), Cat, and Eagle. III. 6. Sparrows, Two, and Cat. XII. 2. Spider and Gout. III. 8. Spider and Swallow. X. 7. Stag and Horse. IV. 13. Stag and Vine. V. 15. Stag seeing Himself in the Water. VI. 9. Stag, Sick. XII. 6. Stork and Fox. I. 18. Stork and Wolf. III. 9. Sun and Frogs. VI. 12., XII. 24. Swallow and Little Birds. I. 8. Swallow and Spider. X. 9. Swan and Cook. III. 12.

T.

Talisman and Two Adventurers. X. 14. Thieves and Ass. I. 13. Thyrsis and Amaranth. VIII. 13. Tortoise and Hare. VI. 10. Tortoise and two Ducks. X. 3. Tortoise, Gazelle. Raven, and Rat. XII. 15. Torrent and River. VIII. 23. Traveller and Jupiter. IX. l3. Traveller and Satyr. V. 7. Treasure and Two Men. IX. 16. Turkeys and Fox. XII. 18.

U.

Ulysses, Companions of. XII. 1. Unfortunate and Death. I. 15.

V.

Vine and Stag. V. 15. Vultures and Pigeons. VII. 8.

W.

Wallet. I. 7. Wax-Candle. IX. 12. Weasel, Cat, and Rabbit. VII. 16. Weasel in a Granary. III. 17. Weasels, Two, and Bat. II. 5. Weasels and Rats, Combat of. IV. 6. Widow, The Young. VI. 21. Wild Sow, Eagle, and Cat. III. 6. Will explained by Aesop. II. 20. Wishes. VII. 6. Wolf and Dog. I. 5. Wolf and Fox. XII. 9. Wolf and Fox at the Well. XI. 6. Wolf and Fox before the Monkey. II. 3. Wolf and Horse. V. 8. Wolf and Hunter. VIII. 27. Wolf and Lamb. I. 10. Wolf and Lean Dog. IX. 10. Wolf and Shepherds. X. 6. Wolf and Stork. III. 9. Wolf, Fox, and Horse. XII. 17. Wolf, Goat, and Kid. IV. 15. Wolf, Lion, and Fox. VIII. 3. Wolf, Mother, and Child. IV. 16. Wolf turned Shepherd. III. 3. Wolves and Sheep. III. 13. Woman Drowned. III. 16. Women and the Secret. VIII. 6. Wood-Chopper and Death. I. 16. Woodman and Forest. XII. 16. Woodman and Mercury. V. 1.

End of Project Gutenberg's The Fables of La Fontaine, by Jean de la Fontaine