The Lion, the Wolf, and the Fox

An old lion, crippled by gout, summons healers from every species in search of a cure for age. Doctors, quacks, and learned advisers crowd his court, but Sir Cunning Fox does not appear. Sir Wolf, attending the royal couch, suggests that the Fox has stayed away out of contempt. Offended, the lion orders the Fox brought from his home. When the Fox arrives, he denies having neglected the king. He claims instead to have been on a pilgrimage, undertaken by vow for the lion’s health, and says he consulted remarkably skilled doctors about the monarch’s senility and loss of vital heat. Their remedy, he declares, is to wrap the lion in the warm, freshly removed hide of a living wolf. He assures the king that Sir Wolf will gladly provide it. The lion approves the prescription. Sir Wolf is immediately flayed, jointed, and served: his hide warms the king, and his body provides the king’s meal. The fable warns courtiers that slander may bring not influence but suffering, since no one in their world is inclined to pardon it.

By Jean de La Fontaine · First published 1678 · Genre: Fable, Animal Fable, Moral Tale · 553 words

First lines

A lion, old, and impotent with gout, / Would have some cure for age found out. / Impossibilities, on all occasions, / With kings, are rank abominations. / This king, from every species, -- / For each abounds in every sort, -- / Call'd to his aid the leeches. / They came in throngs to court, / From doctors of the highest fee / To nostrum-quacks without degree, -- / Advised, prescribed, talk'd learnedly; / But with the rest / Came not Sir Cunning Fox, M. D. / Sir Wolf the royal couch attended, / And his suspicions there express'd. / Forthwith his majesty, offended, / Resolved Sir Cunning Fox should come, / And sent to smoke him from his home. / He came, was duly usher'd in, / And, knowing where Sir Wolf had been, / Said, 'Sire, your royal ear / Has been abused, I fear, / By rumours false and insincere; / To wit, that I've been self-exempt / From coming here, through sheer contempt. / But, sire, I've been on pilgrimage, / By vow expressly made, / Your royal health to aid, / And, on my way, met doctors sage, / In skill the wonder of the age, / Whom carefully I did consult / About that great debility / Term'd in the books senility, / Of which you fear, with reason, the result. / You lack, they say, the vital heat, / By age extreme become effete. / Drawn from a living wolf, the hide / Should warm and smoking be applied. / The secret's good, beyond a doubt, / For nature's weak, and wearing out. / Sir Wolf, here, won't refuse to give / His hide to cure you, as I live. ' / The king was pleased with this advice. / Flay'd, jointed, served up in a trice, / Sir Wolf first wrapp'd the monarch up, / Then furnish'd him whereon to sup.

• Open reader

Similar titles

• The Council Held By The Rats by Jean De La Fontaine
• The Lion And The Ass Hunting 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 Fox The Monkey And The Animals by Jean De La Fontaine
• The Horse And The Wolf by Jean De La Fontaine

Genres

• Fable — The work is a brief animal tale in which a lion, wolf, and fox act as human court figures, ending with an explicit moral warning against slander.
• Animal Fable — Anthropomorphic animals embody recognizable human traits: the lion represents royal authority, the wolf malicious courtly ambition, and the fox strategic cunning.
• Moral Tale — Its concluding lines directly state the lesson that slanderous courtiers may suffer painful consequences rather than gain influence.
• Satire — The poem satirizes court life, royal vanity, fashionable medical expertise, and the dangerous opportunism of those seeking favor through accusation.

Tags

French fable · verse fable · animal allegory · seventeenth-century France · royal court · aging king · gout · senility · failed medical treatment · doctors and quacks · courtly intrigue · slander

What this Textopian page supports

The Lion, the Wolf, and the Fox 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, Animal Fable, Moral Tale, Satire, Court Satire
• Length: 553 words
• Structure: 1 section, 3 paragraphs
• Reading fit: Fairly Easy (7th Grade)

Good citation fit

• Work identity for The Lion, the Wolf, and the Fox 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