The Ass and the Dog by Jean de La Fontaine

Dame Nature ordains that creatures should help one another, but an ass fails to follow this rule. As he and a dog travel silently behind their sleeping master, the ass eats grass beside his loaded basket. Starving Towser asks him to lower the basket so that he may take some bread, but the ass ignores him, fearing he will lose time eating. He advises the dog to wait until their master wakes and gives him his usual food. Soon a hungry wolf emerges from the wood. Terrified, the ass begs the dog for help. The dog returns the ass’s earlier counsel, telling him to run until the master wakes and to defend himself with his well-shod heels if the wolf attacks. Before the dog has finished speaking, the wolf has killed the ass. The fable condemns selfishness.

By Jean de La Fontaine · First published 1678 · Genre: Fable, Didactic Literature, Animal Fiction · 543 words

First lines

Dame Nature, our respected mother, / Ordains that we should aid each other.

The ass this ordinance neglected, / Though not a creature ill-affected. / Along the road a dog and he / One master follow'd silently. / Their master slept: meanwhile, the ass / Applied his nippers to the grass, / Much pleased in such a place to stop, / Though there no thistle he could crop. / He would not be too delicate, / Nor spoil a dinner for a plate, / Which, but for that, his favourite dish, / Were all that any ass could wish.

• Open reader

Similar titles

• The Hare And The Partridge by Jean De La Fontaine
• The Wolf And The Lamb by Jean De La Fontaine
• The Eagle And The Owl by Jean De La Fontaine
• The Ass Dressed In The Lions Skin by Jean De La Fontaine
• The Horse And The Wolf by Jean De La Fontaine
• The Cat And The Old Rat by Jean De La Fontaine

Genres

• Fable — A short animal tale that delivers an explicit moral condemning selfishness and the refusal to help others.
• Didactic Literature — The poem is designed to instruct readers in mutual aid, reciprocity, and the consequences of neglecting social duty.
• Animal Fiction — Its principal characters are an ass, a dog, and a wolf whose speech and actions represent recognizable human behavior.
• Allegory — The animals function as symbolic figures: the ass embodies selfishness, while the dog's later refusal of aid illustrates retaliatory reciprocity.

Tags

French fable · verse fable · seventeenth-century literature · animal allegory · moral tale · selfishness · mutual aid · reciprocity · compassion · consequences of selfishness · ass · dog

What this Textopian page supports

The Ass and the Dog is listed on Textopian as a fable by Jean de La Fontaine, dated 1678 CE.

This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.

• Work type: Fable
• Author: Jean de La Fontaine
• Date: 1678 CE
• Language: English
• Genres: Fable, Didactic Literature, Animal Fiction, Allegory, Moral Tale
• Length: 543 words
• Structure: 1 section, 6 paragraphs
• Reading fit: Easy (6th Grade)

Good citation fit

• Work identity for The Ass and the Dog by Jean de La Fontaine
• Canonical title URL and first readable passage URL
• Genre and topic classification from the Textopian catalog
• Readability and classroom-planning context
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More by Jean de La Fontaine

• To Monseigneur the Dauphin (1668)
• The Grasshopper and the Ant (1668)
• The Raven and the Fox (1668)
• The Frog that Wished to be as Big as the Ox (1668)
• The Two Mules (1668)
• The Wolf and the Dog (1668)
• The Heifer, the Goat, and the Sheep, in Company with the Lion (1668)
• The Wallet (1668)
• All works by Jean de La Fontaine