3 The Fox and the Grapes One hot summer day a fox trotted into the woods hoping for some shade to cool him He found a wild grapevine running high into a tree A bunch of dark plump grapes dangled from the vine above the fox’s head The fox was certain he had never seen such beautiful grapes The fox licked his dry lips and said Those delicious grapes are just the thing I need He jumped up and snapped at the grapes but he could not quite reach them He backed away from the tree and ran as fast as he could He jumped at the last second to snap at the grapes His teeth closed on empty air He still couldn’t quite reach 12
He tried to scramble into the tree to reach the grapes from above But foxes are not built to climb trees and he tumbled back to the ground Finally he fl opped on the ground hot and tired As he studied the grapes he said Now that I look at them closely they’re not so big as I thought I am sure they would be very sour So the fox got up and trotted away He never looked back at the grapes because it is easy to despise what you cannot get 13
4 The Goose That Laid the Golden Eggs Once there was a poor farmer who had only one small goose who laid one egg each day for the farmer’s breakfast One day the farmer slipped his hand under the goose’s warm feathers and pulled out the egg as usual That day the egg was very heavy and a golden color Someone thinks it is funny to trade my breakfast egg for a gold-painted rock the farmer complained But the egg was pretty so he decided to take it home just the same The next day the goose laid another golden egg And on the next day the goose laid still another The farmer decided to take the eggs to the village to see if anyone would pay for such pretty things 14
In the village he learned the eggs were not painted rocks They were pure gold The farmer sold the three eggs for many dollars and hurried home a happy man The goose continued to lay golden eggs The farmer was able to repair his shabby house build a bright new barn and even fi ll his farmyard with animals Then one day he looked at the little goose and wondered if she was golden through and through Surely if he cut her open gold would spill out and he wouldn’t have to wait for one egg each day So the greedy farmer killed the goose and found she was just an ordinary goose Oh no the farmer moaned By grabbing for more in my greed I lost the good that I already had 15
