The Fox and the Stork (from Aesop’s Fables)

One day the fox invited the stork to a midday meal. To eat there was only some soup, which the fox placed before his guest in a shallow dish. From this plate, however, the stork could only wet the end of its long bill, while the crafty fox easily lapped up all of his in an instant.

The stork, on the other hand, pondered its revenge. Not long afterward, the stork invited the fox to dine with her. The ever-hungry fox happily accepted. Avidly, he arrived at the agreed-upon time. The pleasant aroma of the roasting meat wafted satisfyingly by his nose. The stork, however, had cut the meat into small pieces and brought it to the table in a long-necked vessel with a narrow opening. The stork itself could easily pick up the pieces with its beak but the fox’s snout was too big to fit in so he finished the meal still hungry. Ashamed, with his tail between his legs and drooping ears, he shuffled dejectedly back home.

One bad turn deserves another.

Aesop beak bill dish drooping Fable ear fox meal meat midday plate revenge snout shallow soup stork tail vessel