In a sun-soaked valley where old olive trees made cool shadows on the dusty ground, a fox named Red was out looking for lunch. His fur was the color of autumn leaves, and his bright eyes sparkled with the kind of cleverness that all foxes seem to have. His stomach was growling because he hadn’t eaten since yesterday, and all the mice and rabbits he usually caught were hiding from the hot summer sun.
Red’s nose was the best in the valley – he could smell a mouse hiding under three feet of snow! So when a sweet smell drifted by on the warm breeze, his ears perked up right away. He followed his nose down a path between two old stone walls until he found what was making that wonderful smell: the most beautiful grape vine he’d ever seen.
The vine was growing up one of the walls, its thick brown trunk all twisted like a rope. Big green leaves spread out like umbrellas, making cool shady spots on the hot stones. But what really caught Red’s attention were the bunches of grapes hanging just above his head.
These weren’t just any grapes – they were perfect! Each one was round and purple, with a soft dusty coating that made them look magical in the sunlight. When the light shone through them, they looked like purple jewels. Red’s mouth started watering as he imagined how sweet and juicy they would taste.
Now, foxes are amazing jumpers – they can leap higher than most dogs! Red crouched down, wiggled his back end like cats do before they pounce, and jumped as high as he could. But his teeth just snapped on empty air – the grapes were still too high. “No problem,” thought Red, “I’ll just try again!”
He backed up a few steps and took another running jump. This time he got so close that his whiskers brushed against the bottom of the grape bunch, but he still couldn’t quite reach them. Red wasn’t about to give up that easily though! He tried jumping from different spots, using the wall to push off from, and even tried to climb the stones (which didn’t work very well – foxes aren’t great climbers).
The sun climbed higher in the sky as Red kept trying. His red fur was getting damp with sweat, and his legs were starting to feel like wet noodles, but he kept jumping. He wanted those grapes so badly he could almost taste them!
Two little sparrows landed on a branch nearby to watch the show. They started giggling and whispering to each other as they watched Red jump again and again. Every time he missed, they would twitter and laugh a little louder.
Finally, after what felt like a hundred jumps, Red flopped down in the dust. His chest was heaving like he’d just run all the way across the valley, and his legs were shaking. He could hear the sparrows laughing at him, and it made his ears burn with embarrassment.
That’s when Red did something that lots of people do when they can’t have something they want – he pretended he never wanted it in the first place! He stood up, shook the dust from his fur, and stuck his nose in the air.
“Those grapes are probably sour anyway,” he announced loudly, making sure the sparrows could hear him. “They’d probably just give me a tummy ache. Besides, what kind of fox eats grapes? That’s silly! I’d rather have a nice juicy mouse or a fat rabbit – that’s proper food for a fox!”
And with that, Red strutted down the path like he was the king of the valley, even though his stomach was still empty. The sparrows watched him go, shaking their little heads. They knew Red was just pretending not to care because he felt embarrassed about not being able to reach the grapes.
Just after Red disappeared around the bend, something funny happened. A soft breeze shook the grape vine, and one perfect grape fell from the bunch. It landed right where Red had been jumping, and if he’d tried just one more time, he might have seen it fall. That grape would have tasted like sunshine and summer sweetness – if only Red hadn’t let his pride get in the way of trying just a little bit longer.
