One bright morning, a clever fox was walking through the woods when he smelled something delicious. He followed the scent and looked up to see a black-feathered crow sitting on a tree branch. In her beak, she held a big, tasty piece of cheese.
The fox’s mouth watered, and he thought, I must have that cheese!
But how could he get it? He had an idea.
“Good morning, Miss Crow!” the fox called up. “My, you look beautiful today! Your feathers shine so brightly in the sunlight.”
Miss Crow looked at the fox, her beady eyes watching him carefully, but she kept her beak tightly shut around the cheese.
The fox wasn’t giving up. “And such lovely wings! Such strong legs! But I bet the most wonderful thing about you is your voice. Oh, if only I could hear you sing! Surely, a bird as lovely as you must have the sweetest voice in the whole forest!”
Miss Crow fluffed up her feathers, feeling very proud. She wanted to prove that her voice was as beautiful as she looked. So she opened her beak and let out a loud, “CAWWWW!”
And guess what happened? The cheese tumbled right out of her mouth! The fox quickly snapped it up and grinned.
“Thank you, Miss Crow,” he said, licking his lips. “That was the best breakfast I’ve had in a long time!”
And off he went, leaving Miss Crow feeling very foolish.
Moral of the story: be careful of flattery, it might be a trick!