Sometimes, people dismiss what they cannot obtain simply to hide their disappointment. This familiar lesson appears in The Fox and the Grapes, a classic fable about a hungry fox who discovers a tempting bunch of grapes hanging high above him. Although he makes several attempts to reach the fruit, he cannot succeed. Rather than admit his disappointment, he walks away declaring that the grapes are probably sour. Through this simple encounter, the story reveals how easily disappointment can turn into an excuse when someone refuses to accept failure.
The Fox and the Grapes
One hot summer’s day, a fox was walking through an orchard. The sun shone brightly overhead, and the warmth of the afternoon made the journey uncomfortable. The fox had been wandering for some time, searching for something to eat. Although he had explored different parts of the countryside, he had not yet found the food he wanted.
As he continued along the orchard, he passed beneath trees and vines that provided patches of shade from the summer heat. The surroundings were filled with the ordinary sights of a fruit-growing place. Branches spread across the orchard, leaves moved gently in the breeze, and different fruits grew among the greenery.
The fox looked around carefully as he walked. Like any hungry animal searching for food, he paid attention to anything that might satisfy his appetite. He examined the trees and the ground, hoping to discover something suitable. His journey eventually brought him beneath a grapevine growing over a lofty branch.
There, he noticed a beautiful bunch of grapes hanging above him.
The fruit immediately attracted his attention. The grapes were beginning to ripen, and their appearance made them look particularly inviting. They hung together in a cluster, suspended from the vine at a height that made them difficult to reach from the ground.
The fox stopped and stared upwards.
He imagined how pleasant it would be to taste the grapes. After walking under the hot sun, he thought the fruit would make a refreshing meal. Their appearance was enough to awaken his appetite, and he quickly decided that he wanted them.
For a moment, he simply examined the distance between himself and the bunch. The grapes were close enough to see clearly, but their position presented a challenge. He could not reach them by standing normally, and there was no convenient branch within his immediate reach that would allow him to climb towards them.
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Still, the fox was unwilling to abandon the idea.
He believed that a determined jump might be enough to bring the fruit within reach. He stepped backwards, giving himself some space, and prepared to leap towards the vine.
The First Attempt
The fox gathered his strength and took a short run. As he approached the spot beneath the grapes, he pushed himself upwards with all the force he could manage.
He stretched his body towards the hanging fruit, hoping that his paws would reach the bunch. For a brief moment, it seemed possible that he might succeed.
But the grapes remained beyond his reach.
The fox came down without touching them. He landed on the ground and looked up again. The bunch had not moved, and not a single grape had fallen.
He was disappointed, but he was not ready to give up.
After all, he had only made one attempt. Perhaps he had not jumped high enough. Maybe he had started too far away, or perhaps he had failed to gather enough speed before leaping.
He considered the distance once more and prepared to try again.
The Fox Tries Again
This time, the fox wanted to put more effort into his attempt. He moved back, positioned himself carefully and prepared to make a stronger jump.
He counted as he gathered himself.
“One, two, three!”
With that, he sprang upwards, stretching as far as he could towards the grapes.
Once again, he failed.
The fruit remained suspended above him, untouched and apparently just as far away as before. His second attempt had brought him no closer to enjoying the meal he wanted.
The fox landed and looked at the grapes with growing frustration.
He had expected his stronger effort to make a difference. Instead, he found himself in exactly the same position. The fruit was still hanging from the vine, and he was still standing on the ground.
He could have walked away at that moment, accepting that the grapes were beyond his reach. However, the sight of the fruit continued to tempt him.
He had already imagined how good they would taste. Giving up now would mean accepting that he could not obtain something he had wanted so badly.
So he decided to try once more.
Repeated Efforts
The fox continued making attempts to reach the grapes. Each time, he prepared himself and jumped towards the bunch, stretching his body in the hope of catching the fruit.
He tried to reach it from the same position, hoping that another effort would produce a different result. He gathered his strength and leapt upwards, but his paws still failed to touch the grapes.
He came down again.
The repeated failures began to test his patience. What had first seemed like a simple challenge was turning into a frustrating experience. The grapes looked inviting, yet they remained completely inaccessible.
The fox could see them clearly. He could admire their appearance and imagine their taste, but he could not enjoy them.
He looked at the bunch again, wondering whether another jump might finally succeed. Perhaps he needed to put more strength into the movement. Perhaps his previous attempts had been too weak.
He refused to accept that the grapes were simply beyond his ability to reach.
Once more, he prepared himself.
He jumped towards the fruit, stretching his body and reaching upwards. But the result did not change. The grapes remained where they were, and the fox landed without obtaining any of them.
His repeated efforts had achieved nothing.
The fox was now faced with a choice. He could continue jumping and risk exhausting himself, or he could stop and accept that he would not get the grapes.
The decision was not easy because he still wanted the fruit. Its appearance had attracted him from the beginning, and he had spent considerable effort trying to reach it.
However, the more he tried without success, the more frustrated he became.
He began to look at the grapes differently. Instead of seeing them as a delicious meal, he started searching for a reason to convince himself that he did not need them.
The Fox Gives Up
Eventually, the fox accepted that he could not reach the grapes.
He stopped jumping and stood beneath the vine for a moment. The bunch remained above him, untouched by all his efforts.
His appetite had not disappeared, but he knew that continuing to jump would not necessarily bring him success. He had tried repeatedly, and every attempt had ended in failure.
Rather than admit that he was disappointed, the fox decided to dismiss the fruit.
He lifted his nose into the air and turned away from the vine. As he began to walk off, he declared that the grapes were certainly sour.
This was a remarkable change in his attitude.
Only a short time earlier, he had been eager to eat the grapes. He had considered them an excellent meal and had made repeated attempts to obtain them. Now that he could not reach them, he spoke as though they had never been worth wanting.
The fox had no evidence that the grapes were sour. He had not tasted them, and nothing about their appearance had suggested that they were unpleasant. His judgement came entirely from his disappointment.
By declaring the grapes sour, he could leave without admitting that he had failed to obtain something he desired.
He continued along his way, leaving the bunch hanging high above the orchard floor.
The grapes remained untouched, while the fox disappeared from beneath the vine.
The story ends with a simple but memorable observation:
It is easy to despise what you cannot get.
The fox’s behaviour provides the lesson behind the fable. Instead of accepting his inability to reach the fruit, he changes his opinion of it to protect his pride. What he once considered desirable suddenly becomes something he claims not to want.
Moral Lesson
The fable teaches us not to pretend that something is worthless simply because we cannot obtain it. The fox wanted the grapes but could not reach them. Rather than admit his disappointment, he convinced himself that they were sour. The story encourages honesty about our failures and reminds us not to devalue other people’s achievements or opportunities out of envy, frustration or wounded pride.
Knowledge Check
1. Where was the fox walking on the hot summer’s day?
He was strolling through an orchard.
2. What did the fox discover hanging from a vine?
He discovered a bunch of grapes that were beginning to ripen.
3. Why did the fox want the grapes?
He wanted to eat them because he thought they would make a refreshing meal and quench his thirst.
4. How did the fox try to reach the grapes?
He stepped backwards, took a run and jumped towards them several times.
5. Why did the fox eventually walk away?
He walked away because he could not reach the grapes despite his repeated attempts.
6. What did the fox say about the grapes as he left?
He declared that the grapes were sour.
Source
Source: Adapted from “The Fox and the Grapes” in Joseph Jacobs’s The Fables of Aesop (1894).
Explore More Aesop’s Fables
- The Dog and the Shadow: An Aesop Fable
- The Hare and the Tortoise
- The Fox and the Crow
- The Wolf and the Crane: An Aesop Fable
- The Wind and the Sun: An Aesop’s Fable
