| Authorship Notes |
The exact source of this tale is uncertain; the theme of the rat caught by the oyster appears in an epigram of 1st-century poet Antiphilus of Byzantium. The rat, wishing to know the word, sets off, but has no knowledge of the outside world, and ends up captured by the first unknown item he encounters - an oyster.
Similar to 'La Tortue et les deux Canards', it condemns the idea of travel - and more generally, of curiosity - by those who should not be leaving their homes. The rat is described as 'de peu d'esprit' - 'of little brains', and thus should not seek to know the world. This tale is less explicit in referencing apodemic clichés than 'La Tortue et les deux canards': the focus is on condemning idle curiosity. |
