The Wolf and the Shepherds

Name: The Wolf and the Shepherds
Author: Jean de La Fontaine

A Wolf reflects bitterly on the universal hatred directed at him by hunters, dogs, clowns, squires, and even children. He complains that he is condemned for feeding on miserable creatures such as diseased sheep, mangy asses, and lean dogs. Determined to escape this hatred, he vows never again to kill any living thing, promising instead to eat grass or browse on trees, or to die of famine. His resolution collapses when he sees the lords of the herds seated at their meal, eating roasted lamb. Outraged that the guardians of sheep consume lambs themselves, along with their equally greedy dogs, the Wolf abandons his scruples. He declares that he will eat the finest lamb, strangle it at the teat, swallow both lamb and dam, and take the ram as well. The fable turns the Wolf’s reasoning against the shepherds and human beings generally: if people claim the right to possess animals and eat them, their condemnation of the Wolf rests not on superior morality but on their greater power. The Wolf’s only real fault is that his jaws are too weak to break through their palings.

By Jean de La Fontaine · First published 1678 · Genre: Fable, Satire, Animal Allegory · 873 words

First lines

A Wolf, replete / With humanity sweet, / (A trait not much suspected,) / On his cruel deeds, / The fruit of his needs, / Profoundly thus reflected.

'I'm hated,' said he, / 'As joint enemy, / By hunters, dogs, and clowns. / They swear I shall die, / And their hue and cry / The very thunder drowns.

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Similar titles

Genres

Fable — The poem uses a speaking wolf and shepherds to deliver a pointed moral critique of human conduct and hypocrisy.
Satire — It satirizes shepherds and human society for condemning the wolf's predation while consuming lamb themselves on a larger scale.
Animal Allegory — The wolf functions as an animal figure whose reasoning exposes the moral contradictions of the human characters.
Moral Poetry — Its verse narrative concludes with an ethical observation about power, violence, and the unequal judgment of predators.

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The Wolf and the Shepherds 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, Animal Allegory, Moral Poetry, Didactic Poetry
Length: 873 words
Structure: 1 section, 12 paragraphs
Reading fit: Easy (6th Grade)

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