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The Fox and the Grapes

The Fox and the Grapes is a classic story from Aesop's Fables for Kids, for children aged 3–7. This page has the English story with a native English narration (about 2 min), plus the Chinese version with Mandarin narration (about 3 min). Free to read and listen, no sign-up.

A hungry fox can’t reach the grapes, so he says they must be sour. The fable behind “sour grapes,” in simple English with narration, plus the Chinese version in Mandarin.

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Read The Fox and the Grapes

One autumn day, a fox was very hungry. He looked for food all morning, but he found nothing. His tummy rumbled.

Then he came to a garden full of grapes. The grapes hung high up on a vine. They were big, round and purple, and they shone in the sun. "Mmm," said the fox. "Those grapes look so sweet!"

But the grapes were too high. The fox stood on his toes. He could not reach them. He stepped back, ran and jumped. He missed. He tried to climb up the wooden post, but it was too smooth. Down he slid.

"One more time!" he said. He ran faster and jumped higher. Bump! He fell on his back. The grapes just swung in the wind.

He jumped again and again. Soon he was very tired, but he still could not get a single grape.

At last the fox stopped. He looked up at the grapes and lifted his nose. "Humph!" he said. "Those grapes are sour. They are not even ripe. I don't want them anyway."

Then he walked away with his nose in the air. But his tummy was still rumbling.

Just then, a little bird landed on the vine. It ate a grape and sang a happy song. The grapes were sweet after all.

The Chinese version: 狐狸和葡萄

秋天到了，太阳暖洋洋的。一只狐狸在树林里转了一上午，什么吃的也没找到，肚子饿得咕咕叫。

它走呀走，来到一片葡萄园边上。抬头一看，眼睛一下子亮了：高高的葡萄架上，挂着一串一串紫色的葡萄，又大又圆，在阳光下亮晶晶的。狐狸咽了一口口水：“多好的葡萄呀，一定甜极了！”

可是，葡萄挂得太高了。狐狸踮起脚尖，伸长脖子，够不着。它往后退了几步，跑过来，用力一跳，爪子在半空中一抓——还差一大截呢。它又抱住葡萄架的木头柱子往上爬，可是柱子又细又滑，刚爬上去一点儿，就“哧溜”一下滑了下来。

“再来一次！”狐狸退得更远，跑得更快，跳得更高。“扑通”一声，它摔了个四脚朝天。那串葡萄还挂在上面，在风里轻轻地晃呀晃。

狐狸爬起来，又跳了一次，又跳了一次。跳到后来，它累得直喘气，腿也软了，可是连一颗葡萄都没碰着。

狐狸不跳了。它拍拍身上的土，抬头看看那串葡萄，忽然把鼻子一扬，大声说：“哼，这些葡萄一看就是酸的，根本还没熟！白送给我，我也不吃。”

说完，它甩甩大尾巴，头也不回地走了。走出去好远，它的肚子还在咕咕叫呢。

狐狸刚走，一只小麻雀就落在了葡萄架上。它啄了一颗葡萄，甜得眯起了眼睛，叽叽喳喳地唱起歌来。

The Fox and the Grapes: the moral of the story

When we can’t have something, it is tempting to say we never wanted it. It is braver to admit “I can’t do it yet” and look for another way.

Chinese words in The Fox and the Grapes

Play the Chinese narration and listen for these words. The pinyin shows the tones.

  • 狐狸hú li

    fox

  • 葡萄pú tao

    grapes

  • 饿è

    hungry

  • 跳tiào

    jump

  • 够不着gòu bu zháo

    can't reach

  • 酸suān

    sour

  • 甜tián

    sweet

  • 麻雀má què

    sparrow

Bedtime storytelling tips

  • Read each of the fox’s jumps a little louder and faster than the last, then stop for a moment at “Bump!” Children love the build-up.
  • Say “Those grapes are sour” with your nose in the air. After the little bird eats a grape, ask: “So, were the grapes sour?”
  • Make a face game of it: smile at “sweet,” scrunch up your face at “sour.” In the Chinese version the two words are 甜 (tián) and 酸 (suān), so you can play it in both languages.

Things to talk about afterwards

  • Why couldn’t the fox get the grapes?
  • The fox said the grapes were sour. Were they? Why do you think he said that?
  • Have you ever wanted something you couldn’t have? How did you feel?

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The Fox and the Grapes: common questions

What is the moral of The Fox and the Grapes?
When we can’t get something we want, it is easy to pretend it wasn’t worth having. The fox tried hard, failed, and then said the grapes were sour, but the little bird at the end finds they were sweet all along. It is better to admit we couldn’t do it, at least for now, and try another way.
What does “sour grapes” mean?
“Sour grapes” means pretending that something you couldn’t get was no good anyway, so you feel better about missing out. The phrase comes from this fable. Chinese has the same saying: 吃不到葡萄说葡萄酸 (chī bu dào pú tao shuō pú tao suān), “saying the grapes are sour because you can’t eat them.”
Who wrote The Fox and the Grapes?
It is one of Aesop’s fables, number 15 in the Perry Index, said to come from a storyteller in ancient Greece around the 6th century BC. The fables were collected by later writers, and the French poet Jean de La Fontaine also retold this one as a verse fable.
Is there a Chinese version of The Fox and the Grapes?
Yes. It is called 狐狸和葡萄 (hú li hé pú tao). This page has our Chinese retelling with Mandarin narration next to the English one.

Source and how we retold it

Aesop’s fables, number 15 in the Perry Index. Aesop is said to have been a storyteller in ancient Greece around the 6th century BC. His fables were first passed on by word of mouth and collected by later writers, and they have long been in the public domain. Our retelling keeps the original ending, where the fox can’t reach the grapes and walks off saying they are sour. The fox jumping again and again and trying to climb the post, and the little bird that eats a sweet grape at the end, are details we added for young listeners.

The narration on this page is AI-generated: the English is read by 英伦绅士 and the Chinese by 温柔妈妈. The audio files are labeled as AI-generated.

If you liked The Fox and the Grapes, there are more stories in Aesop's Fables for Kids. You can also read this one to your child in your own voice.

More Aesop's Fables for Kids