It was a hot afternoon, and Fox had walked a long, long way. His throat was dry as dust. Then he stopped short — grapes! Big, ripe grapes hung from a tall vine, shining in the sun. His mouth began to water. Up among them, a little sparrow was eating her lunch.
"Grapes, all the way up there? Easy!" said Fox. He crouched down low and jumped. Up he went — and missed! His paws grabbed nothing but air, and down he came with a thud. Up above, the sparrow hid a smile behind her wing.
So Fox ran and jumped again. Once! Twice! Three times! He stretched so hard his legs shook — but the grapes only seemed to float higher away. "Nearly there!" chirped the sparrow. "One more try — you can do it!"
At last Fox had no jumps left. He flopped down in the dust, puffing and panting, his tongue hanging out. And far above his head the grapes still swayed — not one of them a bit closer. The evening light began to fade.
Fox stood up and stuck his nose in the air. "Pfft! Those grapes are sour anyway. I wouldn't have eaten them." A light rain began to patter down. The sparrow blinked. "Sour? But they're so sweet!"
But a few steps on — well, look at that! Sweet, ripe berries hung on a low bush, right where Fox could reach. Crunch! Oh, so sweet, so juicy! Down flew the sparrow. "See? Those were your grapes all along."
As the first fireflies came out, the two friends ate berries until their tummies were full. And thinking of all his huffing and jumping, Fox laughed out loud. Now — were the grapes really sour?