Fables Quiz – Printable Version
20 multiple-choice questions with an explained answer key, ready to print.
Print the sheet (or save it as a PDF from the print window), hand it out, then mark it together using the answer page: every answer is explained. Perfect for a party, a birthday, a classroom, a care home or a team activity.
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- In 'The Grasshopper and the Ant', what does the grasshopper do all summer?
- A. It travels
- B. It sings
- C. It eats
- D. It sleeps
- In 'The Oak and the Reed', which one survives the storm?
- A. Neither
- B. Both
- C. The Oak
- D. The Reed
- In 'The Lion and the Rat', why does the lion spare the little rat?
- A. The lion was not hungry
- B. Out of magnanimity
- C. For fear of dirtying his paws
- D. The rat had pleaded in Latin
- In 'The Dove and the Ant', how does the dove save the drowning ant?
- A. She calls another animal for help
- B. She flaps her wings to create waves
- C. She drops a blade of grass into the water
- D. She pulls the ant out with her beak
- In 'The Farmer and his Sons', what treasure does the father say he has hidden in his field before dying?
- A. He doesn't say where the treasure is
- B. Silver coins
- C. A chest in the center of the field
- D. Gold under the roots
- In 'The Donkey and the Little Dog', why is the donkey beaten?
- A. He ate the dog's food
- B. He refused to work
- C. He imitated the dog by jumping on his master
- D. He bit the dog
- In 'The Mountain in Labor', what animal finally emerges from the mountain after all the commotion?
- A. A small snake
- B. An insect
- C. A mouse
- D. A rabbit
- How many Books of Fables did Jean de La Fontaine publish in total?
- A. 6
- B. 9
- C. 12
- D. 15
- In Aesop's fable 'The Tortoise and the Eagle', why does the tortoise end up dying?
- A. She wanted to learn to fly
- B. She fell into a trap
- C. She drowned crossing a river
- D. She was eaten by a fox
- Phaedrus, the Latin fabulist, was originally of what condition?
- A. An appointed court poet
- B. A legionary soldier
- C. A Roman senator
- D. A freed slave under Augustus
- In Aesop's fable 'The Fox and the Crow', what notable difference is there from La Fontaine's version?
- A. It's the wolf who flatters the crow
- B. The crow keeps its prey in Aesop's version
- C. The scene takes place in a burrow
- D. The crow holds meat, not a cheese
- In the tradition of fables, what is called the 'moral'?
- A. The longest verse in the fable
- B. The title given to each story
- C. The list of animal characters
- D. The lesson stated at the end of a fable
- In Aesop's fable 'The Frogs Asking for a King', what first king does Jupiter send them?
- A. A heron
- B. A log of wood
- C. A snake
- D. A stone
- In Aesop's 'The Wolf and the Crane', why does the wolf not reward the crane after she removes a bone from his throat?
- A. He claims to have no money
- B. He says the crane was too slow
- C. He accuses her of stealing the bone
- D. He says not devouring her is already sufficient reward
- In 'The Two Pigeons', why does one of the two birds leave home?
- A. Because he was chased away
- B. To look for food
- C. Out of a desire to travel
- D. To escape a cat
- To whom did La Fontaine dedicate his first collection of Fables, in 1668?
- A. To Louis XIV
- B. To Nicolas Fouquet
- C. To the Dauphin, Louis XIV's six-year-old son
- D. To Madame de Sévigné
- In La Fontaine's "The Bear and the Garden-Lover", how does the bear chase away the fly on his sleeping friend's nose?
- A. By blowing on it
- B. By throwing a paving stone, which also kills the man
- C. By catching it with his paw
- D. By waking his friend
- In "The Acorn and the Pumpkin", why does the peasant Garo change his mind about the order of the world?
- A. A pumpkin rolls onto his foot
- B. An acorn falls on his nose during his nap
- C. An oak collapses near him
- D. He wins a vegetable contest
- In "The Cockerel, the Cat and the Young Mouse", why is the young mouse wrong about the two animals she met?
- A. She mixes up their names
- B. She fears the noisy cockerel and admires the gentle cat, her real enemy
- C. She thinks the cat is a dog
- D. She only saw their shadows
- In which year was Jean de La Fontaine formally admitted to the Académie française?
- A. 1660
- B. 1668
- C. 1684
- D. 1695
Answer key — Fables Quiz
- B. It singsThe grasshopper, having sung all summer, finds herself in dire straits when winter comes.
- D. The ReedThe oak, proud of its solidity, mocks the reed that bends at the slightest breeze.
- B. Out of magnanimityThe lion, holding the rat under his paw, lets him go out of generosity.
- C. She drops a blade of grass into the waterThe dove sees an ant fall into a stream. She picks up a blade of grass and drops it within reach of the ant, who clings to it and is saved.
- A. He doesn't say where the treasure isThe farmer tells his sons that a treasure is hidden in the field, without specifying where.
- C. He imitated the dog by jumping on his masterThe donkey, seeing the little dog being petted by his master, decides to imitate him and jumps on the master to receive the same favors.
- C. A mouseThe mountain in labor shakes the earth and terrifies the people.
- C. 12La Fontaine published his Fables in three main parts: Books I to VI in 1668, Books VII to XI in 1678-1679, and Book XII in 1694 — 12 books in total containing 243 fables.
- A. She wanted to learn to flyThe tortoise begs an eagle to teach her to fly. The eagle tries to carry her into the air but cannot teach her to fly.
- D. A freed slave under AugustusPhaedrus (c. 15 BC – c.
- D. The crow holds meat, not a cheeseIn Aesop's original, the crow holds a piece of meat (or flesh) in its beak, not a cheese as in La Fontaine.
- D. The lesson stated at the end of a fableThe moral (or morality) is the concluding sentence of a fable, drawing the general lesson.
- B. A log of woodThe frogs, dissatisfied with their freedom, ask Jupiter for a king.
- D. He says not devouring her is already sufficient rewardThe crane, after plunging her long beak into the wolf's throat to remove the bone choking him, claims her reward.
- C. Out of a desire to travelDespite his friend's pleas, he leaves and suffers one misadventure after another: storm, net, slingshot.
- C. To the Dauphin, Louis XIV's six-year-old son'I sing the heroes whose father is Aesop': the dedication is addressed to the young prince, whom the fables were meant to teach while entertaining.
- B. By throwing a paving stone, which also kills the manHence the French expression "le pavé de l'ours": clumsy help that does more harm than good.
- B. An acorn falls on his nose during his napGaro found it absurd that a big pumpkin grows on a vine and a tiny acorn on a great oak.
- B. She fears the noisy cockerel and admires the gentle cat, her real enemyHer mother explains that the cockerel is harmless and the cat would eat her.
- C. 1684Elected in late 1683, he had to wait for the approval of Louis XIV, who distrusted him, before being admitted in May 1684.