At one time the Fox and the Stork were on visiting
terms and seemed very good friends. So the Fox invited
the Stork to dinner, and for a joke put nothing before her
but some soup in a very shallow dish. This the Fox could
easily lap up, but the Stork could only wet the end of her
long bill in it, and left the meal as hungry as when she
began. ‘I am sorry,’ said the Fox, ‘the soup is not to your
liking.’
‘Pray do not apologise,’ said the Stork. ‘I hope you will
return this visit, and come and dine with me soon.’ So a
day was appointed when the Fox should visit the Stork;
but when they were seated at table all that was for their
dinner was contained in a very long-necked jar with a
narrow mouth, in which the Fox could not insert his
snout, so all he could manage to do was to lick the outside
of the jar.
‘I will not apologise for the dinner,’ said the Stork:
‘One bad turn deserves another.’
Moral Lesson: One bad turn deserves another.
―
Aesop
