A hungry fox was looking for food. He looked left, he looked right. Then, he looked up. He saw a crow sitting on a tree holding a piece of cake in his beak.
“Ah, food!” said the fox licking his lips.
“Master crow,” said the fox, “How handsome you look!”
The crow always suspected that he was handsome. He was pleased to hear the fox praising him. He smiled and nodded at the fox.
“I’m sure you have a golden voice too,” said the fox.
The crow knew he was handsome. But he did not know that he had a golden voice. “But surely, if an intelligent fellow like the fox says I’ve a golden voice, he must be right,” thought the crow. He smiled wider.
“I’ll be happy if you could sing a song for me,” said the fox.
The crow was pleased to hear the sweet talk. “I think this fox has an ear for music. Let me sing for him,” thought the crow.
As the crow opened his mouth wide to sing, the piece of cake fell off. The fox jumped and caught the cake in his mouth, and quickly gobbled it up.
The crow now knew he was a fool to open his mouth with a cake in it. He had learnt his lesson. “Next time, I’ll not be deceived by flattery,” thought the crow.
