Fables from Fenelon (Cover: Fenelon's Fables)
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Authors
Fénelon, François de Salignac de La Mothe-
Issue Date
1849
Volume
Issue
Type
Pamphlet
Book, Whole
Book, Whole
Language
Keywords
Alternative Title
Abstract
Here is a sixteen-page pamphlet measuring a bit over 4 x 2¾ and presenting five fables, each with a simple illustration. The Two Foxes presents an older and a younger fox who ravage a hen-house. The former wants to eat all now, while the latter wants to return again to consume his winnings at a measured pace. The result surprises me: the former dies from overeating as soon as he returns home, while the latter is caught and killed when he returns the next day. In The Wolf and the Lamb, the latter believes the former when he, from just outside the protected sheepfold, praises the grass and water outside the fold. He jumps over the wall and is killed immediately by the wolf. In The She Bear, a crow advises the title-character not to destroy her shapeless offspring. The mother is patient, rears a fine bear, and is grateful to the crow for the sage advice. The Two Mice is my favorite among these fables. One mouse is gnawing a book and reads in it that India treats mice honorably because of the people's belief in metempsychosis. He convinces his mouse companion to travel with him to India. They arrive in Surat, go to the house for mice, and demand the honors which they presume to deserve. In short, they put on such airs about their supposed former births that the local mice strangle them! In The Bees a queen bee approaches a prince who has observed the activity of a hive for the first time. She gives him a sermon on working for the good of the community.
Description
Citation
Publisher
C.E. Hammett Jr.,
License
Journal
Volume
Issue
PubMed ID
DOI
Identifier
4616 (Access ID)