LE RENARD ANGLOIS
by Jean de La Fontaine · from Fables de La Fontaine
Adapted Version
Foxy the fox was very fast. But today, the Dogs were faster! Foxy ran and ran. The Dogs ran after him. Woof, woof! they barked. Foxy was very scared. He ran fast. He ran with all his might. The Dogs were close. He needed a plan.
Foxy looked around quickly. He saw a tall, old pole. Many old, broken toys hung on the pole. They were very, very still. A toy fox was there. A toy owl was there. They did not move at all. Foxy had a clever idea. It was a very good plan.
Foxy climbed the tall pole quickly. He went up very high. He held on tight. He made his body limp. He was like an old, broken toy. He was very, very still. He did not move at all. He did not make a sound. He looked just like the other still toys. This was his clever trick.
The Dogs came running. Woof, woof! they barked loudly. They stopped at the pole. They smelled the ground. They looked up at the pole. Foxy was still. The Hunter came. He looked at the pole. He saw Foxy. But Foxy was so still! "He is gone," the Hunter said. "He went into a hole." Hunter called The Dogs. "Come, Dogs! Away!" The Dogs left with him.
The Hunter thought for a moment. "Foxy will come back," he said. "He will come back." Hunter was clever. He knew Foxy was clever too. He made a new plan. He waited for Foxy.
Foxy waited a long time. Then he climbed down quietly. He felt very happy. "My trick was good!" he thought. He walked away for a bit. But Foxy came back to the pole. He came back to the old pole. He wanted to do his trick again.
The Hunter was waiting. He was very quiet. He hid behind a tree. Foxy climbed the pole again. He wanted to be a still toy. But the Hunter moved very fast. He caught Foxy! Foxy was very surprised. He learned a big lesson that day. Old tricks do not always work. He knew he must think of new ideas!
Original Story
LE RENARD ANGLOIS.
A MADAME HARVEY.
Le bon cœur est chez vous compagnon du bon sens;
Avec cent qualités trop longues à déduire,
Une noblesse d’âme, un talent pour conduire
Et les affaires et les gens,
Une humeur franche et libre, et le don d’être amie
Malgré Jupiter même et les temps orageux,
Tout cela méritoit un éloge pompeux:
Il en eût été moins selon votre génie;
La pompe vous déplaît, l’éloge vous ennuie.
J’ai donc fait celui-ci court et simple. Je veux
Y coudre encore un mot ou deux
En faveur de votre patrie:
Vous l’aimez. Les Anglois pensent profondément;
Leur esprit, en cela, suit leur tempérament;
Creusant dans les sujets, et forts d’expériences,
Ils étendent partout l’empire des sciences.
Je ne dis point ceci pour vous faire ma cour:
Vos gens, à pénétrer, l’emportent sur les autres:
Même les chiens de leur séjour
Ont meilleur nez que n’ont les nôtres.
Vos renards sont plus fins; je m’en vais le prouver
Par un d’eux, qui, pour se sauver,
Mit en usage un stratagème
Non encor pratiqué, des mieux imaginés.
Le scélérat, réduit en un péril extrême,
Et presque mis à bout par ces chiens au bon nez,
Passa près d’un patibulaire.
Là, des animaux ravissants,
Blaireaux, renards, hiboux, race encline à mal faire,
Pour l’exemple pendus, instruisoient les passants.
Leur confrère, aux abois, entre ces morts s’arrange.
Je crois voir Annibal, qui, pressé des Romains,
Met leur chef en défaut, ou leur donne le change,
Et sait, en vieux renard, s’échapper de leurs mains.
Les clefs de meute[78], parvenues
A l’endroit où pour mort le traître se pendit,
Remplirent l’air de cris: leur maître les rompit,
Bien que de leurs abois ils perçassent les nues.
Il ne put soupçonner ce tour assez plaisant.
Quelque terrier, dit-il, a sauvé mon galant;
Mes chiens n’appellent point au delà des colonnes
Où sont tant d’honnêtes personnes.
Il y viendra, le drôle! Il y vint, à son dam.
Voilà maint basset clabaudant;
Voilà notre renard au charnier se guindant.
Maître pendu croyoit qu’il en iroit de même
Que le jour qu’il tendit de semblables panneaux;
Mais le pauvret, ce coup, y laissa ses houseaux[79],
Tant il est vrai qu’il faut changer de stratagème!
Le chasseur, pour trouver sa propre sûreté,
N’auroit pas cependant un tel tour inventé;
Non point par peu d’esprit: est-il quelqu’un qui nie
Que tout Anglois n’en ait bonne provision?
Mais le peu d’amour pour la vie
Leur nuit en mainte occasion.
Je reviens à vous, non pour dire
D’autres traits sur votre sujet;
Tout long éloge est un projet
Peu favorable pour ma lyre:
Peu de nos chants, peu de nos vers,
Par un encens flatteur amusent l’univers
Et se font écouter des nations étranges[80].
Votre prince[81] vous dit un jour
Qu’il aimoit mieux un trait d’amour
Que quatre pages de louanges.
Agréez seulement le don que je vous fais
Des derniers efforts de ma muse.
C’est peu de chose; elle est confuse
De ces ouvrages imparfaits.
Cependant ne pourriez-vous faire
Que le même hommage pût plaire
A celle qui remplit vos climats d’habitants
Tirés de l’île de Cythère?
Vous voyez par là que j’entends
Mazarin[82], des Amours déesse tutélaire.
XXIV
Story DNA
Moral
One must change one's strategy to succeed, as old tricks won't always work.
Plot Summary
An English fox, renowned for its cunning, is cornered by hounds. Desperate, it pretends to be dead by hanging itself among other executed animals on a gallows. The hunter, unable to comprehend such a trick, calls off his dogs, believing the fox escaped into a burrow, but predicts the fox will return. The fox, overconfident, attempts the same trick again, but this time the hunter is prepared and catches him. The fable concludes with the moral that one must change one's strategy and a reflection on the English character.
Themes
Emotional Arc
tension to relief to renewed tension to defeat
Writing Style
Narrative Elements
Cultural Context
Jean de La Fontaine was a 17th-century French fabulist, known for his fables often featuring animals and moral lessons. The dedication to Madame Harvey and references to English traits reflect the cultural exchange and perceptions of the time.
Plot Beats (10)
- The author praises Madame Harvey and the English people, noting their deep thought and the superior cunning of their animals, especially foxes.
- An English fox is in extreme peril, nearly caught by hounds.
- The fox sees a gallows where other animals (badgers, foxes, owls) are hanged as an example.
- The fox, in a desperate act, hangs himself among the dead animals, feigning death.
- The hounds arrive, barking furiously, but their master, unable to comprehend the trick, calls them off, believing the fox went into a burrow.
- The hunter states that the fox will surely return to the gallows.
- The fox, thinking his trick will work again, returns to the gallows.
- The hunter, having anticipated this, catches the fox, who loses his 'boots' (life).
- The author concludes that one must change one's strategy, and muses that the English, despite their intelligence, sometimes lack love for life, which can be a disadvantage.
- The author returns to addressing Madame Harvey, offering his humble verses and suggesting she might extend his homage to Mazarin.
Characters
The English Fox
A lean, agile fox of typical size, with a reddish-brown coat, a bushy tail, and keen, intelligent eyes. His fur is likely matted and dusty from being pursued.
Attire: None, as he is an animal.
Wants: To escape capture and death from the hunting dogs and the hunter.
Flaw: His physical vulnerability against the dogs and the hunter; his reliance on trickery which can eventually be anticipated.
He successfully evades capture through a clever ruse, demonstrating his superior cunning. However, the story implies that even the cleverest tricks have a limited lifespan, as another fox (or perhaps a future encounter for him) falls to a similar trap.
Cunning, resourceful, quick-witted, desperate, survival-oriented.
The Hunter
A robust, experienced English hunter, likely of a sturdy build, accustomed to the outdoors. His face is weathered from exposure to the elements.
Attire: Practical hunting attire typical of 17th-century England: sturdy wool or leather breeches, a thick linen or wool shirt, a waistcoat, and a heavy hunting coat in muted greens or browns. He would wear sturdy leather boots and possibly a tricorn hat or a simpler felt cap.
Wants: To successfully hunt and capture the fox.
Flaw: His overconfidence in his dogs' infallible sense of smell and his inability to suspect an entirely new stratagem.
He is initially outsmarted by the fox's unprecedented trick but eventually learns that old tricks won't work twice, implying he adapts his methods or that the fox eventually falls.
Persistent, observant (though initially fooled), determined, somewhat arrogant in his assessment of his dogs' abilities.
The Hunting Dogs
A pack of English hounds, likely Basset Hounds or similar scent hounds, characterized by their long, droopy ears, powerful build, and keen sense of smell. Their coats would be typical hound colors like tri-color (black, white, tan) or lemon and white.
Attire: None, as they are animals.
Wants: To track and corner the fox, following their natural hunting instincts and their master's commands.
Flaw: Their reliance on scent, which can be fooled by a clever visual deception.
They are initially successful in cornering the fox but are ultimately fooled by its trick, leading to their master's frustration.
Persistent, loyal to their master, driven by instinct and scent, loud.
Locations
Near a Gibbet
A desolate outdoor area featuring a gibbet, a structure used for public execution. Suspended from it are the bodies of various 'maleficent' animals like badgers, foxes, and owls, serving as a grim warning to passersby. The ground around it is likely disturbed by the chase.
Mood: Grim, foreboding, desperate, a place of last resort.
The fox, cornered by the hounds, pretends to be dead by hanging himself among the executed animals on the gibbet to escape the chase.