French/Texts/Simple/Le Corbeau et le Renard

Lessons · Vocabulary · Grammar · Appendices · Texts

Vocabulary

le corbeau	crow
le renard	fox
allécher quelqu'un	to give someone an appetite, to make one's mouth water
mentir	to lie
le ramage	song (of a bird)
montrer	to show
la proie	prey
le flatteur	flatterer
vivre aux dépens de quelqu'un	to live at someone's expense
honteux	ashamed
confus	embarrassed
jurer	to swear

The fable

En français

Maître Corbeau, sur un arbre perché,
Tenait en son bec un fromage.
Maître Renard, par l’odeur alléché,
Lui tint à peu près ce langage :
« Hé ! bonjour, Monsieur du Corbeau.
Que vous êtes joli ! Que vous me semblez beau !
Sans mentir, si votre ramage
Se rapporte à votre plumage,
Vous êtes le Phénix des hôtes de ces bois. »
A ces mots le Corbeau ne se sent pas de joie ;
Et pour montrer sa belle voix,
Il ouvre un large bec, laisse tomber sa proie.
Le Renard s’en saisit, et dit : « Mon bon Monsieur,
Apprenez que tout flatteur
Vit aux dépens de celui qui l’écoute :
Cette leçon vaut bien un fromage, sans doute. »
Le Corbeau, honteux et confus,
Jura, mais un peu tard, qu’on ne l’y prendrait plus.

In English

Mr. Crow, sitting in a tree,
Held a piece of cheese in his beak.
Mr. Fox, mouth watering from the scent,
Uttered almost precisely this to him:
“Hey! Good morning, Mr. Crow.
How lovely you are! You look so beautiful!
Without lying, if your songs
Are in keeping with your feathers,
You are the Phoenix of the inhabitants of these woods.”
With these words the Crow feels nothing but delight.
And to show off his beautiful voice,
He opens a wide beak and lets his prey fall.
The Fox grabs it and said: “My dear sir
Learn that every flatterer
Lives at the expense of the one who listens to him.
This lesson is worth a piece of cheese, no doubt.”
The Crow, ashamed and embarrassed,
Swore, but a bit late, that he would never be fooled again.

Questions

French : Lessons · Vocabulary · Grammar · Appendices · Texts

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