Datasets

This page allows visitors to download basic information about each fable as a .csv file, including the full text of each fable. It is my hope that other fable scholars can analyze this dataset in ways that I cannot. Please tell me what you discover!

2015 Town Mouse/Country Mouse Dataset (CSV)

For those unfamiliar with .CSVs, I have also included a simple spreadsheet with similar data. On this spreadsheet, each Country food, Town food, and Antagonist has been given its own row, which should allow for easy analysis with some basic knowledge of Excel.

2015 Town Mouse/Country Mouse Dataset (XLS)

 

A brief explaination of each field follows:

ID: An unambigious identifier for each fable, it corresponds to the number used on this website. 

Text: The full text of each fable, as transcribed by me. I have preserved the original spelling of words as much as I am able. Punctuation may be highly variable (" or ' may be used inconsistently, as might commas and periods). 

Moral: The moral of the fable, if supplied by the author. 

Country_Foods/Town_Foods: Foods specifically enumerated in the "country portion" or "town portion" of each fable. Here, I have standardized spelling (pease and peas are both "peas", fetches and vetches are both "vetches"). In the .csv file, each food is delimited by a pipe like this | . These foods should correspond to the subject tagging on this website but there may be some minor variation.

Antagonist: the threat that alarms the mice while they visit the town. There is substantially less variation here. Almost all fables feature a "servant" (a term I use for butlers, maids, and cooks as well) a "dog" (or terrier, mastiff, ect) a "cat", or some other person (which I designated "someone"). When there are multiple antagonists, they have also been delimited by a pipe like this |. 

Last_Words: many variants end with a sermon or monologue by the country mouse, said to the town mouse. This is distinct from the moral. I have set this aside in case anyone wants to do special analysis on this incredibly consistent story element. 

Work: The larger work that the fable appears in.

Pub_Year: the year that the work was published. Please note: this means that some fables may be dated to a year far later than their original composition. Currently, the only La Fontaine version of this fable within the collection was published more than a century after La Fontaine's death. 

Countries: Countries I felt ought to be associated with the fable, usually including the country the larger work was published in, the country where the translator or author lived in, and any countries the work claims to come from. For example this collection includes a work containing Romanian folktales written and published in Britain. It has been labeled as both "England" and "Romania" in this dataset. When there are multiple countries, they have also been delimited by a pipe like this |.