Abstract
The paper shows that the plot of Ivan Chemnitzer’s fable The Letters is based on an anecdote that went into wide circulation in 1779–1781, after its fi rst publication in "Annales Politiques, Civiles et Littéraires…" Chemnitzer probably read it in the German translation, published in the Chronologen magazine. New facts suggests that the fable dates back to 1780 — the fi rst half of 1782. Chemnitzer’s fable is rather different from its source in terms of plot as well as idea. While the anecdote is about a simple inscription that highbrow scholars find too difficult to interpret, the fable features a king who deliberately propounds a riddle to the scholars, so as to deride their pointless sophistication.
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