Week 1 Storytelling: "The Fox and the Grapes"

There was once a curious young fox who loved to explore. He was fascinated with the world and enjoyed seeing new things.

After a long day of exploring a new part of the forest, the fox became hungry. Just when he was about to head home, he tripped and fell on his back. While lying on his back, he noticed something weird looking hanging from a tree in the distance. Curious, the fox walked toward the tree. He quickly realized what was hanging from the tree, but could not believe it. “Grapes!”, he shouted. A bunch of grapes were hanging from a vine along a tree branch. In awe, he exclaimed, “Those are the biggest grapes I have ever seen. They look so juicy and sweet, I must have them.” The grapes looked ripe as can be, just begging him to eat them.

Hanging high in the air, the fox would have to jump. Largely underestimating the height of the grapes, his first attempt was not even close. The fox remained confident and took a few steps back. “With my young age and incredible athletic ability, I am sure I can reach the grapes with a running start,” the fox said. Digging his feet in the ground, he sprinted and leaped, but to his dismay, was still short. The fox was distraught, but was determined to get the grapes and decided to give it another try. Salivating about the thought of eating the magnificent grapes, he jumped as high as he could, but again was too short.

Sick to his stomach, he sat down and angrily stared at the grapes with disbelief.

“I give up. Those grapes probably are not even good anyways. I bet they are old and sour, so there is no point in wasting any more of my time and energy trying to get them.”

And the fox headed home tired, hungry, and angry.

(The Fox and the Grapes)

Author's Notes:  This is based off of the fable The Fox and The Grapes.  The story is from the book Aesop's Fables written by Anonymous and illustrated by Milo Winter. The story begins with a fox discovering a bunch of ripe and juicy grapes hanging from a tree. After closer inspection, the fox becomes determined to get the grapes. Jump after jump, the fox failed to reach the grapes. He then convinced himself that they were probably sour anyways and that he should bother wasting his energy to get them. The fox walked away angry after making himself feel better about not getting the juicy, ripe grapes. I decided to adapt the story in the way I did in order to accurately capture the moral of the story. The story wasn't very long to begin with, so it gave me a lot of opportunity to add things. I also felt that it shouldn't be changed too much, just given more detail so that you can better understand the Fox's feelings. The reason I chose this particular story was because how often I witness people with sour grapes. Everyone has a tendency to make themselves feel better after failure, myself included, however the world would be a better place without it. The image I chose clearly illustrates the fox trying to reach grapes in a tree and looks nice too.