The Monkeys and the Leopard

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

Some monkeys in a wood were playing hot cockles;
a certain tawny she-monkey,
seated gravely, held upon her knees
the head of him who, bending his spine,
received the blows upon his hand.
They struck hard, and then — guess who!
He guessed nothing; then there were laughs,
leaps, gambols, cries.
Attracted by the noise from the depths of his den,
a young leopard, a rather good-natured prince,
appears in the midst of our joyful monkeys.
All trembles at his sight.”Continue your games,”
the leopard tells them, “I mean no harm to anyone;
reassure yourselves, I have a good soul;
and I even come here, as a private citizen,
to join in your pleasures.
Let us play, I am in the game.”
“Ah! My Lord, what kindness!
What! Your Highness wishes, leaving his dignity,
to stoop down to us!” — Yes, it is my whim.
My Highness has always had philosophy,
and knows that all animals
are equal.
Let us play then, my friends; let us play, I beg you.”
The enchanted monkeys believed this speech,
as one will always believe it.
The whole jovial troop
resumes playing: one of them holds out his hand,
the leopard strikes, and suddenly
one sees blood flow beneath the royal claw.
The monkey this time guessed who was striking;
but he went off without saying so.
His companions pretended to laugh,
and the leopard alone laughed.
Soon each excuses himself and slips away in haste,
saying between their teeth:
let us not play with the great,
the gentlest always has claws on its paw.

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-monkeys-and-the-leopard-jean-pierre-claris-de-florian/