The Frogs Asking a King by Jean de La Fontaine

A commonwealth of aquatic creatures grows dissatisfied with democratic order and begs Jove for a monarch. Jove first sends them a peaceful king: a log that falls into their marsh with a terrifying splash. The timid frogs hide in mud, reeds, and rushes, imagining that a monstrous frog has come to rule them. When one frog ventures close enough to discover that the king is only a motionless log, others follow. Their fear turns to boldness, and they gather around and perch upon the royal blockhead, who silently permits whatever they do. The frogs then complain to Jove that they want a king who can move. Jove sends a crane, which catches, kills, and devours them freely. The frogs lament even more, but Jupiter rebukes them. He tells them that they should have kept their first, meek and mild king, and warns them to be content with the ruler they have lest an even worse one be sent.

By Jean de La Fontaine · First published 1668 · Genre: Fable, Political Allegory, Didactic Literature · 497 words

First lines

A certain commonwealth aquatic, / Grown tired of order democratic, / By clamouring in the ears of Jove, effected / Its being to a monarch's power subjected. / Jove flung it down, at first, a king pacific. / Who nathless fell with such a splash terrific, / The marshy folks, a foolish race and timid, / Made breathless haste to get from him hid. / They dived into the mud beneath the water, / Or found among the reeds and rushes quarter. / And long it was they dared not see / The dreadful face of majesty, / Supposing that some monstrous frog / Had been sent down to rule the bog. / The king was really a log, / Whose gravity inspired with awe / The first that, from his hiding-place / Forth venturing, astonish'd, saw / The royal blockhead's face. / With trembling and with fear, / At last he drew quite near. / Another follow'd, and another yet, / Till quite a crowd at last were met; / Who, growing fast and strangely bolder, / Perch'd soon upon the royal shoulder. / His gracious majesty kept still, / And let his people work their will. / Clack, clack! what din beset the ears of Jove? / 'We want a king,' the people said, 'to move! ' / The god straight sent them down a crane, / Who caught and slew them without measure, / And gulp'd their carcasses at pleasure; / Whereat the frogs more wofully complain. / 'What! what! ' great Jupiter replied; / 'By your desires must I be tied? / Think you such government is bad? / You should have kept what first you had; / Which having blindly fail'd to do, / It had been prudent still for you / To let that former king suffice, / More meek and mild, if not so wise. / With this now make yourselves content, / Lest for your sins a worse be sent. '[1]

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Similar titles

• The Two Bulls And The Frog by Jean De La Fontaine
• The Heifer The Goat And The Sheep In Company With The Lion by Jean De La Fontaine
• The City Rat And The Country Rat by Jean De La Fontaine
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Genres

• Fable — The work is a concise animal tale in which frogs, a log, and a crane enact a moral lesson about political dissatisfaction and the consequences of foolish choices.
• Political Allegory — The frogs' demand for a ruler and their successive kings allegorically examine forms of government, popular discontent, authority, and the danger of replacing mild rule with tyranny.
• Didactic Literature — Jupiter explicitly states the lesson: people who reject an adequate government may bring upon themselves a worse one.
• Moral Tale — The narrative warns against ingratitude, impatience, and the failure to value peaceful conditions merely because they lack excitement.

Tags

fable · verse narrative · political allegory · moral tale · animal characters · frogs · Jupiter · divine intervention · monarchy · democracy · government · popular discontent

What this Textopian page supports

The Frogs Asking a King 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, Political Allegory, Didactic Literature, Moral Tale, Satire
• Length: 497 words
• Structure: 1 section, 2 paragraphs
• Reading fit: Fairly Easy (7th Grade)

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• Work identity for The Frogs Asking a King by Jean de La Fontaine
• Canonical title URL and first readable passage URL
• Genre and topic classification from the Textopian catalog
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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