e either obsolete or
unintelligible to a child.

But my chief literary sin--if sin it be--is twofold. In the first
place I have departed wholly from the metrical arrangements
of the originals--substituting therefore a variety of forms in
line and stanza that more accord with the modern and
American ear. In the second place I have had the
hardihood--as in "The Lion and The Gnat"--to modify the
elegance of the original with phrases more appropriate to
our contemporary beasts. Animal talk, I feel sure, has lost
something of its stateliness since the days when our
French author overheard it. The Owl is no less pedantic
perhaps, but the Lion certainly has declined in
majesty--along with our human kings.

For these offenses, La Fontaine--who forgave everyone--is
bound to forgive me. The most good-humored Frenchmen,
he could condone all faults but dullness. That offense
against French fundamental principles invariably put him
to sleep--whether the bore who button-holed him was a
savant of the Sorbonne or just an ordinary ass.

One thing more. This little collection from his 240 Fables is
meant, first of all, for children. In assembling it no Fable
was admitted that has not been approved by generations
of the young and old. No apologue addressed to the
mature intelligence alone, or framed to fit the society
of his day, is here included.

Many books which men have agreed to call classics are
seldom taken down from the shelves. It is otherwise with
La Fontaine. His Fables were eagerly read by the great
men and women of his time, and are still read and
enjoyed all the world over.

The causes of this lasting popularity are not obscure. From
the earliest period--whether in India, Greece, Arabia or
Rome--the Fable has pleased and instructed mankind. It
told important truths, easily perceived, in an entertaining
way; and often said more in a few words than could be
said through any other kind of writing. Now, no one person
is the author of the Fables we know so well. Aesop did not
write the Fables bearing his name. There is even reason to
believe that Aesop is himself a Fable. At any rate, the
things ascribed to him are the work of many hands, and
have undergone many changes. These old stories of
animals began to be written so long ago, and the history
of them is so vague and confusing, that only in recent
years have scholars at last been able to trace them, and
to fix their authorship.

The significant thing to keep in