Mortally struck by a feathered arrow

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by Jean de La Fontaine (1621 - 1695)

Translation © by Grant Hicks

Mortellement atteint d'une flèche...

Language: French (Français)

Our translations: ENG

Mortellement atteint d'une flèche empennée,
Un Oiseau déplorait sa triste destinée,
Et disait, en souffrant un surcroît de douleur :
Faut-il contribuer à son propre malheur ?
Cruels humains, vous tirez de nos ailes
De quoi faire voler ces machines mortelles.
Mais ne vous moquez point, engeance sans pitié :
Souvent il vous arrive un sort comme le nôtre.
Des enfants de Japet toujours une moitié
Fournira des armes à l'autre.

About the headline (FAQ)

Confirmed with Œuvres complètes de Jean de La Fontaine, Paris: Didot, 1837, Page 21.

Text Authorship:

by Jean de La Fontaine (1621 - 1695), "L'oiseau blessé d'une flèche", appears in Fables, Book 2, Fable 6 [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 Marcelle de Manziarly (1899 - 1989), "L'oiseau blessé d'une flèche", 1935, from Trois Fables de La Fontaine, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
by Heitor Villa-Lobos (1887 - 1959), "Oiseau blessé d'une flèche", op. 10 (1913), published 1987, first performed 1917 [ voice and piano ], Rio de Janeiro: Arthur Napoleão [sung text not yet checked]

Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

ENG English (Grant Hicks) , copyright © 2025, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Grant Hicks [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2010-08-05
Line count: 10
Word count: 68

Mortally struck by a feathered arrow

Language: English after the French (Français)

Mortally struck by a feathered arrow,
A bird bewailed her dismal fate,
And said, suffering an access of pain,
"Must one contribute to one's own misfortune?
Cruel humans, you pluck from our wings
That which will make your fatal device fly.
But do not laugh, you pitiless rabble:
You often suffer a fate like ours.
Half of Japheth's children will always 
Furnish weapons to the other half."

About the headline (FAQ)

Translations of titles:
"L'oiseau blessé d'une flèche" = "The Bird Wounded by an Arrow"
"Oiseau blessé d'une flèche" = "Bird Wounded by an Arrow"

Text Authorship:

Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2025 by Grant Hicks, (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), "L'oiseau blessé d'une flèche", appears in Fables, Book 2, Fable 6
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2025-09-07
Line count: 10
Word count: 67