"Fables of La Fontaine — a New Edition, with Notes" by Jean de La Fontaine is a collection of fables published between 1668 and 1694. Drawing from sources both Western and Eastern, La Fontaine adapted 239 tales into French free verse, creating classics of French literature. These humorous and ironical stories feature animals and humans, offering keen insights into human nature beneath their apparent simplicity. Originally aimed at adults, they became required learning for generations of French schoolchildren, with countless phrases entering everyday language. (This is an automatically generated summary.)