LE CERF MALADE
by Jean de La Fontaine · from Fables de La Fontaine
Adapted Version
Once, there was a deer. He lived in a big forest. One day, the deer felt very, very sick. He lay down on the ground. He could not stand up. His legs felt too weak. The Sick Deer was weak. He felt very bad. He felt sick all over.
Many other deer came to see him. They were his friends. They ran to his side. They wanted to help The Sick Deer. They wanted to make him feel better. Many deer stood around him. They stood very close to him. They talked in loud voices.
The Sick Deer was very tired. He wanted to rest. He needed to sleep. He spoke to his friends. "Please go home," he said. "I want to rest now. Please leave me alone." He just wanted quiet. He wanted peace.
But the other deer did not go. They stayed there. They stood around The Sick Deer. They talked and talked. They made much noise. They stayed for a very long time. They did not listen to him. They did not care.
At last, the other deer left. They walked to the nearby trees. They saw green grass there. They saw yummy leaves. The other deer were very hungry. The other deer ate a lot. They ate all the grass and leaves. They ate it all up.
The Sick Deer usually ate there. That was his food. His special food was gone. But now his food was gone. The other deer ate it all. They ate his grass. They ate his leaves. They left nothing for him.
The Sick Deer looked for food. He looked and looked. He found nothing to eat. He was very, very hungry. His tummy hurt. He had no food. This made him feel worse. He felt so weak.
The Sick Deer became weaker and weaker. He was so hungry. He had no strength. He could not get better. He was very, very sad. He just lay there. He felt very bad.
The sick deer could not get better. He was very, very sad. He felt so alone. It is not good when friends visit. It is bad to think only of self. They ate all his food. This was not kind. Good friends help. But good friends do not take everything. They do not take things without asking. They should be thoughtful.
Original Story
LE CERF MALADE.
En pays plein de cerfs, un cerf tomba malade.
Incontinent maint camarade
Accourt à son grabat le voir, le secourir,
Le consoler du moins: multitude importune.
Eh! messieurs, laissez-moi mourir:
Permettez qu’en forme commune
La Parque m’expédie; et finissez vos pleurs.
Point du tout: les consolateurs
De ce triste devoir tout au long s’acquittèrent,
Quand il plut à Dieu s’en allèrent:
Ce ne fut pas sans boire un coup,
C’est-à-dire sans prendre un droit de pâturage.
Tout se mit à brouter les bois du voisinage.
La pitance du cerf en déchut de beaucoup.
Il ne trouva plus rien à frire:
D’un mal il tomba dans un pire,
Et se vit réduit à la fin
A jeûner et mourir de faim.
Il en coûte à qui vous réclame,
Médecins du corps et de l’âme!
O temps! ô mœurs! j’ai beau crier,
Tout le monde se fait payer.
VII
Story DNA
Moral
Those who offer help often do so for their own benefit, sometimes at the expense of the one they claim to assist.
Plot Summary
A sick stag is visited by many fellow stags who claim to offer comfort. Despite the sick stag's plea to be left alone, they stay for a long time. Upon leaving, the visitors greedily graze on all the nearby vegetation, depleting the sick stag's food supply. Already ill, the stag is then left to starve to death, a victim of his supposed friends' self-interest. The fable concludes with a reflection on how those who offer help often do so for their own gain.
Themes
Emotional Arc
suffering to greater suffering
Writing Style
Narrative Elements
Cultural Context
La Fontaine's fables often satirized human behavior and societal norms of his time, using animal characters as allegories.
Plot Beats (9)
- A stag falls ill in a land full of stags.
- Many fellow stags rush to his bedside to see, help, and console him.
- The sick stag, annoyed by the crowd, asks them to leave him to die in peace.
- The consolers ignore his request and stay for a long time, fulfilling their 'sad duty'.
- When they finally leave, they all take the opportunity to graze heavily on the nearby woods.
- The sick stag's usual food supply is greatly reduced by the visitors' grazing.
- He finds nothing left to eat and falls from his illness into a worse state of starvation.
- The sick stag ultimately dies of hunger.
- The narrator concludes with a reflection on the cost of those who claim to help, like doctors of body and soul, noting that everyone expects to be paid.
Characters
Le Cerf Malade
A mature stag, likely robust in health before his illness, now appearing gaunt and weakened. His coat, typically a rich reddish-brown, would be dull and matted from his sickness. His once strong legs would be trembling and unable to support him.
Attire: None, as he is an animal. His natural coat is his only covering.
Wants: To be left alone to die in peace, free from the intrusive 'help' of his companions.
Flaw: His physical illness makes him vulnerable and dependent, and his inability to fend off his 'friends' leads to his ultimate demise.
He begins as a sick individual seeking solace and ends up dying not just from his illness but from starvation, exacerbated by the 'help' of his companions. His arc is one of decline and tragic irony.
Resigned, suffering, somewhat cynical about the intentions of others, desiring peace in his final moments.
Les Camarades (The Comrades)
A multitude of healthy, robust stags, typical of European red deer. Their coats would be glossy and well-maintained, their antlers strong and impressive, reflecting their good health and vitality.
Attire: None, as they are animals. Their natural coats are their only covering.
Wants: To fulfill a social obligation (or appear to), but primarily driven by their own hunger and desire for easy sustenance.
Flaw: Their greed and lack of genuine compassion, which leads them to exploit a vulnerable friend.
They remain unchanged, acting purely out of self-interest from beginning to end, serving as a static representation of human hypocrisy.
Hypocritical, self-serving, intrusive, lacking true empathy, opportunistic, gluttonous.
Locations
Sick Stag's Clearing
A secluded, somewhat overgrown clearing within a dense forest, where a sick stag lies on a makeshift bed of leaves and moss. The surrounding trees are mature, with undergrowth that provides some concealment.
Mood: Initially somber and sympathetic, evolving into one of quiet desperation and neglect.
The sick stag is visited by his 'friends' who offer condolences but then proceed to graze nearby, depleting his food source.
Neighboring Woods
The immediate vicinity of the sick stag's clearing, characterized by abundant foliage and edible plants that the healthy stags begin to graze upon. It's a typical European woodland, rich in undergrowth and young shoots.
Mood: Initially vibrant and resource-rich, becoming depleted and barren due to overgrazing, reflecting the stag's worsening plight.
The 'consoling' stags begin to graze voraciously in the woods surrounding their sick comrade, consuming the food he desperately needs.