The Fox and the Crow
by Aesop · from Æsop's Fables
Adapted Version
A Crow found some cheese. It was a big, yellow piece! The Crow took the cheese. She flew to a tall tree. She wanted to eat it there. The tree was a good, safe place. She held the cheese in her beak.
A Fox walked near the tree. He looked up. He saw the Crow. The Crow had the cheese. He saw the yellow cheese. The Fox wanted the cheese. He thought about the cheese.
The Fox walked to the tree. He stood under it. He looked at the Crow. "Hello, pretty bird!" he said. "You are so nice. Your feathers are so nice." The Fox wanted cheese. He thought of a clever plan. He spoke soft words.
"Your black feathers shine," the Fox said. "You are a pretty bird. Your shape is so fine. I like your neck very much. You look very good. Such good looks! Crow felt happy. She felt very proud. She liked the nice words. She puffed her feathers.
"You look so good," the Fox said. "I think you sing well too. Please sing for me. Your voice must be sweet. I want to hear it." The Fox smiled. He was very tricky. The Crow wanted to sing. She felt very special. She wanted to show her talent.
The Crow felt very good. She wanted to show her voice. She felt so proud. She opened her beak wide. She got ready to sing. She wanted to make a sound. She forgot about the cheese.
The Crow opened her beak. The yellow cheese fell down. It dropped from her beak. It landed on the ground. The cheese was now on the dirt. It made a soft sound.
The Fox was very fast. He picked up the cheese. He ate it all up. The cheese was gone. He got what he wanted. The Crow watched him eat. She felt a little sad. The Fox was happy.
The Fox looked at the Crow. "I said you were pretty," he said. "But I did not say you were smart. Do not listen to people. They say nice things. They want your things. Crow felt sad. She learned a big lesson. Do not trust all nice words! Be smart with nice words.
Original Story
The Fox and the Crow
A crow had snatched a piece of cheese out of a cottage window, and flew up with it into a high tree, that she might eat it at her ease. A Fox having spied her came and sat underneath and began to pay the Crow compliments on her beauty. "Why," said he, "I never saw it before, but your feathers are of a more delicate white than any that ever I saw in my life! Ah! what a fine shape and graceful neck is there! And I have no doubt but you have a tolerable voice. If it is but as fine as your complexion, I do not know a bird that can match you."
The Crow, tickled with this very civil language, nestled and wriggled about, and hardly knew where she was. But thinking the Fox a little doubtful as to the quality of her voice, and having a mind to set him right in the matter, she began to sing, and in the same instant, down dropped the cheese; which the Fox presently chopped up, and then bade her remember that whatever he had said of her beauty, he had spoken nothing yet of her brains.
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Story DNA
Moral
Do not trust flatterers, for they often seek to exploit your vanity for their own gain.
Plot Summary
A crow, having stolen a piece of cheese, perches in a tree. A cunning fox, seeing the cheese, approaches and begins to lavish compliments on the crow's beauty, subtly challenging her to sing. Overcome by vanity and eager to prove her voice, the crow opens her beak, causing the cheese to fall. The fox quickly snatches the cheese, delivering a final remark about the crow's lack of intelligence, thus teaching a lesson about the dangers of flattery.
Themes
Emotional Arc
pride to foolishness
Writing Style
Narrative Elements
Cultural Context
Aesop's Fables are a collection of ancient Greek stories, often featuring animals, intended to convey moral lessons.
Plot Beats (9)
- A crow obtains a piece of cheese and takes it to a tree.
- A fox sees the crow with the cheese.
- The fox approaches the tree and begins to flatter the crow, praising her beauty.
- The fox specifically mentions her delicate white feathers, fine shape, and graceful neck.
- The fox then subtly challenges the crow by expressing a desire to hear her voice, implying it must be as fine as her looks.
- The crow, overcome by vanity and eager to prove her voice, opens her mouth to sing.
- The cheese immediately falls from her beak to the ground.
- The fox quickly snatches and eats the cheese.
- The fox then tells the crow that while he complimented her beauty, he said nothing of her brains.
Characters
⚔
The Fox
A sleek, medium-sized fox with a lithe and agile build. His fur is a vibrant reddish-orange, with a contrasting white belly and throat. He has slender legs and a long, bushy tail tipped with white.
Attire: None, as he is an animal.
Wants: To acquire the cheese held by the Crow, driven by hunger and a desire to outwit others.
Flaw: His overconfidence in his own cleverness, which could lead him to underestimate others in a different scenario.
He successfully achieves his immediate goal of obtaining the cheese, reinforcing his manipulative nature.
Cunning, manipulative, eloquent, observant, and opportunistic.
★
The Crow
A large, sturdy crow with glossy black feathers that shimmer with iridescent blues and purples in the light. She has strong, powerful wings and sharp talons.
Attire: None, as she is an animal.
Wants: To enjoy her stolen cheese in peace, and later, to prove the quality of her voice after being flattered.
Flaw: Her vanity and susceptibility to flattery, which leads directly to her losing the cheese.
She begins proud and successful but ends up losing her prize due to her vanity, learning a harsh lesson about flattery.
Proud, vain, easily flattered, somewhat gullible, and initially resourceful (in snatching the cheese).
Locations
Cottage Window
A window of a small, rustic cottage, likely made of wood and possibly with small panes of glass, from which a piece of cheese was snatched.
Mood: Brief, opportunistic
The crow snatches the cheese.
High Tree
A tall, mature tree, likely an oak or similar deciduous tree common in European temperate forests, with strong branches capable of supporting a crow. The setting is a clearing or edge of a forest, allowing the fox to approach and sit beneath it.
Mood: Initially peaceful, then tense and cunning
The crow attempts to eat the cheese; the fox flatters the crow and tricks her into dropping the cheese.