The Fox & the Grapes
"The Fox and the Grapes" is one of Aesop's fables, a collection of ancient moral stories often featuring talking animals. This particular fable tells the story of a fox who sees a bunch of ripe grapes hanging from a vine. The fox is tempted by the delicious-looking grapes and decides to try and reach them.
The fox jumps and jumps but cannot reach the grapes, no matter how hard it tries. After several attempts, the fox gives up, saying something along the lines of, "Those grapes are probably sour anyway," and walks away in frustration.
Story
A Fox one day spied a beautiful bunch of ripe grapes hanging from a vine trained along the branches of a tree. The grapes seemed ready to burst with juice, and the Fox's mouth watered as he gazed longingly at them.
The bunch hung from a high branch, and the Fox had to jump for it. The first time he jumped he missed it by a long way. So he walked off a short distance and took a running leap at it, only to fall short once more. Again and again he tried, but in vain.
Now he sat down and looked at the grapes in disgust.
"What a fool I am," he said. "Here I am wearing myself out to get a bunch of sour grapes that are not worth gaping for."
And off he walked very, very scornfully.
There are many who pretend to despise and belittle that which is beyond their reach.
Analysis
The moral of the story is often expressed as "Sour grapes," and it conveys the idea that people tend to disparage things that they cannot have or achieve. It warns against sour grapes as a metaphor for making excuses or belittling something desirable that is out of reach. In essence, the story teaches us not to devalue something simply because we cannot attain it, but rather to accept our limitations gracefully.