The Serpent and the File by Jean de La Fontaine

A hungry serpent enters a smith’s shop seeking food and finds only a steel file. He tries to eat it, but the file calmly calls him foolish, warning that he will break all his teeth before removing even a quarter of a grain from it. The file says that it fears only Time’s teeth. The tale applies this lesson to worthless men of letters who attack writers superior to themselves. Their criticism cannot damage enduring works, which are compared to brass, steel, and diamond.

By Jean de La Fontaine · First published 1668 · Genre: Fable, Didactic Literature, Allegory · 266 words

First lines

A serpent, neighbour to a smith, / (A neighbour bad to meddle with,) / Went through his shop, in search of food, / But nothing found, 'tis understood, / To eat, except a file of steel, / Of which he tried to make a meal. / The file, without a spark of passion, / Address'd him in the following fashion: -- / 'Poor simpleton! you surely bite / With less of sense than appetite; / For ere from me you gain / One quarter of a grain, / You'll break your teeth from ear to ear. / Time's are the only teeth I fear.'

• Open reader

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Genres

• Fable — A brief animal tale in which a serpent and a file speak and act symbolically, ending with an explicit moral about futile literary criticism.
• Didactic Literature — The work is constructed to teach a lesson: inferior writers or critics cannot damage enduring works through hostile attacks.
• Allegory — The serpent represents envious or incapable men of letters, while the indestructible file represents great literary works.
• Satire — La Fontaine mocks petty, talentless literary critics by comparing their attacks to a serpent trying to bite steel.

Tags

French fable · verse fable · seventeenth-century literature · smith's shop · serpent · steel file · hunger · animal personification · talking objects · failed predation · durability · time

What this Textopian page supports

The Serpent and the File 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, Allegory, Satire, Moral Poetry
• Length: 266 words
• Structure: 1 section, 3 paragraphs
• Reading fit: Easy (6th Grade)

Good citation fit

• Work identity for The Serpent and the File 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