The Fox and the Crow

Part One · The Cheese

A hungry crow sat on a fence beside a farmhouse. The kitchen window was open, and nobody was inside.

On the kitchen table sat a piece of yellow cheese. The cook was outside in the garden.

Suddenly the crow flew in through the window. She grabbed the cheese and flew away.

She landed on a high branch of an oak tree. "What a fine lunch," she thought. "I will eat it up here."

Just then, a fox came trotting along the road. He stopped and sniffed the air. "I smell cheese," he said.

He looked up and saw the crow. She was holding the cheese in her beak. His tummy began to rumble.

"I cannot climb that tree," thought the fox. "I cannot fly, either. But I do have a clever tongue."

"Good morning, beautiful crow!" he called up to her. "How lovely you look today!"

"Your feathers are so black and shiny. Your eyes are bright as stars. You are the prettiest bird in the whole wide world!"

The crow said nothing, but she puffed out her chest. She liked those sweet words. She held her cheese tight.

"I have heard that you sing," said the fox. "Your voice must be wonderful, too. You should be queen of all the birds!"

The crow felt very proud. "I do have a beautiful voice," she thought. "I will let him hear it."

She lifted her head and opened her beak wide. "Caw, caw, caw!"

Down, down, down fell the cheese. The fox jumped up and caught it in his mouth.

"Thank you," said the fox with a grin. "That is a delicious piece of cheese."

"Wait a minute!" cried the crow. "You were only flattering me. You wanted my cheese all along!"

"Maybe I did," said the fox. "Sweet words cost nothing, dear crow." Then he trotted away down the road.

The crow sat alone on her branch, feeling hungry. "Next time, I will stop and think," she said. "Sweet words can be tricks."