The Hare And The Fox

Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson 1832 (Kvikne) – 1910 (Paris)



The fox lay still by the birch-tree's root
    In the heather.
The hare was running with nimble foot
    O'er the heather.
Was ever brighter a sunshine-day,
Before, behind me, and every way,
    O'er the heather!

The fox laughed low by the birch-tree's root
    In the heather.
The hare was running with daring foot
    O'er the heather.

I am so happy for everything!
Hallo! Why go you with mighty spring
    O'er the heather?

The fox lay hid by the birch-tree's root
    In the heather.
The hare dashed to him with reckless foot
    O'er the heather.
May God have mercy, but this is queer! --
Good gracious, how dare you dance so here
    O'er the heather?

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

37 sec read
145

Quick analysis:

Scheme aBcBddB aBcB eeB aBcBxxB
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 645
Words 116
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 7, 4, 3, 7

Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson

Bjørnstjerne Martinius Bjørnson was a Norwegian writer who received the 1903 Nobel Prize in Literature "as a tribute to his noble, magnificent and versatile poetry, which has always been distinguished by both the freshness of its inspiration and the rare purity of its spirit", becoming the first Norwegian Nobel laureate. Bjørnson is considered to be one of The Four Greats (De Fire Store) among Norwegian writers, the others being Henrik Ibsen, Jonas Lie, and Alexander Kielland. Bjørnson is also celebrated for his lyrics to the Norwegian National Anthem, "Ja, vi elsker dette landet". more…

All Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson poems | Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson Books

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