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by Jean de La Fontaine (1621 - 1695)
Translation © by Peter Low
La Grenouille qui veut se faire aussi grosse que le Bœuf
Language: French (Français)
Available translation(s): ENG
Une Grenouille vit un Bœuf Qui lui sembla de belle taille. Elle, qui n'était pas grosse en tout comme un œuf, Envieuse, s'étend, et s'enfle, et se travaille, Pour égaler l'animal en grosseur, Disant: "Regardez bien, ma sœur ; Est-ce assez? dites-moi ; n'y suis-je point encore ? - Nenni. - M'y voici donc? - Point du tout. - M'y voilà ? - Vous n'en approchez point." La chétive pécore S'enfla si bien qu'elle creva. Le monde est plein de gens qui ne sont pas plus sages : Tout bourgeois veut bâtir comme les grands seigneurs, Tout petit prince a des ambassadeurs, Tout marquis veut avoir des pages.
Text Authorship:
- by Jean de La Fontaine (1621 - 1695), "La Grenouille qui veut se faire aussi grosse que le Bœuf", written 1668, 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 Paul Bonneau (1918 - 1995), "La Grenouille qui veut se faire aussi grosse que le Bœuf", published 1952 [ medium voice and piano ], from Fables de La Fontaine I, no. 4, Éd. Lido Mélodies [sung text not yet checked]
- by Melchior Alexandre Bruneau (1823 - 1898), "La Grenouille qui veut se faire aussi grosse que le Bœuf", op. 377 no. 1 (1879) [ medium voice and piano or organ ], from 25 fables de La Fontaine, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Régis Campo (b. 1968), "La Grenouille qui veut se faire aussi grosse que le Bœuf", 2005, published 2005 [ soprano and piano ], from Cinq fables de La Fontaine pour soprano et piano, no. 3, Éd. Henry Lemoine [sung text not yet checked]
- by Marie-Madeleine Duruflé-Chevalier (1921 - 1999), "La Grenouille qui veut se faire aussi grosse que le bœuf", published 1962 [ women's chorus ], from Six Fables de La Fontaine pour chœur à deux ou trois voix de femmes sans accompagnement, no. 1, Éd. Durand [sung text not yet checked]
- by Jean Françaix (1912 - 1997), "La grenouille qui veut se faire aussi grosse que le bœuf", 1963, published 1965 [ soprano or tenor or vocal quartet of male voices or men's chorus with piano ], Éd. Musicales Transatlantiques [sung text not yet checked]
- by Rachel Laurin (b. 1961), "La Grenouille qui veut se faire aussi grosse que le Bœuf", op. 9 no. 2 (1987), copyright © 1987 [ medium voice and piano ], from 3 Fables, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
- by (Alexandre) Charles Lecocq (1832 - 1918), "La Grenouille qui veut se faire aussi grosse que le bœuf", 1891 [ voice and piano ], from Six Fables de Jean de la Fontaine, no. 1, Éd. Librairie Musicale R. Legouix [sung text not yet checked]
- by Marcelle de Manziarly (1899 - 1989), "La Grenouille qui veut se faire aussi grosse que le Bœuf", 1935, from Trois Fables de La Fontaine, no. 3 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Philippe Mazé (b. 1954), "La Grenouille qui veut se faire aussi grosse que le Bœuf", 2009, published 2016 [ medium voice and piano ], from 9 Fables de Jean de La Fontaine pour une voix et piano, no. 9, Clichy, Éd. Musicales Artchipel [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Peter Low) , "The frog who wanted to be as big as an ox", copyright © 2022, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 14
Word count: 98
The frog who wanted to be as big as an ox
Language: English after the French (Français)
A frog once saw an ox which seemed of a handsome size. But she, with a body no fatter than an egg, being envious, stretched, puffed up, and exerted herself, trying to equal the ox's dimensions. She said: "Look at me, my friend, Is this enough? Tell me, have I still not got there?" "No way." "Am I there now?" "Not at all." "And now?" "You're not even close." Then the puny pond-dweller puffed herself up so much that she burst. The world is full of folk no wiser than that. Every burgher wants to build like a great lord, every little prince has ambassadors, every marquis wants to have page-boys.
Text Authorship:
- Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2022 by Peter Low, (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 Grenouille qui veut se faire aussi grosse que le Bœuf", written 1668, appears in Fables
This text was added to the website: 2022-05-25
Line count: 14
Word count: 111