The Fox and the Grapes

A very hungry fox was walking beside a garden when she noticed a vine growing over a wooden frame. Clusters of ripe black grapes hung from it, looking fresh and full of juice.

The fox stopped and looked up. She had been searching for food for a long time, and now a fine meal seemed to hang just above her head.

"Those grapes will be just what I need," she said.

She stood on her back legs and stretched as far as she could, but the grapes were too high. Opening her mouth, she jumped, hoping to catch the lowest cluster. Her teeth closed on nothing but air.

The fox stepped back and tried again, this time running towards the vine before jumping. She rose a little higher but still could not reach the fruit.

She moved to the other side of the wooden frame, thinking the grapes might be easier to reach from there. After looking carefully for a lower cluster, she jumped several more times. Every attempt ended the same way: the grapes remained above her, untouched.

At last, her legs felt weak, and she was breathing hard. All her efforts had brought her no food. Still hungry, she felt deeply disappointed.

Yet the fox did not want to admit that she had failed. She turned her head away from the vine and lifted her nose.

"Those grapes are sour," she said."They are not ripe as I thought. They would not make a good meal."

Then she walked away, leaving the ripe black grapes hanging where they had been.

It is easy to say that something is not worth having when we cannot get it.