Tales and Novels of J. De La Fontaine — Volume 09

Jean de La Fontaine, the incomparable French fabulist, brings his sly intelligence to the short story in this volume of three tales. Written in the 17th century yet sounding startlingly modern, these narratives dissect human folly with a surgeon's precision and a comedian's timing. In "Belphegor," a demon is dispatched from Hell to discover why mortals embrace the misery of marriage, only to find that conjugal discord exceeds anything infernal. "The Little Bell" follows a naive young dreamer whose heart leads him through misunderstandings and dashed hopes. And "The Glutton" serves up a tale of indulgence run amok, where excessive appetite leads to consequences as absurd as they are deserved. La Fontaine strips human desires and weaknesses to their essence, revealing the comedy lurking in love, greed, and domestic strife. These are moral tales that never moralize, instead trusting readers to recognize themselves and laugh.