The Dove and the Ant by Jean de La Fontaine

Name: The Dove and the Ant
Author: Jean de La Fontaine

A dove saves an ant from drowning in a brook by dropping a blade of grass, allowing the ant to reach the shore. Soon afterward, a barefoot, sly man prepares to shoot the dove with his bow and arrow, intending to make her into soup. The ant repays the dove’s kindness by biting the man’s heel just as he draws his bow. His cry warns the dove, who flies away in time, taking his intended soup with her.

By Jean de La Fontaine · First published 1668 · Genre: Fable, Moral Literature, Didactic Poetry · 249 words

First lines

The same instruction we may get / From another couple, smaller yet.

A dove came to a brook to drink, / When, leaning o'er its crumbling brink, / An ant fell in, and vainly tried, / In this, to her, an ocean tide, / To reach the land; whereat the dove, / With every living thing in love, / Was prompt a spire of grass to throw her, / By which the ant regain'd the shore.

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What this Textopian page supports

The Dove and the Ant 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 Literature, Didactic Poetry, Animal Tale, Allegory
Length: 249 words
Structure: 1 section, 4 paragraphs
Reading fit: Fairly Easy (7th Grade)

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Work identity for The Dove and the Ant by Jean de La Fontaine
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Similar titles

Genres

Fable — The poem is a short animal-centered moral tale in which a dove and an ant perform reciprocal acts of kindness, following the traditional Aesopic fable form.
Moral Literature — Its central lesson is that even the smallest creature can repay a benefit and that kindness may return unexpectedly.
Didactic Poetry — La Fontaine presents an ethical instruction through concise verse, using narrative events to teach readers about gratitude, compassion, and mutual aid.
Animal Tale — Animals are the principal sympathetic characters, and their actions and relationships drive the plot despite their symbolic human qualities.