The Fables of Jean de La Fontaine, published in twelve books between 1668 and 1694, are some 240 short tales in verse, mostly about animals, each with a moral. Drawn from Aesop, Phaedrus and Eastern collections, they are among the most famous works of French literature.
Twelve books
The first collection, in six books, was published in 1668 and dedicated to the Dauphin, the six-year-old son of Louis XIV. It retold fables mostly from Aesop and Phaedrus: the grasshopper and the ant, the crow and the fox, the wolf and the lamb.
A second collection (books VII to XI) appeared in 1678–1679, with fables inspired by the Indian sage Bidpai. A twelfth book was published in 1694, dedicated to the Duke of Burgundy, the king's grandson.
Art of the fable
La Fontaine transformed the plain fable into poetry, with varied lines, lively dialogue, humour and sharp observation of human behaviour. Animals stand for courtiers, kings, the greedy and the vain.
The moral, sometimes ironic, comes at the beginning or at the end, and sometimes not at all.
In English
The Fables have been translated into English many times. Elizur Wright's complete verse translation was published in 1841, and the poet Marianne Moore published her own version in 1954.
Illustrated by Jean-Baptiste Oudry, Grandville and Gustave Doré, the Fables have accompanied generations of readers.
Anecdotes
Learned by heart
For generations, French schoolchildren have learned fables such as The Grasshopper and the Ant and The Crow and the Fox by heart, and many of their lines have become proverbs in French.
A dauphin of six
The first collection was dedicated to the Grand Dauphin, then six years old. In the dedication La Fontaine explains that fables are a way of teaching serious truths through pleasant stories.
Frequently asked questions
How many fables did La Fontaine write?
About 240, in twelve books published between 1668 and 1694.
Where do the stories come from?
Mainly from Aesop and Phaedrus, and for the later books from Indian and Persian fables attributed to Bidpai.
Who translated the Fables into English?
Elizur Wright in 1841, among many others.