Quotes and Images from the Tales and Novels of Jean De La Fontaine
La Fontaine's fables are mock-heroic poems that treat animal tales with epic grandeur while skewering human vice. These aren't children's stories dressed in talking animals. They're razor-sharp satires where foxes outsmart poultry, wolves disguise themselves in sheep's clothing, and lions hold court over their subjects, all while exposing the greed, vanity, and hypocrisy of 17th-century French society (and by extension, all societies, always). The verse shimmers with wit so precise it still cuts three centuries later. From the famous "Fox and the Grapes" to darker tales of betrayal and desire, the collection spans the full range of La Fontaine's genius: playful, wicked, philosophical, and always surprisingly modern. Read these fables and you'll never look at a crow or a tortoise the same way again.
