The Coquette and the Bee

Fable by Jean-Pierre Claris de Florian Period 18th century

Chloe, young, pretty, and above all very coquettish,
every morning, on rising,
set herself to work—I mean at her toilet;
and there, smiling, simpering,
she told her dear confidant
the sorrows, the pleasures, the projects of her soul.
A giddy bee arrives, buzzing.
Help! Help! cries the lady at once:
come, Lise, Marton, hurry here quickly;
chase away this winged monster. The monster insolently
on Chloe’s lips settles.
Chloe faints, and Marton in fury
seizes the bee and prepares
to crush it. Alas! says the unfortunate
insect to her gently, forgive my mistake;
your Chloe’s mouth seemed to me a rose,
and I thought… that single word restores Chloe’s senses.
Let us spare her, she says, for her sincere confession:
besides, her sting is slight;
since she speaks to you, I scarcely feel it.
What will not be made acceptable with a little incense!

Florian

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-coquette-and-the-bee-jean-pierre-claris-de-florian/