The Fox & the Crow

#####The Fox & the Crow

A big, black crow was flying over a field of golden corn when she spotted some people having a picnic. They were sitting in the shade of a chestnut tree.

“What a stroke of luck,” she thought. “There’s a good chance these people will leave me with a tasty titbit.” And she glided down to perch on a branch above them.

She waited and waited, and in the end her patience was rewarded.

When the picnickers packed up and

walked away, they left behind a big lump of cheese. “How right I was to wait,” the crow thought, as she swooped down to pick up the cheese with her beak. “How clever I am.” And the crow flew back to her perch in the tree.

She was just about to start eating when a fox crept out of the cornfield.

“What a delicious smell!” he said to himself, and he noisily licked his lips. His mouth watered as he raised his nose to have a good sniff. And then he saw the crow with her lovely lump of cheese.

Now the fox was very fond of cheese. He was also very clever. “I say, crow,” he said, “what a beautiful bird you are. Your feathers are so shiny, and your beak so splendidly curved, and your eyes so perfectly round.” The crow was thrilled by all this flattery. She held her head high and strutted up and down the branch, hoping the fox would say more.

And the fox did say more. “A bird that looks as beautiful as you must have a

wonderful voice. If only I could hear you sing, I would be happy for the rest of the day.” Hearing this, the crow puffed out her chest, opened her beak, and gave a loud cow.

And the lump of cheese fell from the crow’s mouth — and straight into the waiting jaws of the fox below.

“Thank you, my dear,” he said. “Now you’re going to learn the price of vanity.”

And then, with a chuckle, he gobbled up the piece of cheese.