He was not yet the poet we know today. Born into a family of merchants whose wealth stemmed from the well-equipped marriage of his father, he had long dreamed of fleeing from the small town nestled amidst the Champagne hills and making his way to Paris.
He believed that becoming a novice at the Oratory would help to make this dream a reality, but it was not to be… He then went to Paris to study law. He was destined to spend much of his life in Champagne. He was now the Master of Water and Forests, covering a vast territory. From this, it is not difficult to imagine him inspecting the animals of the Champagne countryside on a daily basis.
Admittedly, his responsibilities were primarily administrative; the Master of Water and Forests ensured the smooth running of the domains and settled small conflicts. It forced him to make frequent rounds, supervising the logging and observing the sales of timber. However, he also had to ensure the proper maintenance of the forests, the cleaning of the ponds and ditches, and the proper circulation of water in the streets and rivers. Unlike others of his time, La Fontaine travelled through the countryside to carry out occasional inspections, along the banks of the streams that flowed towards the Marne, across the plateaus of the Valois and through the forests of the Tardenois.
He was also a knowledgeable observer of the customs of his city. His love life was filled with many adventures, one of which allegedly led him to a duel with the husband of one of his conquests, a military officer, who disarmed him with a single swing of his sword. The two duellists later buried their conflict over a few drinks at the tavern. La Fontaine already began to try his hand at writing.
The Beau-Richard was one of the main crossroads of the city, where people gathered and met. He sold his rangership position and left for Paris, intending to fully devote himself to his work as a poet and courtier, leaving behind his wife and child in Champagne. It is most likely that he was more inspired by the hundreds of animal fables written by Aesop during his lifetime than by the surrounding countryside. At least this is what the local myth, passed down from generation to generation, suggests.
