A fox passed by a grapevine winding around the branches of a tree. He saw a bunch of grapes hanging above. He jumped to snatch some grapes. But the grapes were too high for him.
“You have to grow up fox,” said a monkey living on the tree; “here take some grapes.”
The monkey shook the branch and a few grapes fell out. The fox caught them neatly in his mouth.
“Are they sweet?” asked the monkey.
“Not so sweet,” the fox said as he walked away.
The next day, the fox came by the tree again.
He took a look at the bunches of grapes hanging above. He took a short run and jumped. This time he could jump higher, but not high enough to get at the grapes. The friendly monkey pressed down the branch, helping the fox snatch one or two grapes as they fell.
“Is it sweet?” asked the monkey.
“Not so sweet,” said the fox as he walked away.
The next day, the fox was back.
This time he looked determined to get the grapes.
He carefully measured the run-up. He started slowly, picked up speed, and then jumped. This time he could get at the grapes. As he came down with a bunch of grapes between his teeth, the monkey clapped.
“Is it sweet?” asked the monkey.
“These are the sweetest grapes I have ever tasted,” said the fox with a laugh as he walked away.
The monkey scratched his head. “It is the same vine. How can the grapes taste different today?” he wondered.
The wise tree, which was a silent witness to all this, spoke: “this time he got the grapes from his own effort. That made them sweeter.”
The monkey nodded his head in agreement as he popped a juicy grape into his mouth.
This story is adapted from the classic Aesop Fable, Sour Grapes.
