CREATED BY VICTOR ZINGER

Graphic presentation ED 632: Theme of Team Work in Fable of

Ivan Krylov: A Crawfish, a Pike, and a Swan

Ivan (Andreyevich) Krylov (1769-1844)

Russian writer of fables in the tradition of Aesop and La Fontaine. Krylov satirized social and individual faults in the guise of beasts, producing 203 fables in nine books. They are still an integral part of Russian primary and secondary education.

A Crawfish, a Pike, and a Swan (by Ivan Krylov, 1768-1844)

Whenever companions don’t agree,

They work without accord;And naught but trouble doth result,Although they all work hard.

One day a crawfish, swan, and pike,

Resolved a load to haul; All three were

harnessed to the cart,And pulled together all.

But though they pulled with all their might,

The cart-load on the bank stuck tight.

The swan pulled upward to the skies;The crawfish did backward crawl;The pike made for the water straight —It proved no use at all!

Now, which of them was most to blame’Tis not for me to say;

But this I know: the load is thereUnto this very day!

The moral of the verse is thatAccordance should prevailAmid the people who have plansTo work but not in vain.

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References

http://www.poemsandreflectionsconstantineivanov.com/Poems_Separately/CRAYFISH.htmhttp://olganicoara.wordpress.com/2009/11/27/collective-action-problem-in-krylovs-fable/