The Eye of the Master by Jean de La Fontaine

A stag fleeing a chase hides among oxen in a stable and promises them rich pasture if they keep his refuge secret. The oxen agree, and although servants and an overseer come near the stable, none notices him because they pay little attention. The stag begins to feel safe and plans to remain until he can leave without danger. One ox warns him that he is secure only because the master, whose eye is sharper and more careful, has not yet inspected the place. When the master arrives, he notices neglected racks, litter, cobwebs, and disordered equipment, and while examining the stable he sees the unfamiliar stag. The stag is discovered, beaten to death, and turned into food for feasts and neighbours. The fable declares that the master's own eye best sees what belongs to him, adding that a lover's eye is equally watchful.

By Jean de La Fontaine · First published 1668 · Genre: Fable, Didactic Literature, Moral Allegory · 641 words

First lines

A stag took refuge from the chase / Among the oxen of a stable, / Who counsel'd him, as saith the fable, / To seek at once some safer place. / 'My brothers,' said the fugitive, / 'Betray me not, and, as I live, / The richest pasture I will show, / That e'er was grazed on, high or low; / Your kindness you will not regret, / For well some day I'll pay the debt. ' / The oxen promised secrecy. / Down crouch'd the stag, and breathed more free. / At eventide they brought fresh hay, / As was their custom day by day; / And often came the servants near, / As did indeed the overseer, / But with so little thought or care, / That neither horns, nor hide, nor hair / Reveal'd to them the stag was there. / Already thank'd the wild-wood stranger / The oxen for their treatment kind, / And there to wait made up his mind, / Till he might issue free from danger. / Replied an ox that chew'd the cud, / 'Your case looks fairly in the bud; / But then I fear the reason why / Is, that the man of sharpest eye / Hath not yet come his look to take. / I dread his coming, for your sake; / Your boasting may be premature: / Till then, poor stag, you're not secure. ' / 'Twas but a little while before / The careful master oped the door. / 'How's this, my boys? ' said he; / 'These empty racks will never do. / Go, change this dirty litter too. / More care than this I want to see / Of oxen that belong to me. / Well, Jim, my boy, you're young and stout; / What would it cost to clear these cobwebs out? / And put these yokes, and hames, and traces, / All as they should be, in their places? ' / Thus looking round, he came to see / One head he did not usually. / The stag is found; his foes / Deal heavily their blows. / Down sinks he in the strife; / No tears can save his life. / They slay, and dress, and salt the beast, / And cook his flesh in many a feast, / And many a neighbour gets a taste. / As Phaedrus says it, pithily, / The master's is the eye to see: -- / I add the lover's, as for me.[1]

• Open reader

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Genres

• Fable — The poem uses talking animals, a brief allegorical plot, and an explicit moral about the master's attentive eye.
• Didactic Literature — Its central purpose is to teach practical wisdom: direct personal oversight detects what negligent servants overlook.
• Moral Allegory — The stag, oxen, servants, and master function as representative figures in an allegory of vigilance, responsibility, and false security.
• Narrative Poetry — The work tells a complete story in rhymed verse, progressing from the stag's concealment to his discovery and death.

Tags

fable · verse narrative · animal fable · moral allegory · seventeenth-century French literature · rural stable · farmyard · stag · oxen · hunting and flight · refuge and concealment · betrayal of safety

What this Textopian page supports

The Eye of the Master 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, Didactic Literature, Moral Allegory, Narrative Poetry, Animal Tale
• Length: 641 words
• Structure: 1 section, 2 paragraphs
• Reading fit: Easy (6th Grade)

Good citation fit

• Work identity for The Eye of the Master 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