A hungry fox that called the grapes sour when it failed to reach them, showing how people despise what they cannot get.

The story begins: One hot afternoon a hungry fox was roaming through the fields in search of food. After a long walk it came to a garden where a vine full of ripe grapes was growing.

The Story

The fox had not eaten anything all day and its stomach was aching with hunger. It wandered from place to place, hoping to find something to satisfy its hunger.

At last the fox reached a well-kept garden. There, high on a wall, a vine hung heavy with bunches of ripe, purple grapes.

The grapes looked juicy and sweet, and they shone brightly in the sunlight. The fox's mouth watered at the delightful sight, and it longed to taste them.

"What lovely grapes!" thought the fox. "They will be enough to fill my empty stomach. I must have them at once." So it made ready to reach the fruit.

The fox jumped up as high as it could, but the grapes hung far above its head. Its first leap failed, and it could not touch even the lowest bunch.

The fox tried again and again. It ran a little way, took a great jump, and stretched out its body, but each time it fell back to the ground.

It went on jumping until it was tired and out of breath. Its legs ached and it was covered in dust, yet the grapes remained far beyond its reach.

At last the fox understood that all its efforts were useless. It could never reach the grapes, however hard it might try.

So it turned away with its nose in the air and said, "Those grapes are sour and not worth eating. I would not have them even if they were given to me." Then it walked off, pretending that it did not care.

Moral: The fox and the grapes — those who cannot get a thing often speak ill of it.