The Rat Who Withdrew from the World

Fable by Jean De La Fontaine Collection The FablesThemes Animals, Religion, SatirePeriod 17th century

The Levantines in their legend
Say that a certain Rat, weary of the cares of this world,
In a Holland cheese
Withdrew far from all turmoil.
Solitude was profound,
Stretching everywhere around.
Our new hermit subsisted within it.
He worked so hard with feet and teeth
That in a few days he had, at the bottom of the hermitage,
Food and shelter: what more does one need?
He grew big and fat; God lavishes his goods
On those who vow to be his.
One day, to the devout personage
Deputies of the Rat people
Came to ask some modest alms:
They were going to a foreign land
To seek some aid against the cat people;
Ratopolis was blockaded:
They had been forced to leave without money,
Given the indigent state
Of the Republic under attack.
They asked for very little, certain that the aid
Would be ready in four or five days.
My friends, said the Solitary,
The things of this world no longer concern me:
How can a poor Recluse
Assist you? what can he do,
But pray Heaven to help you in this?
I hope it will have some care for you.
Having spoken in this manner,
The new Saint closed his door.
Whom do I mean, in your opinion,
By this Rat so little helpful?
A Monk? No, but a Dervish:
I assume a Monk is always charitable.

Jean de La Fontaine

Translation generated by Poésies 123 with assistance from the deepseek-chat artificial-intelligence model.

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