The Crow and the Fox

One morning a crow flew up to the branch of an oak tree with a big piece of cheese she had snatched from the village market. She held the cheese tight in her beak. "Now I can eat in peace," she thought.

Just then a fox was passing under the tree. He smelled the cheese, stopped, looked up and saw the crow. He was very hungry, but he could not climb the tree. So he decided to use his cunning.

"Oh, good morning, dear Madam Crow!" he said in a sweet voice. "How lovely you look today! Your feathers shine like the night. What an elegant beak, what a noble posture!"

The crow puffed out her chest when she heard this, but she did not make a sound. The fox went on: "I am sure your voice is as beautiful as your feathers. Ah, if only I could hear it once! All the birds of the forest must envy you. If only you would sing a single note..."

The crow could not hold back any longer. To show how beautiful her voice was, she opened her beak wide: "CAAAW!"

The cheese slipped out of her beak, fell through the leaves and landed right in front of the fox. The fox grabbed it, ate it in one bite and called up to the crow: "Dear Crow, today you learned a lesson. Never trust anyone who flatters you with sweet words. That lesson is worth a piece of cheese, isn't it?"

Then he wagged his tail and disappeared into the forest. The crow stayed alone on her branch, very ashamed. But from that day on, nobody could ever fool her with sweet words again. Whenever someone praised her more than she deserved, she kept her beak shut tight.