Selected Fables

La Fontaine's Fables popularised some of our most loved proverbial tales, including The Hare and the Tortoise and The Hen Who Laid Golden Eggs.Jean de la Fontaine (1621-95) freely plundered the works of Aesop, Phaedrus, Bidpai and others to transform the world's great fables into charming poems of astonishing originality, wit and verve. Here he depicts lions, frogs, donkeys, rats, insects, birds and wily foxes in situations that reveal the quirks, follies and frailties he observed in humankind. Sins of pride, greed and vanity come under humorous attack - a cunning fox tricks a crow out of his dinner, an arrogant hare loses a race to a steady tortoise, a merry cicada who sings all summer finds herself hungry in winter, and the goddess Juno scolds a peacock who covets a nightingale's song. But faith in human nature can also be found in poems such as those in which a wolf is saved from choking by a helpful stork, demonstrating an engaging belief in the possibilities of redemption.

Jean de La Fontaine (1621-1695) French poet, whose FABLES rank among the masterpieces of world literature. His FABLES CHOISIES MISES EN VERS, usually called 'La Fontaine Fables', were published over the last 25 years of his life. The first volume appeared when the author was 47. The book includes some 240 poems and timeless stories of countryfolk, heroes from Greek mythology, and familiar beasts from the fables of Aesop.James Michie was born in 1927. His publications include translations of The Odes of Horace, The Poems of Catullus and The Epigrams of Martial.

La Fontaine (1621-95) is best known for his comic and delightful fables. This lively new translation of the most famous among them captures the wit and nuances of the original. The selection - of 110 of the 240 Fables - spans La Fontaine's long writing life and shows his progression from short, charming children's tales to longer, more philosophical fables. The parallel French text, scholarly introduction, and detailed notes and appendices make it ideal both for students and for all lovers of poetry.

A collection of the world's most beloved fables Jean de la Fontaine popularized some of our most loved proverbial tales, including "The Hare and the Tortoise" and "The Hen Who Laid Golden Eggs," transforming the world's great fables into charming works of astonishing originality, wit, and verve. James Michie's earthy translations capture the friendly brio, nimble comedy, and jaunty wisdom of the original. * Black-and-white line drawings by J. J. Grandville introduce each fable

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