The Oyster and the Litigants

Name: The Oyster and the Litigants
Author: Jean de La Fontaine

Two pilgrims find an oyster cast onto the sand by the tide and immediately quarrel over who has the right to eat it. Each claims to have seen it first, and one adds that he also felt it. They appoint the imposing Sir Nincom Periwig to judge their dispute. He solemnly takes possession of both the oyster and the case, opens the oyster, and eats it himself. He then awards each pilgrim an empty shell without cost and tells them to depart in peace. The fable observes that lawsuits similarly enrich the judge or lawyer while leaving the disputing parties with little or nothing.

By Jean de La Fontaine · First published 1678 · Genre: Fable, Satire, Didactic Literature · 534 words

First lines

Two pilgrims on the sand espied / An oyster thrown up by the tide. / In hope, both swallow'd ocean's fruit; / But ere the fact there came dispute. / While one stoop'd down to take the prey, / The other push'd him quite away. / Said he, ''Twere rather meet / To settle which shall eat. / Why, he who first the oyster saw / Should be its eater, by the law; / The other should but see him do it. ' / Replied his mate, 'If thus you view it, / Thank God the lucky eye is mine. ' / 'But I've an eye not worse than thine,' / The other cried, 'and will be cursed, / If, too, I didn't see it first. ' / 'You saw it, did you? Grant it true, / I saw it then, and felt it too. ' / Amidst this sweet affair, / Arrived a person very big, / Ycleped Sir Nincom Periwig.[1] / They made him judge, -- to set the matter square. / Sir Nincom, with a solemn face, / Took up the oyster and the case: / In opening both, the first he swallow'd, / And, in due time, his judgment follow'd. / 'Attend: the court awards you each a shell / Cost free; depart in peace, and use them well. ' / Foot up the cost of suits at law, / The leavings reckon and awards, / The cash you'll see Sir Nincom draw, / And leave the parties -- purse and cards.[2]

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Similar titles

Genres

Fable — The poem uses a brief animal-and-human-like allegorical scenario to deliver a clear moral lesson about litigation, greed, and legal costs.
Satire — It sharply mocks litigants and judicial authorities, especially the judge who enriches himself while the disputants receive only worthless shells.
Didactic Literature — Its central purpose is instructional: it warns readers that pursuing petty disputes through law can leave both parties worse off.
Narrative Poetry — The work tells a complete story in verse, with characters, conflict, dialogue, action, and a concluding judgment.

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The Oyster and the Litigants is listed on Textopian as a fable by Jean de La Fontaine, dated 1678 CE.

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Work type: Fable
Author: Jean de La Fontaine
Date: 1678 CE
Language: English
Genres: Fable, Satire, Didactic Literature, Narrative Poetry, Legal Satire
Length: 534 words
Structure: 1 section, 3 paragraphs
Reading fit: Easy (6th Grade)

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