The Two Adventurers and the Talisman

Name: The Two Adventurers and the Talisman
Author: Jean de La Fontaine

The fable presents a knight, made bold by a talisman, who rides in search of adventures with a companion. They find a challenge written on a post: a knight must ford a torrent, lift a stone elephant from its bank, and carry it without stopping to the top of a mist-wreathed mountain. The companion, showing fear through his bleeding nostrils, argues that the torrent may be too deep, the elephant too heavy, and the feat either impossible or dishonourably easy if the statue is tiny. He calls the challenge a trap or a riddle for a fool and leaves it to the other knight. The talisman-bearing knight acts despite what his eyes might suggest. He crosses the torrent, lifts the stone elephant alone, and carries it without pausing to the mountain’s summit. There he discovers a great, high-walled city. The elephant cries out, and armed people rush forth. Rather than flee, the knight prepares to attack and to die bravely if necessary. To his astonishment, the people proclaim him their monarch, since their former ruler’s death has left the throne vacant. He accepts, though he modestly fears that royal responsibility may exceed his strength. Soon, however, it becomes evident that this declaration was not entirely sincere. The moral is that blind Fortune favours daring action and often carries out what the wisest person would delay while carefully considering means and ends.

By Jean de La Fontaine · First published 1678 · Genre: Fable, Moral Tale, Verse Narrative · 906 words

First lines

No flowery path to glory leads. / This truth no better voucher needs / Than Hercules, of mighty deeds. / Few demigods, the tomes of fable / Reveal to us as being able / Such weight of task-work to endure: / In history, I find still fewer. / One such, however, here behold -- / A knight by talisman made bold, / Within the regions of romance, / To seek adventures with the lance. / There rode a comrade at his ride, / And as they rode they both espied / This writing on a post: -- / "Wouldst see, sir valiant knight, / A thing whereof the sight / No errant yet can boast? / Thou hast this torrent but to ford, / And, lifting up, alone, / The elephant of stone / Upon its margin shored, / Upbear it to the mountain's brow, / Round which, aloft before thee now, / The misty chaplets wreathe -- / Not stopping once to breathe. " / One knight, whose nostrils bled, / Betokening courage fled, / Cried out, 'What if that current's sweep / Not only rapid be, but deep! / And grant it cross'd, -- pray, why encumber / One's arms with that unwieldy lumber, / An elephant of stone? / Perhaps the artist may have done / His work in such a way, that one / Might lug it twice its length; / But then to reach yon mountain top, / And that without a breathing stop, / Were surely past a mortal's strength -- / Unless, indeed, it be no bigger / Than some wee, pigmy, dwarfish figure, / Which one would head a cane withal; -- / And if to this the case should fall, / The adventurer's honour would be small! / This posting seems to me a trap, / Or riddle for some greenish chap; / I therefore leave the whole to you. ' / The doubtful reasoner onward hies. / With heart resolved, in spite of eyes, / The other boldly dashes through; / Nor depth of flood nor force / Can stop his onward course. / He finds the elephant of stone; / He lifts it all alone; / Without a breathing stop, / He bears it to the top / Of that steep mount, and seeth there / A high-wall'd city, great and fair. / Out-cried the elephant -- and hush'd; / But forth in arms the people rush'd. / A knight less bold had surely fled; / But he, so far from turning back, / His course right onward sped, / Resolved himself to make attack, / And die but with the bravest dead. / Amazed was he to hear that band / Proclaim him monarch of their land, / And welcome him, in place of one / Whose death had left a vacant throne! / In sooth, he lent a gracious ear, / Meanwhile expressing modest fear, / Lest such a load of royal care / Should be too great for him to bear. / And so, exactly, Sixtus[1] said, / When first the pope's tiara press'd his head; / (Though, is it such a grievous thing / To be a pope, or be a king? ) / But days were few before they read it, / That with but little truth he said it.

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Genres

Fable — The poem presents an exemplary narrative ending in an explicit moral: daring action can attract fortune before cautious calculation has begun.
Moral Tale — Its central purpose is ethical instruction, contrasting fearful overreasoning with courageous resolution and rewarding the latter.
Verse Narrative — The work tells a complete story through rhymed, metrically organized poetry rather than prose.
Allegory — The two knights function as contrasting types—the hesitant rationalizer and the resolute adventurer—whose actions embody competing attitudes toward risk, courage, and success.

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The Two Adventurers and the Talisman 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, Moral Tale, Verse Narrative, Allegory, Adventure
Length: 906 words
Structure: 1 section, 4 paragraphs
Reading fit: Fairly Easy (7th Grade)

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