The Fox and the Turkeys by Jean de La Fontaine

Name: The Fox and the Turkeys
Author: Jean de La Fontaine

A band of turkeys takes refuge in a tree against a robber fox, standing watchfully as sentinels. Provoked by their defiance, the fox vows to trouble them and begins a siege. Though the full moon seems to aid the turkeys, the fox employs many tricks: he pretends to climb, walks on his hind legs, feigns death and recovery, and raises his tail in the moonlight so that it appears to blaze. The turkeys remain constantly alert, but their vigilance exhausts them. Bewildered by the fox’s performances, they lose their balance one after another. Renard kills them, sets their bodies aside, and, after nearly half have died, carries them to his larder as a plentiful store. The tale warns that a foe may succeed when given excessive attention.

By Jean de La Fontaine · First published 1678 · Genre: Fable, Didactic Literature, Animal Tale · 339 words

First lines

Against a robber fox, a tree / Some turkeys served as citadel. / That villain, much provoked to see / Each standing there as sentinel, / Cried out, 'Such witless birds / At me stretch out their necks, and gobble! / No, by the powers! I'll give them trouble. ' / He verified his words. / The moon, that shined full on the oak, / Seem'd then to help the turkey folk. / But fox, in arts of siege well versed, / Ransack'd his bag of tricks accursed. / He feign'd himself about to climb; / Walk'd on his hinder legs sublime; / Then death most aptly counterfeited, / And seem'd anon resuscitated. / A practiser of wizard arts / Could not have fill'd so many parts. / In moonlight he contrived to raise / His tail, and make it seem a blaze: / And countless other tricks like that. / Meanwhile, no turkey slept or sat. / Their constant vigilance at length, / As hoped the fox, wore out their strength. / Bewilder'd by the rigs he run, / They lost their balance one by one. / As Renard slew, he laid aside, / Till nearly half of them had died; / Then proudly to his larder bore, / And laid them up, an ample store.

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Similar titles

Genres

Fable — The poem uses talking and personified animals in a brief narrative designed to convey an explicit moral lesson about the danger of giving an enemy excessive attention.
Didactic Literature — Its closing maxim, 'A foe, by being over-heeded, / Has often in his plan succeeded,' directly instructs readers in prudent conduct.
Animal Tale — The plot centers on a fox preying upon turkeys, with their animal behavior transformed into an intelligible contest of strategy and vigilance.
Moral Poetry — Written in verse, the work presents a compact narrative whose primary purpose is ethical reflection rather than psychological realism or description.

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The Fox and the Turkeys is listed on Textopian as a fable by Jean de La Fontaine, dated 1678 CE.

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Work type: Fable
Author: Jean de La Fontaine
Date: 1678 CE
Language: English
Genres: Fable, Didactic Literature, Animal Tale, Moral Poetry, Allegory
Length: 339 words
Structure: 1 section, 2 paragraphs
Reading fit: Easy (6th Grade)

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