All the imagination, whimsy, and invention that have made Alexander Calder's mobiles and stabiles so popular. 36 fables — in rhymed translation by Eunice Clark — with a Calder drawing for each fable and 12 additional vignettes. Includes "The Lion in Love" and "The Hen That Laid the Golden Eggs."
- 89 pages
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
eBook - ePub
Selected Fables of Jean de la Fontaine
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Topic
ArtSubtopic
Artist MonographsTHE CAT AND THE RAT
Four different animals were wont
(Rascally spirits all) to haunt
The hollow trunk of an aged pine:
Milady weasel with the long waist line,
Grip-Cheese, the cat, Mesh-Munch, the rat,
And one owl, a fowl disconsolate.
So many gathered at this one site
That a man laid out some nets one night
Around the pine-tree. Early next day,
The cat set forth to stalk his prey.
He failed in the murky light of dawn
To spot the trap. Heās caught! Heās gone!
He sets up a howl of desperation.
The rat comes running in great elation
To see his most deadly of enemies
Caught in the toils. Then cries Grip-Cheese:
āDear friend, the signs of your prodigality
Are numerous in my locality.
Come help me out of this trap where I fell
All unknowing. My heart did well
When, by some singular impulse, I
Made you the apple of my eyeā
Sole among ratsāand lavished my love.
Iām glad, I give thanks to the gods above
That I did. In fact I was going to prayers
Like a god-fearing cat, at dawn, and the snares
Snapped around me. My lifeās in your hands.
Dearest, come and undo these bands.ā
āWhatās in it for me?ā inquired the rat
āIāll swear a deathless concordat
With you,ā said Grip-Cheese. āMy very claws
Are at your service. Youāll have no cause
To fear, Iāll guard you from all reprisal,
Iāll eat the owl-wifeās mate and the weasel,
Whose feelings for you are distinctly cool.ā
At that the rat replied, āYou fool!
Iād be a sucker to set you free!ā
And he made for his hole in the old pine-tree.
There, the weasel was on the prowl,
So he climbed higher and met the owl.
Danger lurked wherever he turned.
āTwas the lesser evilāMesh-munch adjourned
To the cat, and managed, bit by bit
To disengage the hypocrite.
Just then the trapper himself drew nigh,
So the new partnership had to fly.
*
Later the cat saw the rat in the distance,
Alert and ready to make resistance;
āBrother,ā he said, āCome give me a kiss;
Your wariness of me I take amiss.
Do you see your former partner as foe?
Do you think that I could forget that I owe
My life, after God, to you.ā Said the rat,
āAnd I, do you think that Iād forget
Your nature? What pact gives the certitude
That a cat has a sense of gratitude?
Does anyone, indeed, rely
On covenants made of necessity?ā
THE HORSEāS REVENGE
Historically the horseās place
Was not to serve the human race.
When acorns were manās only foods
Horse, ass and mule could make the woods
Their home. And then one didnāt see
As in the present century
So many saddles, so many packs,
So many carts, so many hacks,
So many trappings, so many gigs,
So many military rigs;
And along with fewer carriages
Went fewer feasts and marriages.
A horse sought vengeance, in the past,
Upon a stag, which went so fast
That he could never, on the run,
Be attacked by anyone.
Requiring more skill, the horse
To a human had recourse.
The man got reins and leaped astride,
Proceeding day and night to ride
Without repose, until the stag
Was overtaken by the nag.
When hi...
Table of contents
- Cover
- Title Page
- Copyright Page
- Contents
- The Two Pouches
- The Hare and the Ban on Horns
- The Rat and the Elephant
- The Lion in Love
- The War Between the Rats and the Weasels
- The Mountainās Delivery
- The Pot of Clay and the Pot of Iron
- The Donkey and the Lapdog
- The Hen that Laid the Golden Eggs
- The Stag and the Vine
- The Camel and the Driftwood
- The Little Carp and the Angler
- The Jay in Peacockās Feathers
- The Eagle and the Owl
- The Man and the Wooden Idol
- The Donkey and the Relics
- The Old Man and his Children
- The Fox and the Mask
- The Miser Who Lost his Treasure
- The Two Doctors
- The Frog and the Rat
- The Farmer and his Sons
- The Ape and the Dolphin
- The Shepherd and the Sea
- The Ass and the Dog
- The Satyr and the Wayfarer
- Education
- The Madman who Sold Wisdom
- The Cat and the Rat
- The Horses Revenge
- Women and Secrets
- The Snake and the File
- The Hare and the Partridge
- The Horse and the Wolf
- The Bear and the Two Crooks
- The Man and the Flea
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Yes, you can access Selected Fables of Jean de la Fontaine by Alexander Calder in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Art & Artist Monographs. We have over 1.5 million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.