The Countryman and the Serpent

A charitable but unwary countryman finds a snake frozen and senseless on the snow in winter. He carries it home and warms it before the fire, restoring it to life. As soon as the snake feels the heat, its natural malice returns: it raises its head, shows its forked tongue, coils itself, and attacks the man who saved it. Calling the creature ungrateful, the countryman takes an axe and kills it with two blows, severing trunk, head, and tail. The separate pieces leap vainly as if seeking to reunite. The fable teaches that kindness is admirable, but charity must not be blind, since ingratitude cannot be cured merely by rescuing someone from misery.

By Jean de La Fontaine · First published 1668 · Genre: Fable, Moral Tale, Didactic Poetry · 312 words

First lines

A countryman, as Aesop certifies, / A charitable man, but not so wise, / One day in winter found, / Stretch'd on the snowy ground, / A chill'd or frozen snake, / As torpid as a stake, / And, if alive, devoid of sense. / He took him up, and bore him home, / And, thinking not what recompense / For such a charity would come, / Before the fire stretch'd him, / And back to being fetch'd him. / The snake scarce felt the genial heat / Before his heart with native malice beat. / He raised his head, thrust out his forkèd tongue, / Coil'd up, and at his benefactor sprung. / 'Ungrateful wretch! ' said he, 'is this the way / My care and kindness you repay? / Now you shall die. ' With that his axe he takes, / And with two blows three serpents makes. / Trunk, head, and tail were separate snakes; / And, leaping up with all their might, / They vainly sought to reunite.

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Similar titles

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• The Horse And The Ass by Jean De La Fontaine
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Genres

• Fable — The work uses a brief animal-centered narrative to illustrate an explicit moral: kindness should be tempered by judgment when directed toward ingrately malicious beings.
• Moral Tale — Its plot is constructed chiefly to convey an ethical lesson about charity, gratitude, prudence, and the consequences of aiding the wicked.
• Didactic Poetry — Written in verse, the poem openly instructs readers through its concluding statement of moral principle.
• Allegory — The serpent functions as a symbolic figure for innate malice and ingratitude, while the countryman represents compassionate but undiscriminating charity.

Tags

fable · verse narrative · moral allegory · winter countryside · snow · countryman · serpent · snake · charity · kindness · blind charity · ingratitude

What this Textopian page supports

The Countryman and the Serpent is listed on Textopian as a fable by Jean de La Fontaine, dated 1668 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: 1668 CE
• Language: English
• Genres: Fable, Moral Tale, Didactic Poetry, Allegory, Animal Literature
• Length: 312 words
• Structure: 1 section, 3 paragraphs
• Reading fit: Easy (6th Grade)

Good citation fit

• Work identity for The Countryman and the Serpent 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
• Passage-specific claims should cite the exact /read/ URL for the relevant chapter or paragraph

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