Le corbeau et le renard<br><br>Jean de La Fontaine<br><br>Maître Corbeau, sur un arbre perché,<br>Tenait en son bec un fromage.<br>Maître Renard, par l\'odeur alléché,<br>Lui tint à peu près ce langage:<br>Hé! Bonjour, Monsieur du Corbeau.<br>Que vous êtes joli! Que vous me semblez beau!<br>Sans mentir, si votre ramage<br>Se rapporte à votre plumage,<br>Vous êtes le phénix des hôtes de ces bois.<br>A ces mots le corbeau ne se sent pas de joie;<br>Et, pour montrer sa belle voix,<br>Il ouvre un large bec, laisse tomber sa proie.<br>Le renard s\'en saisit, et dit: Mon bon monsieur,<br>Apprenez que tout flatteur<br>Vit aux dépens de celui qui l\'écoute:<br>Cette leçon vaut bien un fromage, sans doute.<br>Le corbeau, honteux et confus,<br>Jura, mais un peu tard, qu\'on ne l\'y prendrait plus.<br>The crow and the fox<br><br>English Translation © Richard Stokes<br><br>Master Crow, perched on an oak,<br>Was holding a cheese in his beak.<br>Master Fox, lured by the scent,<br>Spoke more or less like this:<br>‘Good day, my dear Sir Crow,<br>How smart you are! How debonair you are!<br>In truth, if your song<br>Be as fine as your plumage,<br>You are the phoenix of these woods.’<br>At this, the crow grew wild with glee;<br>And to display his minstrelsy,<br>He opens a big beak and drops his booty.<br>The fox snaps it up, saying: ‘My dear sir,<br>Learn that every flatterer<br>Depends on an audience to live at ease.<br>This lesson is doubtless cheap at a cheese.’<br>The crow, shamefaced and in troubled state,<br>Vowed to be tricked no more – a little late.<br>Translation © Richard Stokes, author of A French Song Companion (Oxford, 2000)
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