When the Cicada taps the tree,

You steal his drink; when life has fled,

You basely batten on the dead.

[[25]]

[1]

You used to sing! I’m glad to know it.

Well, try dancing for a change!

[2] Jean de La Fontaine (1621–1695), the author of the world-famous Fables.—Translator’s Note. [↑]

[3] Jean Ignace Isidore Gérard (1803–1847), better known by his pseudonym of Grandville, a famous French caricaturist and illustrator of La Fontaine’s Fables, Béranger’s Chansons and the standard French editions of Robinson Crusoe and Gulliver’s Travels.—Translator’s Note. [↑]