The Dairywoman and the Pot of Milk

Name: The Dairywoman and the Pot of Milk
Author: Jean de La Fontaine

Good Peggy carries a pot of milk on her head as she hurries lightly to market, already imagining how she will use the money it brings. She plans to buy a hundred eggs, hatch them into chicks, raise the chicks beside her cottage, and save enough from them to buy a pig. The pig will grow fat and sell well, allowing her to buy a cow and calf. Delighted by the imagined calf frisking among the flock, Peggy herself begins to frisk, drops the milk-pot, and loses all her hoped-for profits. She goes home sadly, empty-handed and fearful of her husband’s anger. The fable observes that everyone, from dairywomen to kings, builds imaginary homes and castles in the air. People believe their waking dreams, imagining wealth, honour, love, and power; the speaker imagines overthrowing a monarch and being crowned in his place, until an accident returns him to being only simple Jack.

By Jean de La Fontaine · First published 1678 · Genre: Fable, Moral Tale, Didactic Poetry · 598 words

First lines

A pot of milk upon her cushion'd crown, / Good Peggy hasten'd to the market town; / Short clad and light, with speed she went, / Not fearing any accident; / Indeed, to be the nimbler tripper, / Her dress that day, / The truth to say, / Was simple petticoat and slipper. / And, thus bedight, / Good Peggy, light, -- / Her gains already counted, -- / Laid out the cash / At single dash, / Which to a hundred eggs amounted. / Three nests she made, / Which, by the aid / Of diligence and care were hatch'd. / 'To raise the chicks, / I'll easy fix,' / Said she, 'beside our cottage thatch'd. / The fox must get / More cunning yet, / Or leave enough to buy a pig. / With little care / And any fare, / He'll grow quite fat and big; / And then the price / Will be so nice, / For which, the pork will sell! / 'Twill go quite hard / But in our yard / I'll bring a cow and calf to dwell -- / A calf to frisk among the flock! ' / The thought made Peggy do the same; / And down at once the milk-pot came, / And perish'd with the shock. / Calf, cow, and pig, and chicks, adieu! / Your mistress' face is sad to view; / She gives a tear to fortune spilt; / Then with the downcast look of guilt / Home to her husband empty goes, / Somewhat in danger of his blows.

Open reader

Similar titles

Genres

Fable — The poem is a brief didactic animal-free fable in which Peggy's imagined profits collapse when she spills her milk, ending with a clear universal moral about unrealistic daydreaming.
Moral Tale — Its central purpose is ethical instruction: it warns readers against counting future gains before they are secured and against building hopes on speculation.
Didactic Poetry — Written in verse, the work explicitly teaches a practical and philosophical lesson through a simple narrative example and concluding reflection.
Narrative Poetry — The poem recounts a complete sequence of events, following Peggy's journey, her increasingly elaborate plans, her impulsive movement, and the loss of the milk.

What this Textopian page supports

The Dairywoman and the Pot of Milk 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, Moral Tale, Didactic Poetry, Narrative Poetry, Allegory
Length: 598 words
Structure: 1 section, 3 paragraphs
Reading fit: Easy (6th Grade)

Good citation fit

Work identity for The Dairywoman and the Pot of Milk 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