The Fox and the Grapes

On a hot summer afternoon, a red fox was walking through an orchard, feeling very hungry and thirsty. The sun beat down mercilessly, and the fox had been searching for food all day without success.

As he padded along the dusty path between the trees, something caught his eye. High above him, hanging from a vine that had grown up and over a tall branch, was a beautiful bunch of grapes. They were large and plump, with a deep purple color that made them look incredibly juicy and sweet.

The fox’s mouth watered as he gazed up at the grapes. “Those look absolutely delicious,” he said to himself. “They’re exactly what I need to quench my thirst and satisfy my hunger.”

Confident in his jumping ability, the fox positioned himself directly under the grapes and crouched down low. He took a deep breath and leaped as high as he could, stretching his paws toward the tantalizing fruit.

But the grapes were too high. His paws missed them by several inches, and he landed back on the ground with a thud.

“No matter,” the fox said, shaking the dust from his red fur. “I just didn’t jump high enough that time.”

He backed up a few steps to get a running start. This time, he sprinted toward the tree and launched himself into the air with all his might. He stretched his body as long as possible, reaching desperately for the grapes.

Again, he fell short. The grapes remained tantalizingly out of reach, swaying gently in the warm breeze as if mocking his efforts.

The fox was not one to give up easily. He tried jumping from different angles, thinking that perhaps he could approach the grapes from a better position. He climbed onto a nearby rock to give himself extra height. He even tried running up the trunk of the tree, but his claws couldn’t get a good grip on the smooth bark.

After many attempts, the fox was exhausted. His beautiful red coat was dusty and disheveled, his tongue was hanging out from exertion, and he was more thirsty than ever. The grapes still hung there, looking as perfect and unreachable as when he’d first spotted them.

Other animals in the orchard had noticed the fox’s repeated attempts and had gathered to watch. A squirrel chittered with amusement from a nearby branch, and a rabbit peeked out from behind a bush, trying not to laugh.

The fox realized he was making a spectacle of himself, and his pride began to sting almost as much as his bruised paws. He couldn’t bear the thought of admitting defeat in front of an audience, especially over something as simple as reaching a bunch of grapes.

Drawing himself up to his full height, the fox brushed the dust from his coat and lifted his nose in the air with an expression of disdain.

“You know what?” he announced loudly, making sure all the watching animals could hear him. “I don’t want those grapes anyway. Now that I look at them more closely, I can see they’re not ripe yet. They’re probably very sour and bitter. I wouldn’t eat them if they were offered to me on a silver platter!”

With that declaration, the fox turned his back on the grapes and walked away with his tail held high, trying to look as dignified as possible.

The squirrel called down from the tree, “But fox, those grapes are perfectly ripe! I ate some from the same vine just yesterday, and they were the sweetest grapes I’ve ever tasted!”

The fox’s ears twitched, but he didn’t turn around. “I’m sure you’re mistaken,” he called back over his shoulder. “Any grapes that look like that are definitely too sour to eat.”

As the fox disappeared down the path, the other animals shook their heads. They had seen the grapes up close and knew they were perfectly ripe and delicious. They understood that the fox was simply trying to make himself feel better about his failure.

The rabbit hopped out from behind the bush and looked up at the grapes thoughtfully. “You know,” she said to the squirrel, “if he had asked for help instead of pretending he didn’t want them, we could have figured out a way to get those grapes down for him.”

The squirrel nodded wisely. “Pride makes people do silly things sometimes. It’s easier to pretend you don’t want something than to admit you can’t have it.”

Meanwhile, the fox continued on his way, still hungry and thirsty, convincing himself with every step that he had made the right decision and that those grapes really were too sour to eat anyway.

Moral: It’s easy to despise what you cannot have. When we can’t achieve something we want, we sometimes convince ourselves that we didn’t really want it in the first place, rather than admitting our limitations or asking for help.