FOR children growing up in France before World War II, memorizing fables of the 17th-century poet Jean de La Fontaine was a ritual as familiar as daily afternoon snacks of bread and bitter chocolate, placing report cards under the tree for Father Christmas's perusal.

The pithiest summation of La Fontaine's message comes from his tale of the raven who attempts to act like an eagle, and perishes when his incompetent claws are tangled in the thick wool of a lamb. "Il faut se mesurer," La Fontaine cautions in a parting line of that poem: "Size yourself up." Or, more loosely rendered, "Just who do you think you are?"

-NY Times