The Lion Going to War by Jean de La Fontaine

The lion prepares for war by calling all the animals to serve according to their abilities. He assigns the elephant to carry the equipment of war and fight with his natural strength, the bear to storm, the fox to devise secret stratagems, and the monkey to distract the enemy with tricks. When someone proposes dismissing the asses as blockheads and the hares as cowardly, the lion rejects the advice. He sees that every class can contribute: the ass will serve as trumpeter to frighten the enemy, while the swift hare will carry royal bulletins home. The fable praises a provident and wise monarch who recognizes every subject’s particular talent and considers nothing useless.

By Jean de La Fontaine · First published 1668 · Genre: Fable, Didactic Literature, Animal Fiction · 252 words

First lines

The lion had an enterprise in hand; / Held a war-council, sent his provost-marshal, / And gave the animals a call impartial -- / Each, in his way, to serve his high command. / The elephant should carry on his back / The tools of war, the mighty public pack, / And fight in elephantine way and form; / The bear should hold himself prepared to storm; / The fox all secret stratagems should fix; / The monkey should amuse the foe by tricks. / 'Dismiss,' said one, 'the blockhead asses, / And hares, too cowardly and fleet. ' / 'No,' said the king; 'I use all classes; / Without their aid my force were incomplete. / The ass shall be our trumpeter, to scare / Our enemy. And then the nimble hare / Our royal bulletins shall homeward bear.'

• Open reader

Similar titles

• The Wolf And The Stork by Jean De La Fontaine
• The Fox And The Grapes by Jean De La Fontaine
• The Hare And The Tortoise by Jean De La Fontaine
• The Sick Lion And The Fox by Jean De La Fontaine
• The Animals Sending Tribute To Alexander by Jean De La Fontaine
• The Ass And The Little Dog by Jean De La Fontaine

Genres

• Fable — A brief animal tale that assigns human social roles to animals and concludes with an explicit moral about recognizing every subject's value.
• Didactic Literature — Its principal purpose is instruction: the lion's allocation of duties demonstrates wise leadership, practical judgment, and the usefulness of diverse abilities.
• Animal Fiction — Anthropomorphic animals speak, organize a military campaign, and embody recognizable human traits such as cunning, strength, cowardice, and foolishness.
• Allegory — The animal kingdom functions as an allegorical model of political society, with the lion representing a ruler and the other animals representing different kinds of subjects.

Tags

fable · verse narrative · animal fable · French classicism · seventeenth-century literature · war council · animal kingdom · lion king · monarchy · military strategy · leadership · wise ruler

What this Textopian page supports

The Lion Going to War 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, Animal Fiction, Allegory, Political Satire
• Length: 252 words
• Structure: 1 section, 3 paragraphs
• Reading fit: Fairly Easy (7th Grade)

Good citation fit

• Work identity for The Lion Going to War 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