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A Stag, having fled into an ox stable,
Was at first warned by them
To seek a better refuge.
My brothers, he told them, do not betray me:
I will show you the fattest pastures;
This service may one day be useful to you,
And you will not regret it.
The Oxen promised secrecy for all purposes.
He hides in a corner, breathes, and takes courage.
Toward evening fresh grass and fodder are brought
As was done every day.
They come and go, the servants make a hundred rounds.
The Steward himself, and not one by chance
Caught sight of either body or antlers,
Nor Stag at last. The inhabitant of the forests
Already gives thanks to the Oxen, waits in that stable
For each returning to the work of Ceres,
To find a favorable moment to leave.
One of the Oxen, chewing his cud, told him: It goes well;
But what! the man with a hundred eyes has not made his round.
I greatly fear his coming for you.
Until then, poor Stag, boast of nothing.Thereupon the Master enters and comes to make his round.
What is this? he says to his people.
I find very little grass in all these racks.
This litter is old: go quickly to the barns.
I want to see your beasts better tended from now on.
What does it cost to remove all these cobwebs?
Can one not put away these yokes and these collars?
Looking at everything, he sees another head
Than those he ordinarily saw in this place.
The Stag is recognized; each takes a spear;
Each gives a blow to the beast.
His tears cannot save it from death.
It is carried off, salted, and made into many a meal,
Of which many a neighbor rejoices to partake.
Phaedrus on this subject says most elegantly:
There is, for seeing, only the Master’s eye.
As for me, I would add to it the Lover’s eye as well.
Jean de La Fontaine
Translation generated by Poésies 123 with assistance from the deepseek-chat artificial-intelligence model.
Text published on Poésies 123: https://www.poesies123.com/en/fable-the-masters-eye-jean-de-la-fontaine/