Fables for the Frivolous

Fables for the Frivolous (With Apologies to La Fontaine) by Guy Wetmore Carryl

Guy Wetmore Carryl published this collection of humorous light verse in 1898. These poems are parodies of Aesop's Fables. Carryl’s dedication was “To My Father”. He added the following foreword: NOTE: I have pleasure in acknowledging the courteous permission of the editors to reprint in this form such of the following fables as were originally published in Harper’s periodicals, in Life, and in Munsey’s Magazine. G. W. C. Carryl’s subtitle “With Apologies to La Fontaine” is a reference to the Fables of Jean de La Fontaine, who also wrote humorous poems based on Aesop’s Fables.

Contents

• The Ambitious Fox and the Unapproachable Grapes
• The Persevering Tortoise and the Pretentious Hare
• The Patrician Peacocks and the Overweening Jay
• The Arrogant Frog and the Superior Bull
• The Domineering Eagle and the Inventive Bratling
• The Iconoclastic Rustic and the Apropos Acorn
• The Unusual Goose and the Imbecilic Woodcutter
• The Rude Rat and the Unostentatious Oyster
• The Urban Rat and the Suburban Rat
• The Impecunious Cricket and the Frugal Ant
• The Pampered Lapdog and the Misguided Ass
• The Vainglorious Oak and the Modest Bulrush
• The Inhuman Wolf and the Lamb Sans Gene
• The Sycophantic Fox and the Gullible Raven
• The Microscopic Trout and the Machiavelian Fisherman
• The Confiding Peasant and the Maladroit Bear
• The Precipitate Cock and the Unappreciated Pearl
• The Abbreviated Fox And His Sceptical Comrades
• The Hospitable Caledonian and the Thankless Viper
• The Impetuous Breeze and the Diplomatic Sun