The Fox and the Stork
One day a Fox invited a Stork to have dinner with him,
and the Stork accepted the invitation. At dinner, the Fox, who enjoyed practical
jokes, put before the Stork nothing but a shallow plate of thin soup.
With her long sharp beak it was as much as the Stork could
do to get even a taste of the soup, while the Fox, chuckling to himself,
quickly lapped it up with his broad tongue. At the end of the meal, the
Stork was as hungry as she had been when she began.
Then said the Fox, "My dear Stork, I am sorry to
see you did not eat anything. Was the soup not seasoned to your taste?"
"Pray, do not apologize," said the Stork. "I
have had a most interesting evening. And now you must do me the honor of
paying me a visit. Will you dine with me a week from tonight?"
"Thank you," said the Fox. "I will do so
with pleasure."
True to his appointment, the Fox arrived at the Stork's
home and sat down to dinner. But when it was served, the Fox found to his
dismay a long-necked jar with a narrow mouth was placed before him. It was
so tall and narrow that the Fox could not get his snout into it.
The Stork, readily thrusting her long beak into the jar,
enjoyed her dinner while the Fox had to content himself with licking the
outside of the jar.
Said the Stork, "I hope you are enjoying your dinner
every bit as much as I did mine when I visited you." Unable to satisfy
his hunger, the Fox retired with as good grace as he could. He realized
that he could hardly find fault with his hostess, the Stork, who had only
paid him back as he deserved.
Moral of the story: Treat others as you would have them
treat you.
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