Selected Fables Fables Choisies Jean de La Fontaine

Selected Fables Fables Choisies Jean de La Fontaine A Dual-Language Book
Edited and Translated hy STANLEY APPELBAUM DOVER PUBLICATIONS, INC. Mineola, New York 10
Le loup et l'agnea u
The Wolf and the Lamb
Le lOllp et l'agneall
The vVolf and the Lmnb
La raison du plus fort est toujours la meilleure,
]\J ous J' allons montre r tout a l'he ll re.
t) 11 agneau Sf' desalterait
D ans Ie co urant ci'tll1e onele pure ,
Un lout> survient ajeun qui cherchait ave nture ,
Et que la ±aim en ces he ux attirai t
«Qui tc re nd si hardi de trouble r mon bre uvage';>
j)it cet anil1lal plein de rage:
Tu seras chatie de ta temerite .
-Sire, reponcll'agiieall, que Votre Majeste
Nc se mette pas en col t~ re; Mais plutOt qu'eUe considc:r e Q ue je me vas clesalte rant Dans Ie courant,
Plus de vingt pas au-dessolls u ' ElI e,
Et <.tue par co nsequent e n aucune Fa90n
Je ne puis troubler sa boisso n.
- Tu la troubIes, rep rit cette be te crnell e ,
El je sa i ~ Cjll e de moi tu medis l'an passe.
- CornnlP nt J'aurais-je fait , si je n'etais pas n(~:)
Eeprit l'agneau, je tette e ncor ma me re. -Si ce n'est toi, c'est done ton here, - Je n'en ai point.-Cest done quelqu\1l1 des tiens:
C ar vous ne J11'epargnez gue re,
Vous, vos bcrgers e t vos c hi.(~ n s.
On me l'a dit: il faut que je me venge,» La-dessus au fond des forets Le lour l'elllporte, et puis Ie mange Sans a utre forme de p roces . The stronger man's reasoning always carries the day,
as we shall demonstrate at once.
A lamb was quenching his thirst
in the current of a cJ ea r stream ,
Along carne a starving wolf ou t to try hi s luck;
hunger had drawn him to that spot.
'''Who makes you so bold as to muddy Ill y dlinking wate r?"
said that animal, full of rage:
"Yoll 'll be punished for your rashn ess."
"Sire," the lamb replied, "may it pl eas e your Majesty
not to get angry; rather, consider that 1 am drinking from the flOWin g curre nt
more than twenty paces downstream from you,
and that consequently the re is no way
in which I can muddy your drinking water. "
"You a're muddying it," replied that c ruel beast,
"and 1 know that you slande red me last year. "
"H ow could 1 have, since 1 wasn 't born yet?"
replied the lamb; 'Tm still suck lin g my mother." "If it wasn't you, then it \V ,l S your brother." "I have none," "Then it was some relative of yours: for all of yo u show me no mercy, you, yo ur shepherds and yo ur dogs. I was told about it: J must take reve nge for it. " The re upon the wolf carri ed him off d eep into the forest, and the n ate him witho ut any other form of du e process. 11
46
Le loup, la chevre, et Ie chevreall
Le loup , la chevre, et le chevreau
La bique allant re mplir sa trainante mamelle
Et paitre l'herbe nouvell e,
F erm a sa porte au loqu et,
Non sans dire ason biq uet:
«Gardez-vous sur votre vie
D 'ouvrir, qu e l'on ne VOllS die,
Pour enseigne et mot du gue t:
«Foin du loup et de sa race !"
Co m me elle disait ces mots,
Le loup , de fortun e passe.
Illes recue ille apropos,
Et les garde en sa me moire.
La bigue, COfllm e on peut croire,
N'avait pas vu Ie glouto n.
Des qll 'illa voi t parti e, il co ntrefai t son ton;
Et d'llile voix papela rde,
II demande qu'on ou vre, en disant: "Foin du loup! »,
Et croyallt e ntre r tou t d'un coup.
Le biquet soupc,:onneux par la re nte regarde.
dvlolltrez-moi patte blanche, ou je n'ouvrirai point»,
S '<~c ria-t-il d'abord (patte blanche est un point
Chez les loups, comm e on sait, rarement en usage).
Celui-ci, f() rt surpris d'e ntendre ce langage,
Comme il etait venu s'en retourna chez soi.
Oll se rait Ie biguet s'il e Ot ajou te roi
Au mot du gllet, que de fo rtun e Notre loup avait e nten dll '? Deux sOretes valent mieux qu'un e; Et Ie trop e ll cela ne fut jamais perdu.
The Wolf, the Coat and the Kid
The Wolf, the Goat and the Kid
The nannygoat, going out to re±lll her slack udder
and graze on the h esh grass,
locked her door vvith the latch,
not with out sayi ng to he r kid:
"On peril of your life make sure not to
open th e door, unless someo ne savs to vou,
as a rallying cry and passwo rd:
/
/
'To hell wi th the wolf and his breed l' "
While she was saying these wo rds,
the wolf just happened to co rn e by
H e heard th e m at th e ri ght moment,
and storeu th em in his me rnOIv.
The goat, as is easy to believe,
hadn;t see n th e glutton.
As soon as he saw that she was gone , he imitated he r voice,
and in san ctimonious tones
he as ked to be let in , saying, "To heJl with the woHl"
and thinking he'd he adm i.tted at oncc.
The kid , suspicious, looked thro ugh the crack.
"Show me a white paw or J won 't open up,"
he shouted first (white paws are a feature
nne])' fo und among wolves, as is well known).
The wolf, extre mely s urprised to hea r words of the sort ,
went back home just as he had co me.
'Whe re would the kid be iF he had le nt crede nce
to the password , which by mere accident our wolf had heard? Two safe l), measures are better than one; and extra attention in such matters has never been wasted .
/
47
110
Le lion, ie Loup, et if' renard
The LioTl, the Wolf and the Fox
111
II re tollm e chez lui; dans sa cave iI enserre
Largent e t sa joie a la fois.
Plus de chant; il pe rdit la voix
Du mom e nt qu'il gagna ce qui cause nos pein es .
Le sontllIeil ttuitta son logis, II e ut pour hates les soucis, L es sOLlp~ons, les alarm es vaines. Tout Ie jour il avait ]'~il au gue t; et ]a nuit,
Si yuelque chat fai srtit du bruit,
Le chat prenait l'arge nt A la fin Ie pallvre hornl1le
S'e n courut chez celui qu'il ne n§veill ait plus.
«ReTldez-moi , lui dit-il , mes chansons et mOil somme,
Et rep re nez vos cent eCll S."
He return ed horn e; in hi s cellar he locked up
the money, <lnd hi s joy at th e same time.
No more singing: he lost his voice
th e mo ment he acquire d tlt e cause of our woes.
Sleep abandoned hi s dwelling;
he had ft)r guests worries,
suspicions , fals e alarm s;
alI day h e kept a sharp lookout; an d at night
if so me cat made noise ,
the cat was taking the mon ey Finally th e poor man
ran to th e home of th e one he no longer awake ned:
"Give me back," he said, "my so ngs <lllcl my sleep ,
and take back your hundred crowns."
Le lion, le loup , et le renard
The Lion, the Wolf and the Fox
Un lion decrepit, gOllttellx, H'e ll pOllvant plus,
VOlllait que ]'o n trouvilt relllede ~I la vieill esse.
Allegue r l'imposs ible aux rois, c'est un ahlls.
Ce lui-ci pan ni c:hatl'le espece
Mand<l des medecins; 11 e n est de tou s alts.
Medecin s all lion vie nne nt de toutes parts;
De tous cOtes lui vie nt des donne urs de recettes.
Dans les visites qui sont £Clites,
Le renard se di spense, e t se tient c:I os e t coi.
Le loup e n f<lit sa com, daube au c:ouche r du roi
A decrepit, go ut-riclclen lion , devoid of all vigor,
wanted so me cure to be found For old age .
To assert to kings that th eir "vishes are impossible is an e rror.
This king summon ed doctors
helonging to every animal species; th e re are doctors in all specialties.
Physicians came to the li on from eve rywhere;
from all sides he receives write rs of prescriptions .
From the visits made to th e lion
th e fo x absents himself, and re mains (lu iet and seclude d.
The wolr takes this opportunity to in gratiate himse lf; at th e king's
bedtim e cere mony
he de ni grates his absent colleague: the ruler imm ediate ly
orders men to go and smoke the fox out of hi s hole
and lllake him come. H e co mes, he is presented,
and, knOWing th at the wolf created this situation for him ,
he says: "I fear, Sire, that a rather untruthful report
has charged me with conte m pt for h elving delayed this homage; but I was on a pilgrimage, <lnd was fulfilling a vow I had made for yo ur health.
In fact, on my journey J went to see
expelts and scholars, and told them about the weakness
whose consequences Your Maj esty helS every right to fear:
Son camarade absent: Ie prillce tout a l'he ure Vcut qu'on ai ll e enfurner re nard dan s sa demeure, Qu'on Ie fasse venir. II vient, est pn~se nte, Et, sachant (lue Ie loup lui faisait c:ctte affaire: «Je crain s, Sire, dit-il, qu 'un rappolt peu sincere Ne m'ait a meplis impute D 'avoir diflere cet hOlllmage; Mai s retais en p elerinage, Et m'acquittais d\m vceu fait pour votre sante.
Meme r ai vu dans mon voyage
Gens exp erts e t savants, le ur ai rut la langueur
D on t Votre Majes te craint a bon droit la suite:
112
Le pouvoir desfahles
VOUS ne manqu ez que de chaleur; Le long age e n vous l' a detruite . D'un loup ecorche vif appliquez-vous la pe au
Toute chaude et toute fum ante ;
Le secret sans do LIte en est beau
Pour la nature defaillante .
Messire loup vous servira,
S'il vous plait, de robe d e chambre .»
Le roi goute cet avis-lit
On ecorche, on tailie , on d eme mbre
Messire IOllp. Le monarque e n soupa, Et de sa peaLl s'e nveloppa. Messieurs les courtisan s, cessez d e vous cletruire: Faites, si vous pouvez, votre cour sans vous nuire. Le mal se re nd chez VOliS au quadruple du bi en. Les daube urs ont le ur tour d 'une ou J 'autre maniere : VOllS etes dans une caniere Ou l'on ne se pardonne lien , Th e Power of Fables
all you 're lacking is heat; your great age has destroyed it in you. Vvrap yours elf in th e skin of a wolf flayed alive,
while it's still hot and smoking;
its hidde n properti es are no doubt be neficial
to flagging natural functions.
D octor Wolf, if yo u pl ease,
will se rve as a dreSSing gown. "
The king likes that advice:
they flay, cut up and dismembe r
Doctor 'Wolf. The monarch supped on him and wrapped himse lf in his skin. C ourtiers, cease destroying on e anoth e r: iI' you can , ingratiate yoursel ves without harming each oth er. In your Inili e il evil is re turn ed at a rate fOllr times greater than good. Backhiters get their puni shme nt in one manner or another: you're engaged in a career in which no one ever forgi ves or is forgiven. Le pouvoir des fables
The Power of Fables
A MON SIEUH DE BARILLON
To MONSlEUH DE BAHILLONsO
La qualite cl'ambassade ur
Pe ut-elle s'abaisse r a des contes vulgaires ';J
Vou s pl1i s-je offrir mes vers et leurs graces legeres?
S'ils osent ql1elquefois prendre un air de grandeur,
Seront-ils poi nt traites par vous d e teJ11eraires'~
VOliS avez bien d 'autres affaires A d e meler que les de bats Du lapin et de la be lette , Lisez-les, ne les lisez pas; Mais e mpechez qu'on ne no us mette Toute l'Europe sur les bras. Que de mille endroits de la terre II nOliS vienn e des ennemis, 1]3
Can th e rank of ambass ador
stoop to hearing everyday stories?
May I offer you m)' verses and their unweighty graces?
If they sometimes ven ture to assum e an air o f grandeur,
won't you can the m foolhardy?
You have many other matters to resolve than th e squabbles of the rabbit and the weclsel. Read th e m, don't read the m: but preve nt us from becoming encumbe red with all of Europe. If from a thousand places on ealth enemies ru sh upon us, 50
More prope rly spe ll ed Barrill o n; .F rendt ambassador tu En gland.
......... 192
Le renard, Ie loup , et le cheval
Th e Fox, the Wolf and the Horse
Le renard, le loup , et le cheval
The Fox, the vVolf and the Horse
Un re nardj e une encor, quoique des plus madres,
Vit Ie premie r cheval qu'i1 eGt Vll de sa vie.
11 dit a celiai n loup, franc novice: «Accourez:
Un animal pall dans nos pres,
Beau, grand; j' e n ai la vue e ncor to ute ravie.
A fox who ,vas still young, though one of the wiliest, saw the first horse he '0 ever seen in his life. H e said to a ce rtain wolf, who was a raw novice : "Co me ! Th ere's an animal grazing in our m eadows
that's beautiful and tall; my eyes are still delighted at the sight of
him. "
"Is he stronger than we are?" said the wolf, laughing;
"describe him to me, please."
"If I were som e painter or some student,"
re pli ed th e fo x, "I would give yo n a foretaste of th e pleasure
th at you'll experie nce whe n YO ll see him.
But corn e l who knows? Maybe he's a prey
th at good fOliun e has se nt our way."
Th ey set out; and the horse, who had been turne d out to grass
and was not ve ry eager to meet new friends of th at sort,
was al most on the p oint of escaping.
"Sir," said the fox, "your humbl e servants
wo uld gladly learn your name. "
Th e horse, who wasn 't short on brain s,
said to th e m: "Reao my name; yo u can do that, gentle me n;
my shoe make r put it in writing around my soles ,"
The fox apolOgi zed for his lack of knowledge.
"My parents," he replied, "didn 't have me educated;
th ey' re poor, and a hol e in the gro und is all they own.
Th ose of the wolf, p eople of standin g, had him taught to read ."
The wolf, flattered by this speech ,
came up dose; but his vanity
cost him four teeth: the horse unleashed a ki ck
at him; then bolted away. There was th e wolf on the ground ,
in poor shape, bleeding and injured.
"Brother, " said the fox, "this co nfirms for us
what clever people have told me :
that animal has written on your jaw
that the \,yise man is suspicio us of anything unknown to him ,"
-Est-i! plus tOli que nOll s? c1it Ie lo up en riant.
Fais-moi son portrait, je te pIie.
-Si j'etais quelqlle p eintre OU qll el(lUe e tud ian t,
Hepartit Ie re nard , j'avancerais la joi e
Que vom aurez e n Ie voyant.
Mitis ve nez. Que sait-on ? pent-etre est-ce une proie
Qu e la Fortune nollS envoie.»
lI s von t; e t Ie cheval, qu 'a !'he rbe on avait mis ,
Assez pe u curieux de se m blables amis ,
Flit presqu e sur Ie point d'enfil er la venelle .
«Seign e ur, dit Ie renard , vos humbles servite urs
Appre noraiellt volonti ers co mm ent on vo us appelle.»
Le ch eval, qui n'e tait depourvu de cervelle,
Le ur dit: «Li sez mon nom , vous Ie p Oll vez, Messieu rs;
Mon cordonnier 1'a mis autour de ma se melle.»
Le re nard s'eXCLlsa sur son peu de savoir.
"Mes parents, reprit-il, ne m'o nt point hlit in stmire;
Ils sont p"luvres , et n 'on t lIll 'un troll p our tout avoir.
Ceux dll loup, gros mess ie urs, l'ont fait apprendre a lire.»
Le loup , par ce disco Llrs £lau e ,
S'approcha; mais sa vanite
Lui coiita quatre de nts: Ie cheval lui desserre
Un coup; e t haut Ie pi ed. Voil a mOll loup par terre,
Mal e n pOint, sanglant et gate
"Fre re, dit Ie renard, ceci nous justifie
Ce que m'ont dit des gens 'cl 'esprit:
Cct animal VOllS a sur la madlOire ecrit
Que de tout incon nu Ie sage se mefie.»
193
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