The Two Goats by Jean de La Fontaine

Name: The Two Goats
Author: Jean de La Fontaine

Two high-born goats leave the meadows to seek their fortunes among the hills. Meeting at a mountain torrent crossed only by a plank too narrow for two to pass abreast, both boldly step onto it. They meet in the middle, foot to foot and nose to nose, but neither will yield because each takes pride in her distinguished ancestry: one descends from the goat given by the Cyclop to Galataea, and the other from Amalthaea, who suckled Jupiter. Their refusal to give way causes them both to fall into the torrent, sharing the same misfortune on Fortune’s uncertain road.

By Jean de La Fontaine · First published 1693 · Genre: Fable, Didactic Literature, Animal Tale · 804 words

First lines

Since goats have browsed, by freedom fired, / To follow fortune they've aspired. / To pasturage they're wont to roam / Where men are least disposed to come. / If any pathless place there be, / Or cliff, or pendent precipice, / 'Tis there they cut their capers free: / There's nought can stop these dames, I wis. / Two goats, thus self-emancipated, -- / The white that on their feet they wore / Look'd back to noble blood of yore, -- / Once quit the lowly meadows, sated, / And sought the hills, as it would seem: / In search of luck, by luck they met / Each other at a mountain stream. / As bridge a narrow plank was set, / On which, if truth must be confest, / Two weasels scarce could go abreast. / And then the torrent, foaming white, / As down it tumbled from the height, / Might well those Amazons affright. / But maugre such a fearful rapid, / Both took the bridge, the goats intrepid! / I seem to see our Louis Grand[1] / And Philip IV. advance / To the Isle of Conference,[2] / That lies 'twixt Spain and France, / Each sturdy for his glorious land. / Thus each of our adventurers goes, / Till foot to foot, and nose to nose, / Somewhere about the midst they meet, / And neither will an inch retreat. / For why? they both enjoy'd the glory / Of ancestors in ancient story. / The one, a goat of peerless rank, / Which, browsing on Sicilian bank, / The Cyclop gave to Galataea; [3] / The other famous Amalthaea,[4] / The goat that suckled Jupiter, / As some historians aver. / For want of giving back, in troth, / A common fall involved them both. -- / A common accident, no doubt, / On Fortune's changeful route.[5][6]

Open reader

Similar titles

Genres

Fable — The poem uses talking-by-implication animal characters in a brief allegorical plot to convey a moral warning against pride, stubbornness, and refusal to yield.
Didactic Literature — Its central purpose is instructional: the goats' shared fall illustrates the consequences of mutual inflexibility and arrogant rivalry.
Animal Tale — Goats are the principal characters, and their recognizable behavior is shaped into a narrative exemplum about human conduct.
Allegory — The goats' confrontation represents human, political, and social conflicts in which opposing parties let inherited status and pride prevent compromise.

What this Textopian page supports

The Two Goats is listed on Textopian as a fable by Jean de La Fontaine, dated 1693 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: 1693 CE
Language: English
Genres: Fable, Didactic Literature, Animal Tale, Allegory, Satire
Length: 804 words
Structure: 1 section, 7 paragraphs
Reading fit: Fairly Easy (7th Grade)

Good citation fit

Work identity for The Two Goats 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