Fables de La Fontaine

by Jean de La Fontaine

"Fables de La Fontaine" by Jean de La Fontaine is a collection of allegorical fables published between 1668 and 1694. These 243 tales, inspired by ancient fabulists like Aesop and Phaedrus, feature anthropomorphic animals and contain moral lessons both explicit and implicit. La Fontaine invented a new literary genre that broke from traditional didactic forms, using style and wit as teaching tools. The fables became a cornerstone of French classical literature and an essential part of education in France, used by Jesuit teachers and later integrated into primary school curricula through the twentieth century.