The Swallow and the Little Birds

A knowledgeable swallow warns little birds that a farmer’s hemp seed will grow into nets and snares that may bring them to cages or kettles. She urges them first to scratch up and eat the seed, then, when the crop sprouts, to pull it up by the roots. The birds dismiss her as a false, babbling prophetess and refuse to act. Once the hemp is mature, the swallow warns that men will soon hunt birds with nets and nooses, advising them either to flee to other lands or hide in holes. The birds laugh and raise a noisy protest instead of listening, and many are soon imprisoned. The fable concludes that people trust only their own instincts and refuse to believe in danger until it has happened.

By Jean de La Fontaine · First published 1668 · Genre: Fable, Didactic Literature, Animal Tale · 783 words

First lines

By voyages in air, / With constant thought and care, / Much knowledge had a swallow gain'd, / Which she for public use retain'd, / The slightest storms she well foreknew, / And told the sailors ere they blew. / A farmer sowing hemp, once having found, / She gather'd all the little birds around, / And said, 'My friends, the freedom let me take / To prophesy a little, for your sake, / Against this dangerous seed. / Though such a bird as I / Knows how to hide or fly, / You birds a caution need. / See you that waving hand? / It scatters on the land / What well may cause alarm. / 'Twill grow to nets and snares, / To catch you unawares, / And work you fatal harm! / Great multitudes I fear, / Of you, my birdies dear, / That falling seed, so little, / Will bring to cage or kettle! / But though so perilous the plot, / You now may easily defeat it: / All lighting on the seeded spot, / Just scratch up every seed and eat it. ' / The little birds took little heed, / So fed were they with other seed. / Anon the field was seen / Bedeck'd in tender green. / The swallow's warning voice was heard again: / 'My friends, the product of that deadly grain, / Seize now, and pull it root by root, / Or surely you'll repent its fruit. ' / 'False, babbling prophetess,' says one, / 'You'd set us at some pretty fun! / To pull this field a thousand birds are needed, / While thousands more with hemp are seeded. ' / The crop now quite mature, / The swallow adds, 'Thus far I've fail'd of cure; / I've prophesied in vain / Against this fatal grain: / It's grown. And now, my bonny birds, / Though you have disbelieved my words / Thus far, take heed at last, -- / When you shall see the seed-time past, / And men, no crops to labour for, / On birds shall wage their cruel war, / With deadly net and noose; / Of flying then beware, / Unless you take the air, / Like woodcock, crane, or goose. / But stop; you're not in plight / For such adventurous flight, / O'er desert waves and sands, / In search of other lands. / Hence, then, to save your precious souls, / Remaineth but to say, / 'Twill be the safest way, / To chuck yourselves in holes. ' / Before she had thus far gone, / The birdlings, tired of hearing, / And laughing more than fearing, / Set up a greater jargon / Than did, before the Trojan slaughter, / The Trojans round old Priam's daughter.[1] / And many a bird, in prison grate, / Lamented soon a Trojan fate.

• Open reader

Similar titles

• The Two Bulls And The Frog by Jean De La Fontaine
• The Two Mules by Jean De La Fontaine
• The City Rat And The Country Rat by Jean De La Fontaine
• The Hornets And The Bees by Jean De La Fontaine
• The Thieves And The Ass by Jean De La Fontaine
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Genres

• Fable — The poem uses speaking animals, a concise cautionary plot, and an explicit moral: people often ignore wise warnings until disaster has already occurred.
• Didactic Literature — Its primary purpose is instructional, teaching prudence, foresight, collective action, and the danger of dismissing informed advice.
• Animal Tale — Bird characters, especially the knowledgeable swallow and the heedless smaller birds, enact the central conflict and embody human behaviors.
• Moral Poetry — Written in verse, the work develops an ethical lesson through narrative and concludes with a direct generalization about human conduct.

Tags

fable · verse narrative · moral allegory · talking animals · swallow · little birds · hemp field · farmer · bird trapping · nets and snares · cages · forewarning

What this Textopian page supports

The Swallow and the Little Birds 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 Tale, Moral Poetry, Allegory
• Length: 783 words
• Structure: 1 section, 4 paragraphs
• Reading fit: Fairly Easy (7th Grade)

Good citation fit

• Work identity for The Swallow and the Little Birds 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