05/03/2019
For the last few minutes Reynard had followed the scent of food wafting through the forest. As he circled the old oak he realised the trail had led him to this point. Yet the mysterious absence of anything remotely food-like had the wily old fox perplexed.
A soft rustling drew his attention upward.
The gentle breeze which had carried the delicious scent to his whiskered snout was now oh-so-softly stirring the leaves above his head and with them, the feathers of a young crow perched just beyond Reynard's reach.
Reynard squinted as the mystery was revealed. There in the crow's pointed beak was a piece of cheese. Deftly stolen, no doubt, from some hapless human enjoying a picnic or ploughman's lunch outdoors.
"So, that's what I can smell," thought Reynard.
The old fox cleared his throat and caught the crow's attention.
“How do you do, Miss Crow?
That's a lovely coat you know!
Glossy black, a stylish choice,
Rivalled only by your voice.
A lovely song would 'ere delight us so.”
At this outpouring of compliments the young crow swelled. Overcome with such high praise and having always thought herself a talented vocalist, she relished the opportunity to sing for the clearly very refined and sophisticated fox.
And so, she opened her beak to begin her song for a seemingly attentive audience. Instead, out poured a tuneless "CAW" and in doing so, the piece of cheese fell to the ground landing directly at Reynards feet.
Snatching it up and sprinting for the undergrowth, Reynard couldn't help a little smirk at the foolish bird's mistake.
From his hiding place, the old fox turned back towards the indignant crow to offer one last piece of advice.
"Miss Crow, here is a lesson, if you please,
Offered to recompense you for the cheese.
A moral which the wise among us see,
That flatterers thrive on fools' credulity."
