The Hog, the Goat, and the Sheep

Name: The Hog, the Goat, and the Sheep
Author: Jean de La Fontaine

In “The Hog, the Goat, and the Sheep,” a goat, a sheep, and a fat porker travel together to market, not for their own pleasure but for the purpose intended by their coachman. The porker squeals desperately throughout the journey, while the goat and sheep remain calm, apparently seeing no danger. The coachman rebukes the hog for his noisy fear and praises the sheep’s silence as wisdom. The hog angrily argues that the sheep’s quietness is foolishness. The goat and sheep expect merely to lose milk and fleece, but the hog understands that he will be useful only as food and therefore faces certain death. He bids farewell to his piggery. Yet the fable judges his reasoning both prophetic and foolish: he correctly foresees his fate, but his fear makes him suffer before it arrives. Hope offers present comfort, whereas fear kills in advance; the wisest person is the one who least anticipates unavoidable misfortunes.

By Jean de La Fontaine · First published 1678 · Genre: Fable, Moral Literature, Animal Allegory · 429 words

First lines

A goat, a sheep, and porker fat, / All to the market rode together. / Their own amusement was not that / Which caused their journey thither. / Their coachman did not mean to 'set them down' / To see the shows and wonders of the town. / The porker cried, in piercing squeals, / As if with butchers at his heels. / The other beasts, of milder mood, / The cause by no means understood. / They saw no harm, and wonder'd why / At such a rate the hog should cry. / 'Hush there, old piggy! ' said the man, / 'And keep as quiet as you can. / What wrong have you to squeal about, / And raise this dev'lish, deaf'ning shout? / These stiller persons at your side / Have manners much more dignified. / Pray, have you heard / A single word / Come from that gentleman in wool? / That proves him wise. ' 'That proves him fool! ' / The testy hog replied; / 'For did he know / To what we go, / He'd cry almost to split his throat; / So would her ladyship the goat. / They only think to lose with ease, / The goat her milk, the sheep his fleece: / They're, maybe, right; but as for me, / This ride is quite another matter. / Of service only on the platter, / My death is quite a certainty. / Adieu, my dear old piggery! ' / The porker's logic proved at once / Himself a prophet and a dunce.

Open reader

Similar titles

Genres

Fable — This short animal narrative uses speaking beasts, a simple allegorical situation, and an explicit moral about hope, fear, and foreknowledge of unavoidable suffering.
Moral Literature — The concluding maxim directly instructs readers that anticipating inevitable misfortunes can cause needless present anguish.
Animal Allegory — The hog, goat, and sheep represent contrasting human attitudes toward danger, ignorance, anxiety, and resignation.
Didactic Poetry — Written in verse, the work is designed not only to entertain but to convey a practical ethical lesson.

What this Textopian page supports

The Hog, the Goat, and the Sheep 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 Literature, Animal Allegory, Didactic Poetry, Satirical Poetry
Length: 429 words
Structure: 1 section, 3 paragraphs
Reading fit: Easy (6th Grade)

Good citation fit

Work identity for The Hog, the Goat, and the Sheep 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