The raven and the fox - le corbeau et le renard

"The Raven and the fox" is one of the first of La Fontaine's fables, so like all other French children, we learned it  by heart, and to this day we still remember it, although not in its entirety.
What they didn't tell us at school, was that it is also one of Aesop's fables, written more than 2000 years before La Fontaine.
Although La Fontaine is more known for his fables, he is one of the most widely read French poets of the 17th century.

"Le Corbeau et le renard» est l'une des premières des fables de La Fontaine, et comme tous les autres enfants Français, nous l'avons appris par cœur, ce qui fait qu'à ce jour nous nous en souvenons encore, bien que pas en entier.
Ce qu'ils ne nous dit pas à l'école, c'est c'est aussi l'une des fables d'Ésope, écrit plus de 2000 ans avant La Fontaine.
Bien que La Fontaine est plus connu pour ses fables, il est l'un des poètes Français les plus lus du 17ème siècle.

This excellent translation is from www.oaks.nvg.org/fontaine.html, which contains all his fables.

Perched on a lofty oak,
Sir Raven held a lunch of cheese;
Sir Fox, who smelt it in the breeze,
Thus to the holder spoke:
"Ha! how do you do, Sir Raven?
Well, your coat, sir, is a brave one!
So black and glossy, on my word, sir,
With voice to match, you were a bird, sir,
Well fit to be the Phoenix of these days."
Sir Raven, overset with praise,
Must show how musical his croak.
Down fell the luncheon from the oak;
Which snatching up, Sir Fox thus spoke:
"The flatterer, my good sir,
Aye lives on his listener;
Which lesson, if you please,
Is doubtless worth the cheese."
A bit too late, Sir Raven swore
The rogue should never cheat him more.