The Cat and an Old Rat

Fable by Jean De La Fontaine Collection The FablesThemes Animals, Death, EarthPeriod 17th century

I have read in a teller of Fables,
That a second Rodilard, the Alexander of Cats,
The Attila, the scourge of Rats,
Was making these latter wretched:
I have read, I say, in a certain Author,
That this exterminating Cat,
A true Cerberus, was feared a league around:
He wanted to depopulate the whole world of Mice.
The planks that one suspends on a light support,
The death to Rats, the Mousetraps,
Were but games compared to him.
As he sees that in their burrows
The Mice were prisoners,
That they dared not come out, that he searched in vain,
The gallant plays dead, and from the top of a plank
Hangs himself head down: the villainous beast
Held himself by the paw to certain cords.
The people of Mice believe that it is punishment,
That he has committed a theft of roast or of cheese,
Scratched someone, caused some damage,
In short that they have hanged the wicked rascal.
All, I say, unanimously
Promise themselves to laugh at his burial,
Put their noses in the air, show a little of their heads,
Then go back into their rat nests,
Then coming out again take four steps,
Then at last set out in quest.
But here is indeed another feast:
The hanged one resurrects; and falling on his feet,
Catches the laziest. “We know more than one of you,” he says, gobbling them:
“It is a trick of old war; and your hollow caverns
Will not save you, I warn you:
You will all come home.”
He prophesied true: our master Mitis
For the second time tricks them and refines them,
Whitens his robe and flours himself,
And in this way disguised,
Nestles and huddles in an open kneading trough.
It was for him well advised:
The nibbling folk comes to seek its ruin.
One Rat, no more, abstains from going to sniff around:
He was an old campaigner, he knew more than one trick;
He had even lost his tail in battle.
“This floured block tells me nothing good,”
He cried from afar to the General of Cats.
“I suspect beneath it still some machine.
Being flour serves you no purpose;
For, even if you were a sack, I would not approach.”
It was well said on his part; I approve his prudence:
He was experienced,
And knew that mistrust
Is the mother of safety.

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-cat-and-an-old-rat-jean-de-la-fontaine/