The Fox and the Sour Grapes

One hot afternoon, a hungry fox was walking through a green garden. His stomach was growling. "Oh, I am so hungry!" he said. "I wish I could find something tasty to eat."

Just then, he looked up and saw something wonderful. High above him, on a wooden fence, hung a bunch of big, round, purple grapes. They looked sweet and juicy. The fox's mouth watered. "Yummy! Those grapes look delicious! I must eat them!" he said.

Jump, Jump, Jump!

The fox stood on his back legs and stretched his neck up as high as he could. But the grapes were too high. He could not reach them.

"Never mind," said the fox. "I will jump!" He took a few steps back, ran forward, and jumped high into the air. But the grapes were still too high. He missed them.

The fox tried again. He jumped higher this time. Still, he could not touch the grapes. He tried a third time, and a fourth time, and a fifth time. Each time, he jumped with all his might, but the grapes stayed just out of reach.

The fox sat down to rest. He looked at the grapes again. They shone in the sunlight like little purple jewels. "I will not give up so easily," he said. "One more big jump!" He ran faster this time and jumped with all his strength. His nose almost touched the lowest grape, but he still could not grab it. He fell down with a thud.

At last, the fox was tired. His legs hurt, and he was breathing hard. He sat down under the vine and looked up at the grapes one more time.

Just then, the farmer's dog barked loudly from behind the fence. "Woof! Woof!" The fox's heart beat fast. "Oh no! I must hurry," he whispered. He knew he did not have much time left.

"The Grapes Are Sour!"

The fox knew in his heart that he could not reach the grapes. But instead of saying so, he lifted his nose in the air and said loudly, "Hmph! Those grapes are probably sour anyway! I do not want sour grapes. I am going home!"

And with that, the fox walked away, holding his head high. But deep inside, he was still hungry, and he wished he could have tasted those sweet, juicy grapes.

A little bird sitting on the fence had watched everything. She smiled and chirped, "Silly fox! The grapes are sweet. You just could not reach them!"

The fox heard the little bird, but he pretended not to hear. He walked home with his tail held high, though his tummy was still empty. That night, he dreamed of sweet, juicy grapes, and he wished he had tried just a little harder.

Moral of the Story

It is easy to say something is bad when we cannot have it. We should be honest instead of making excuses.