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Le corbeau et le renard (1919)

Part of a series or song cycle:

Trois Fables de Jean de la Fontaine

Le corbeau et le renard

Jean De La Fontaine

Maître Corbeau, sur un arbre perché,
Tenait en son bec un fromage.
Maître Renard, par l'odeur alléché,
Lui tint à peu près ce langage:
Hé! Bonjour, Monsieur du Corbeau.
Que vous êtes joli! Que vous me semblez beau!
Sans mentir, si votre ramage
Se rapporte à votre plumage,
Vous êtes le phénix des hôtes de ces bois.
A ces mots le corbeau ne se sent pas de joie;
Et, pour montrer sa belle voix,
Il ouvre un large bec, laisse tomber sa proie.
Le renard s'en saisit, et dit: Mon bon monsieur,
Apprenez que tout flatteur
Vit aux dépens de celui qui l'écoute:
Cette leçon vaut bien un fromage, sans doute.
Le corbeau, honteux et confus,
Jura, mais un peu tard, qu'on ne l'y prendrait plus.

The crow and the fox

English Translation © Richard Stokes

Master Crow, perched on an oak,
Was holding a cheese in his beak.
Master Fox, lured by the scent,
Spoke more or less like this:
‘Good day, my dear Sir Crow,
How smart you are! How debonair you are!
In truth, if your song
Be as fine as your plumage,
You are the phoenix of these woods.’
At this, the crow grew wild with glee;
And to display his minstrelsy,
He opens a big beak and drops his booty.
The fox snaps it up, saying: ‘My dear sir,
Learn that every flatterer
Depends on an audience to live at ease.
This lesson is doubtless cheap at a cheese.’
The crow, shamefaced and in troubled state,
Vowed to be tricked no more – a little late.

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Composer

André Caplet

André Caplet  was a French composer and conductor now known primarily through his orchestrations of works by Claude Debussy.

Read more here.


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Poet

Jean De La Fontaine

Jean de La Fontaine (8 September 1621 – 13 April 1695) was a French fabulist and one of the most widely read French poets of the 17th century. He is known above all for his Fables, which provided a model for subsequent fabulists across Europe and numerous alternative versions in France, and in French regional languages.

After a long period of royal suspicion, he was admitted to the French Academy and his reputation in France has never faded since. Evidence of this is found in the many pictures and statues of the writer, as well as later depictions on medals, coins and postage stamps.

Taken from Wikipedia. You can read the full article here.

You can read or download Fontaine's Fables for free here on Gutenberg Press.


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