Aux origines d’une fable de La Fontaine dans les recueils de contes orientaux

Fable, allegoric short story, has its origins for thousands of years. The Orient, according to general opinion, was the birthplace of this genre. In Europe, before La Fontaine, there were many known fabulists, whose works often lacked artistic aspect. But, the great French fabulist, by his dazzling talent, knew how to act in the composition of his fables, thanks to the Greco-Latin and especially oriental sources, to which he had access. As for oriental fables, although there are many considerable discussions, there are not many comparative studies, as there should. This article encourages us to improve our knowledge on the source of a selected fable of La Fontaine "The Tortoise and the two ducks", by comparing it with its translations in the most famous oriental collections. Our main purpose is to collect and study a series of scattered translations of this fable, to establish a pedagogical approach, suitable in comparative literature courses.

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Keywords:La Fontaine , fable , The Tortoise and the Two Ducks , Origin , oriental.comparison