The Cat and the Two Sparrows

The fable tells of Ratto, a wise cat, and saucy Pete, a tame sparrow who have grown up together, sharing the same household and maintaining an affectionate friendship. Pete often provokes Ratto with his sharp beak, while the cat responds only with gentle play, believing that friendship requires one not to take a joke too seriously. Their harmony is disturbed when another sparrow arrives and quarrels with Pete. Ratto defends his old companion, denouncing the stranger for attacking a neighbour’s sparrow, and immediately devours him. Having discovered that sparrows are tender and delicious, Ratto’s new taste soon determines Pete’s fate as well. The speaker then searches for a moral but cannot securely find one, leaving such interpretations and amusements to the Duke of Bourgogne, whose wit is praised above that of the muse and her eight sisters.

By Jean de La Fontaine · First published 1693 · Genre: Fable, Animal Fable, Didactic Literature · 537 words

First lines

To Monseigneur The Duke De Bourgogne.

• Open reader

Similar titles

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• The Fox The Monkey And The Animals by Jean De La Fontaine
• The Wolf And The Fox Book Xii by Jean De La Fontaine
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• The Monkey And The Cat by Jean De La Fontaine
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Genres

• Fable — The work uses talking animals, a brief narrative, and an implied moral lesson about appetite, friendship, and self-interest.
• Animal Fable — A cat and sparrows act as humanlike characters whose conflict exposes recognizable human motives and failings.
• Didactic Literature — Like La Fontaine's other fables, the poem is structured to invite ethical reflection, even while humorously claiming that its moral is elusive.
• Narrative Poetry — The story unfolds through verse, recounting the friendship of the cat and sparrow, the arrival of a rival bird, and the cat's betrayal.

Tags

French fable · verse narrative · seventeenth-century literature · domestic animals · cats · sparrows · animal characters · animal friendship · household setting · pet bird · playful teasing · quarrel

What this Textopian page supports

The Cat and the Two Sparrows is listed on Textopian as a fable by Jean de La Fontaine, dated 1693 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: 1693 CE
• Language: English
• Genres: Fable, Animal Fable, Didactic Literature, Narrative Poetry, Allegory
• Length: 537 words
• Structure: 1 section, 3 paragraphs
• Reading fit: Easy (6th Grade)

Good citation fit

• Work identity for The Cat and the Two Sparrows 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