The raven, the gazelle, the turtle and the rat
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The raven, the gazelle, the turtle and the rat (French: Le Corbeau, la Gazelle, la Tortue et le Rat ) is the 15th fable in the twelfth book of the collection of fables, Fables Choisies, Mises En Vers by Jean de La Fontaine .
La Fontaine often elevated didactic fables to pure lyric poetry by incorporating personal feelings into them. A sober and moving evocation of a loving friendship is his homage to his patron Marguerite de la Sablière in his animal fable “La Corbeau, la Gazelle, la Tortue et le Rat”. In his works he never names de la Sablière directly, but gives her the name of the goddess Iris . He addresses his longtime friend and follower as someone who can be loved like himself, as an exemplary friend whose friendship is neither impaired by love nor by ambition, since she had no interest in the loveless world of kings. With this tender tribute, he expresses the respect, love and gratitude he felt for his benefactress, in whose house he lived mainly from 1672 or 1673 until her death in 1693.
... To please you, I have made known to you my plan
of a fable here,
which
presents us with such proof of friendship worthy of value that, if I am not mistaken,
it will amuse your spirit a little.
... It is a person ready to give himself up
for his friend - alas, their number is small.
Four animals that lived in loyal friendship
may be an example to the people here.
The actual fable is about four different animal species that were connected in an unusual friendship and lived together: a rat (called Maschenfraß), a turtle (called Buckelhaus), a raven and a gazelle. When the reckless gazelle does not return home from a stroll, the three other friends are worried. The rat and the raven are looking for them and can free them from a hunter's net. The turtle, which should actually stay at home because it is much too slow, also goes against the agreement to help the friend. But she only arrives at the scene when the three other friends have already escaped to safety and the hunter who has just returned notices the empty trap. The angry hunter catches the turtle and wants to take it with him as a replacement for the lost prey. The raven observes and reports from the air that the turtle has been captured. The gazelle then comes out of its hiding place and limps, causing the hunter to throw his sack with the turtle because he believes he can easily catch the supposedly injured gazelle. During the diversion, the rat gnaws a hole in the hunter's backpack so that the turtle can be freed.
La Fontaine concludes that every helper is equally important as long as he acts, but then allows his personal feelings towards the addressee to flow into morality:
The price goes to the heart, it was up to me.
Friendship, where can it not soar!
The other feeling, love - it
seems to me worth less honor ; nevertheless I never tire of
celebrating and defeating them.
Oh, it cannot bring peace to my heart!
You prefer friendship - from now on
my song will serve you, however it turns out.
My master was Cupid; with another dare
and its fame throughout the world
I will carry yours as well.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Jean de La Fontaine: Fables Choisies, Mises En Vers. P. 105 , accessed on February 2, 2020 (French).
- ^ Jürgen Grimm , Susanne Hartwig: French literature history . JB Metzler, Stuttgart 2014, ISBN 978-3-476-02420-6 , pp. 182 , doi : 10.1007 / 978-3-476-00733-9 ( springer.com [accessed February 29, 2020]).
- ↑ Calder, Andrew: The Fables of La Fontaine: wisdom brought down to earth . Droz, Genève 2001, ISBN 2-600-00464-5 , pp. 176 .
- ^ Ernst Dohm (translator): Lafontaine's fables. P. 336 , accessed February 2, 2020 .