Folk Tale

The fox and the crow

ATU57
LanguageEnglish
OriginGreece

Master Reynard the fox once saw a crow fly off with a piece of cheese in its beak and settle on a branch of a tree.

"That’s for me, as I am a fox," said Master Reynard, and he walked up to the foot of the tree.

“Good day, Mistress Crow,” he cried. “How well you are looking today: your feathers are so glossy; your eyes are so bright. I feel sure your voice must be more beautiful than that of other birds. Let me hear just one song from you, so that I may call you the Queen of Birds.”

The crow, who really couldn’t sing very well, lifted up her head and began to caw her best, but the moment she opened her mouth the piece of cheese fell to the ground. Master Reynard snapped it up at once.

“That will do,” said he. “That was all I wanted.”

He looked up at the crow, and said: “In exchange for your cheese I will give you a piece of advice for the future: ‘Do not trust flatterers.’”


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