The Oak and the Reed by Jean de La Fontaine

Name: The Oak and the Reed
Author: Jean de La Fontaine

The oak mocks the reed for its weakness, saying that even small birds and light winds make it tremble, while he stands high and strong against sun and storm. He pities the reed for growing exposed in the wet, low marshes and claims that Nature has treated it unfairly. The reed politely rejects the oak’s concern. It explains that although it bends before the wind, it does not break, whereas the oak’s rigid strength makes it more vulnerable. As a violent tempest arrives, the oak remains upright and the reed bends low. When the blast returns with greater force, it uproots and overthrows the proud oak, while the reed survives by yielding.

By Jean de La Fontaine · First published 1668 · Genre: Fable, Didactic Literature, Allegory · 607 words

First lines

The oak one day address'd the reed: -- / 'To you ungenerous indeed / Has nature been, my humble friend, / With weakness aye obliged to bend. / The smallest bird that flits in air / Is quite too much for you to bear; / The slightest wind that wreathes the lake / Your ever-trembling head doth shake. / The while, my towering form / Dares with the mountain top / The solar blaze to stop, / And wrestle with the storm. / What seems to you the blast of death, / To me is but a zephyr's breath. / Beneath my branches had you grown, / That spread far round their friendly bower, / Less suffering would your life have known, / Defended from the tempest's power. / Unhappily you oftenest show / In open air your slender form, / Along the marshes wet and low, / That fringe the kingdom of the storm. / To you, declare I must, / Dame Nature seems unjust. ' / Then modestly replied the reed: / 'Your pity, sir, is kind indeed, / But wholly needless for my sake. / The wildest wind that ever blew / Is safe to me compared with you. / I bend, indeed, but never break. / Thus far, I own, the hurricane / Has beat your sturdy back in vain; / But wait the end. ' Just at the word, / The tempest's hollow voice was heard. / The North sent forth her fiercest child, / Dark, jagged, pitiless, and wild. / The oak, erect, endured the blow; / The reed bow'd gracefully and low. / But, gathering up its strength once more, / In greater fury than before, / The savage blast / O'erthrew, at last, / That proud, old, sky-encircled head, / Whose feet entwined the empire of the dead! [1][2]

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The Oak and the Reed is listed on Textopian as a fable by Jean de La Fontaine, dated 1668 CE.

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Work type: Fable
Author: Jean de La Fontaine
Date: 1668 CE
Language: English
Genres: Fable, Didactic Literature, Allegory, Moral Tale, Animal and Nature Fiction
Length: 607 words
Structure: 1 section, 3 paragraphs
Reading fit: Fairly Easy (7th Grade)

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Genres

Fable — The work uses speaking natural figures, a concise narrative, and an implicit moral lesson to contrast prideful rigidity with resilient flexibility.
Didactic Literature — Its central purpose is instructional: it teaches that adaptability and humility are wiser than arrogant confidence in strength.
Allegory — The oak and reed represent contrasting human dispositions, with the storm functioning as a test of character and survival.
Moral Tale — The plot culminates in a clear ethical outcome, as the proud oak falls while the yielding reed survives.