La Fontaine (1621-95) is best known for his comic and delightful fables. This lively new translation of the most famous among these captures the wit and nuances of the original La Fontaine deals with the universal themes: greed and flattery, envy and avarice, love and friendship, old age and death. Spare, allusive, often severe, his writing is characterized by its humanity and wisdom, as well as by an irrepressible and ironic humour. The selection - of 110 of the 240 Fables - spans La Fontaine's long writing life and shows his progression from short, charming Children's tales to longer, more philosophical fables. The parallel French text, scholarly introduction, and detailed notes and appendices make it ideal both for students and for all lovers of poetry. This book is intended for students of seventeenth-century French literature courses.