Glowing Fables Words

…

← French stories

Le Renard et la Cigogne

The Fox and the Stork

1Un dîner pour deuxA dinner for twoFree2m

The fox, who lives cheaply, invites the stork to dinner and serves a thin broth on a flat plate: the long-beaked stork cannot catch a crumb, and the fox laps it all up. To pay him back, the stork invites him some time later. «Gladly,» says the fox, «with my friends I stand on no ceremony.» He runs to her home, praises her manners and rejoices at the smell of meat cut in little pieces. But she serves it in a vase with a long, narrow neck: her beak goes in, his muzzle does not. He goes home hungry and ashamed, tail tucked and ears down. Deceivers, expect the same in return.

Retold from Fables de La Fontaine (Bernardin-Béchet, Paris 1874), Livre premier, XVIII: Le Renard et la Cigogne by Jean de La Fontaine (public domain).

Stories retold from public-domain tales. Text, audio and pictures © Glowing Fables.

About Pricing Account Terms Privacy Refunds Contact