The League of the Rats by Jean de La Fontaine

In “The League of the Rats,” a mouse terrified by a cat seeks help from a boastful rat who claims to live without fear. The rat promises to gather all the rats and defeat the cat, then rushes to a buttery where many rats are feasting. He warns them that old Raminagrab is devastating the mice and will threaten the rats once the mice are gone. The rats cry for arms, swear to risk themselves for the cause, and set out carrying cheese in their haversacks as though marching to a feast. They arrive too late: the cat already has the mouse in his jaws. When the cat comes growling toward them, the supposedly courageous rats foresee defeat, retreat as quickly as possible to their holes, and afterward avoid the cat.

By Jean de La Fontaine · First published 1693 · Genre: Fable, Animal Fiction, Didactic Literature · 625 words

First lines

A mouse was once in mortal fear / Of a cat that watch'd her portal near. / What could be done in such a case? / With prudent care she left the catship, / And courted, with a humble grace, / A neighbour of a higher race, / Whose lordship -- I should say his ratship -- / Lay in a great hotel; / And who had boasted oft, 'tis said, / Of living wholly without dread. / 'Well,' said this braggart, 'well, / Dame Mouse, what should I do? / Alone I cannot rout / The foe that threatens you. / I'll rally all the rats about, / And then I'll play him such a trick! ' / The mouse her court'sy dropp'd, / And off the hero scamper'd quick, / Nor till he reach'd the buttery stopp'd, / Where scores of rats were clustered, / In riotous extravagance, / All feasting at the host's expense. / To him, arriving there much flustered, / Indeed, quite out of breath, / A rat among the feasters saith, / 'What news? what news? I pray you, speak. ' / The rat, recovering breath to squeak, / Replied, 'To tell the matter in a trice, / It is, that we must promptly aid the mice; / For old Raminagrab is making / Among their ranks a dreadful quaking. / This cat, of cats the very devil, / When mice are gone, will do us evil. ' / 'True, true,' said each and all; / 'To arms! to arms! ' they cry and call. / Some ratties by their fears / Were melted e'en to tears. / It matter'd not a whisk, / Nor check'd the valour brisk. / Each took upon his back / Some cheese in haversack, / And roundly swore to risk / His carcass in the cause. / They march'd as to a feast, / Not flinching in the least. -- / But quite too late, for in his jaws / The cat already held the mouse. / They rapidly approach'd the house -- / To save their friend, beyond a doubt. / Just then the cat came growling out, / The mouse beneath his whisker'd nose. / And march'd along before his foes. / At such a voice, our rats discreet, / Foreboding a defeat, / Effected, in a style most fleet, / A fortunate retreat. / Back hurried to his hole each rat, / And afterwards took care to shun the cat.

• Open reader

Similar titles

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Genres

• Fable — The work is a brief animal tale in the tradition of La Fontaine's fables, using talking mice, rats, and a cat to satirize recognizable human behavior.
• Animal Fiction — Animal characters act, speak, boast, organize, fear danger, and retreat, while their actions carry the narrative.
• Didactic Literature — The tale implicitly teaches a moral lesson about empty bravery, delayed assistance, and the difference between declarations of courage and real action.
• Satire — The rats' theatrical vows, food-filled haversacks, and immediate flight ridicule boastful leaders and unreliable collective heroism.

Tags

French fable · seventeenth-century literature · animal allegory · talking animals · rats · mice · cat · Raminagrab · fear · cowardice · braggadocio · false courage

What this Textopian page supports

The League of the Rats is listed on Textopian as a fable by Jean de La Fontaine, dated 1693 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: 1693 CE
• Language: English
• Genres: Fable, Animal Fiction, Didactic Literature, Satire, Allegory
• Length: 625 words
• Structure: 1 section, 1 paragraphs
• Reading fit: Easy (6th Grade)

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• Work identity for The League of the Rats 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