Fables for the Frivolous

by Guy Wetmore Carryl from 1898

About

Carryl's Fables for the Frivolous (1898) are verse parodies of the La Fontaine/Aesop tradition that turn familiar fables upside down for comic effect — 'The Sycophantic Fox and the Gullible Raven' and similar inversions of the canonical plots. The verse is technically accomplished and the jokes land consistently; as group reading, the fables work brilliantly for light-hearted comedy evenings.

genre:fable Modernist Sardonic Absurd Witty Playfulen

Fables for the Frivolous

Words: 5.4k
Duration: ~41 min

20 sections

5.4k words

#TitleWords

1

THE UNAPPROACHABLE GRAPES

3202:24

2

THE PRETENTIOUS HARE

2962:13

3

THE OVERWEENING JAY

3202:24

4

THE SUPERIOR BULL

2061:33

5

THE INVENTIVE BRATLING

2581:56

6

THE APROPOS ACORN

2551:55

7

THE IMBECILIC WOODCUTTER

2331:45

8

THE UNOSTENTATIOUS OYSTER

2351:46

9

THE SUBURBAN RAT

3232:25

10

THE FRUGAL ANT

1981:29

11

THE MISGUIDED ASS

2491:52

12

THE MODEST BULRUSH

2842:08

13

THE LAMB SANS GENE

2541:54

14

THE GULLIBLE RAVEN

2842:08

15

THE MACHIAVELIAN FISHERMAN

3222:25

16

THE MALADROIT BEAR

2631:58

17

THE UNAPPRECIATED PEARL

2662:00

18

HIS SCEPTICAL COMRADES

2792:06

19

THE THANKLESS VIPER

2191:39

20

THE DIPLOMATIC SUN

3552:40

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