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The Frogs Who Asked for a King
Jean de La Fontaine
| The frogs, tired of democratic rule, | Through their clamors made so much noise | That Jupin subjected them to a monarchical power. | A peaceful king fell from the sky to them: | However, this king made such a noise when he fell, | That the marsh-dwelling folk, | Very foolish and very timid, | Went and hid under the water, | In the reeds, the rushes, | In the holes of the marsh, | Not daring for a long time to look at the face | Of the giant they thought to be new. | But it was a frog, | Whose gravity frightened the first one, | Who, having seen him venture out, | Dared to leave her den. | She approached, but trembling; | Another followed her, another did the same: | A whole colony came; | And their group finally became familiar | To the point of jumping on the king's shoulder. | The good sir endures it and remains always silent. | Jupin soon has his wits broken: | "Give us, said the people, a king who moves." | The king of the gods sends them a heron, | Who devours them, who kills them, | Who swallows them at his pleasure ...... |