Today's fable is Perry #15, the story of the fox and the grapes. At the Aesopus wiki, you can see a complete list of the versions of this fable that I have collected. One of my favorite versions is the Greek version in which a mouse makes fun of the fox for her bad attitude; you can read an English translation of that version at the aesopica.net website.
Meanwhile, here is the version in Steinhowel's Aesop:
Vulpes cum racemos uvarum plenos ac maturescentes prospiceret, cupida de illis manducare, omnem viam et saltandi et scandendi est machinata, qua illos habere posset. Sed cum omnem viam frustra temptasset, nec desiderio satisfacere quevisset, maestitiam vertens in gaudium ait: Racemi illi adhuc nimium sunt acerbi; si habere possem, nollem comedere. Fabula significat quod prudentis est fingere se ea nolle quae consequi non posse cognoscit.
Here it is written out in segmented style to make it easier to follow, while respecting the Latin word order:
Vulpes
cum
racemos uvarum plenos ac maturescentes
prospiceret,
cupida de illis manducare,
omnem viam
et saltandi et scandendi
est machinata,
qua illos habere posset.
Sed cum omnem viam frustra temptasset,
nec desiderio satisfacere quevisset, maestitiam vertens in gaudium
ait:
Racemi illi
adhuc nimium sunt acerbi;
si habere possem,
nollem comedere.
Fabula significat quod
prudentis est fingere
se ea nolle
quae
consequi non posse
cognoscit.
The moral of the story here is an interesting one! Instead of condemning the fox for being a hypocrite, the story seems to praise the fox for coming up with such a satisfactory way of mitigating her frustration. I'm not sure what type of cognitive therapy this is, but I'm sure there is a term for it in modern psychotherapy!
For an illustration, here is an illustration from Walter Crane's Aesop which tells the story in limerick form!
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