Le renard et les raisins
Language: French (Français)
Certain renard gascon, d'autres disent normand,
Mourant presque de faim, vit au haut d'une treille
Des raisins, mûrs apparemment,
Et couverts d'une peau vermeille.
Le galant en eût fait volontiers un repas ;
Mais comme il n'y pouvait atteindre :
Ils sont trop verts, dit-il, et bons pour des goujats.
Fit-il pas mieux que de se plaindre ?
See also this poem of the same title, inspired by the fable.
Text Authorship:
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Marie-Madeleine Duruflé-Chevalier (1921 - 1999), "Le Renard et les raisins", published 1962 [ women's chorus ], from Six Fables de La Fontaine pour chœur à deux ou trois voix de femmes sans accompagnement, no. 3, Éd. Durand [sung text not yet checked]
- by Benjamin Louis Paul Godard (1849 - 1895), "Le renard et les raisins", op. 17 no. 5 (1872-1879) [ medium voice and piano ], from Six Fables de La Fontaine, no. 5, Paris, Éd. G. Hartmann [sung text checked 1 time]
- by (Alexandre) Charles Lecocq (1832 - 1918), "Le renard et les raisins", 1885 [ medium voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Étienne Rey (1832 - 1923), "Le Renard et les Raisins", subtitle: "Fable de La Fontaine", published [1876] [ high voice and piano ], from Six Fables, no. 4, Paris, Éd. Léon Escudier [sung text not yet checked]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [
Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2015-04-13
Line count: 8
Word count: 55
The Fox and the Grapes
Language: English after the French (Français)
A certain Gascon fox - Norman, others say -
Nearly dying of hunger, saw atop a trellis
A bunch of grapes, apparently ripe,
And covered in a bright red skin.
The gallant would happily have made a meal of them,
But since he couldn't reach them,
"They are too green," he said, "and fit for boors."
Wasn't that better than whining?
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.
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Based on:
- a text in French (Français) by Jean de La Fontaine (1621 - 1695), "Le Renard et les Raisins", written 1668, appears in Fables
This text was added to the website: 2025-08-28
Line count: 8
Word count: 59
