Second only to Aesop, Jean de la Fontaine was the author of comic and delightful fables that are as alive today as when they first appeared in the 18th century. Based on tales both famous and obscure by an array of classical writers, La Fontaine's fables offer vivid perspectives on such elemental subjects as greed and flattery, envy and avarice, love and friendship, old age and death. The 60 collected here-from "The Crow and the Fox” and "The Cock and the Pearl” to "The Grasshopper and the Ant” and "The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse”-are illustrated with more than 100 charming drawings that capture La Fontaine's unforgettable cast of animal personalities.