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Un homme chérissait éperdument sa Chatte ; Il la trouvait mignonne, et belle, et délicate ; Qui miaulait d'un ton fort doux. Il était plus fou que les fous. Cet Homme donc par prières, par larmes, Par sortilèges et par charmes, Fait tant qu'il obtient du destin, Que sa Chatte en un beau matin Devient femme, et le matin même Maître sot en fait sa moitié. Le voilà fou d'amour extrême, De fou qu'il était d'amitié. Jamais la Dame la plus belle Ne charma tant son favori, Que fait cette épouse nouvelle Son hypocondre de mari. Il l'amadoue, elle le flatte, Il n'y trouve plus rien de Chatte : Et poussant l'erreur jusqu'au bout La croit femme en tout et partout, Lorsque quelques Souris qui rongeaient de la natte Troublèrent le plaisir des nouveaux mariés. Aussitôt la femme est sur pieds : Elle manqua son aventure. Souris de revenir, femme d'être en posture. Pour cette fois elle accourut à point ; Car ayant changé de figure Les Souris ne la craignaient point. Ce lui fut toujours une amorce, Tant le naturel a de force. Il se moque de tout, certain âge accompli. Le vase est imbibé, l'étoffe a pris son pli. En vain de son train ordinaire On le veut désaccoutumer. Quelque chose qu'on puisse faire, On ne saurait le réformer. Coups de fourche ni d'étrivières Ne lui font changer de manières ; Et, fussiez-vous embâtonnés, Jamais vous n'en serez les maîtres. Qu'on lui ferme la porte au nez, Il reviendra par les fenêtres.
Authorship:
- by Jean de La Fontaine (1621 - 1695), "La Chatte métamorphosée en femme", appears in Fables [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Isabelle Aboulker (b. 1938), "La chatte métamorphosée en femme", published 1999 [ voice and piano ], from Femmes en Fables, no. 3, Éditions Notissimo [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Laura Prichard) , "The cat who metamorphosed into a woman", copyright © 2018, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2011-06-08
Line count: 42
Word count: 254
A certain man madly cherished his cat; She was a cute one, pretty, and delicate; Who meowed in a very sweet tone. He was the fool of fools. So this man, through prayers, tears, By enchantments and charms, Repeated until he achieved his [desired] destiny, He caused his cat, one gorgeous morning, To become a woman, and the same morning, The master made her his better half. So! Mad from the intensity of his love, He was as much a fool as he had been a friend. Never did such a beautiful lady seem So charmed and favored As this new spouse did To her hypochondriac husband. He coaxes her, she flatters him, He finds nothing cat-like about her And pushing his error to its logical conclusion, He believes she's a woman through and through. Until a few mice, gnawing at the mattress, Troubled the pleasure of the newlyweds. Immediately the woman jumps to her feet: She missed the adventure. The mice came back, she assumed the position. This time she was ready to pounce, But since her form had changed, The mice didn't fear her. It’s always like that in the beginning, Nature will out. It mocks anything past a certain age. The vase still smells strongly, the linen is wrinkled. In vain, your old habits, You’d like to change. Whatever we choose, We can’t rethink it. Neither a slap with a fork nor stirrup leathers Make one change his ways; And, if you all were able to change, You’d still never be the masters. If the door were shut in one’s face, They’ll return by the windows.
Translator's note: One source for La Fontaine’s fable is Aesop’s Venus and the Cat.
Note for line -6 ("slap with a fork"): Horace said, “Naturam expellas furca, tamen usque recurret.” [You may drive nature out with a pitchfork, but she will keep coming back.” (Epistles, Book 1, ii, lines 69-71). There is a similar French proverb: Chassez le naturel, il revient au galop.
Authorship:
- Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2018 by Laura Prichard, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you may ask the copyright-holder(s) directly or ask us; we are authorized to grant permission on their behalf. Please provide the translator's name when contacting us.
Contact: licenses@email.lieder.example.net
Based on:
- a text in French (Français) by Jean de La Fontaine (1621 - 1695), "La Chatte métamorphosée en femme", appears in Fables
This text was added to the website: 2018-12-09
Line count: 42
Word count: 269