In a forest lived a cunning fox. One day, the fox was starving, so he was walking on the road in search of food. As he came near a tree, he could smell something delicious. He lifted his head to see from where the smell was coming.

On the branch of the tree was a crow sitting with a piece of cheese in his mouth. The fox began drooling looking at the delicious piece of cheese.

“That cheese is yummy. But how do I get the crow to give me the cheese?” he thought. “It is not like she will willingly offer it to me.”

After some time, he thought of a plan and spoke loudly, “Hello! Are you the Queen of birds?”

At first, the crow looked at the dog suspiciously and kept quiet.

The fox continued, “Did you know all the animals in this forest praise your beautiful voice. I was passing by this forest when they told me about it. So, I came in search of you to hear you sing. Can you sing for me?”

The crow was delighted to hear this. Feeling really flattered, she opened her mouth to sing. Unfortunately, she forgot the cheese that was in her mouth. The cheese fell off from her mouth on to the ground.

The fox immediately grabbed the cheese from the ground and ran away. The crow felt very foolish and sad as she watched the fox run away with her food.

Author’s Note:

Like all Aesop’s Fables this story also has a moral attached to it. “Never believe flatterers” is the moral of this story.