The Fox and the Grapes

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fox_and_the_Grapes

The Fox and the Grapes is a fable attributed to Aesop. It is one of a number which feature only a single animal protagonist. (Other examples include The Cock and the Jewel.) A fox, upon failing to find a way to reach grapes hanging high up on a vine, retreated and said: “The grapes are sour anyway!”

Frank Tashlin adapted the tale into a 1941 Color Rhapsodies short for Screen Gems/Columbia Pictures. The Fox and the Grapes marked the first appearance of Screen Gems’ most popular characters, The Fox and the Crow. The Electric Company adapted the fable as one of the “Very Short Book” series; in only a few pages and words it sums up the fable exactly as written, with the fox saying “I’ll bet they’re sour!”

The fable illustrates the concept of cognitive dissonance, which occurs when a person tries to hold incompatible ideas simultaneously. Dissonance is reduced by altering one of the belief or desire states, even if it leads to irrational behavior.^[1]

Sour grapes

The English idiom “sour grapes” – derived from this fable – refers to:

the false denial of desire for something sought but not acquired
the denigration and feigning of disdain for that which one could not attain

The phrase is sometimes also used to refer to one expressing, in an unsportsmanlike or ungracious way, anger or frustration at having failed to acquire something (i.e. being a “sore loser“), regardless of whether the party denies their desire for the item. Not including the denial of desire is technically a slipshod extension of the metaphor because it is inconsistent with the phrase’s origin in the fable and the notion of the grapes being declared “sour”. ^[2]

Similar expressions exist in other languages; for example, the Persian expression: “The cat who cannot reach the meat says it stinks!” The expression is present in the Scandinavian countries also, where the sour grapes have been replaced with sour rowanberries since grapes are not common in northern latitudes. In psychology, this behavior is known as rationalization. It may also be called reduction of cognitive dissonance.

Unripe versus sour

The moral of the fable centers on the qualification by the fox, when he finds his desire unattainable. The word “sour” was probably chosen by the translators in Western Europe writing during the Victorian era. Study of older versions of the fable suggest that “unripe” might be a more literal translation, the idea being that the fox would come back later to try in earnest. The word “unripe” may have been replaced with “sour” by the fable’s Victorian translators since the word “unripe”, in Victorian society, might have been interpreted as an innuendo suggesting an as-yet unripe woman.

Another view is that “sour grapes” is brief and concrete, as compared with “unripe grapes”.

In the original Greek, the phrase is “όμφακες εισίν” (omphakes eisin), the word omphax having both the literal meaning of an unripe grape and the metaphorical usage of someone too young.

Source: http://www.sgbox.com/aesopfables15.html

It was a very hot and sunny afternoon. A fox, which had been hunting the whole day, was very thirsty.

“How I wish there was some water,” the fox thought to himself.

Just then, he saw bunches of fat and juicy grapes hanging from a vine above his head. The grapes looked ripe and ready to burst with juice.

“Oh, my! Oh, my!” the fox said as his mouth began to water. “Sweet grape juice, quench my thirst!”

The fox stood on tiptoe and stretched as high as he could, but the grapes were out of his reach.

Not about to give up, the fox walked back a short distance and took a running leap at the grapes. Again, he could not reach the grapes.

Still not ready to give up, the fox walked back further and took another running leap at the grapes. Again, he could not reach the grapes.

The fox jumped and leapt, again and again, but each time he could not reach the grapes. Until, at last, the fox was tired and thirstier than ever.

“What a fool I am!” said the fox furiously. “These grapes are sour and not fit for eating. Why would I want them anyway?”

With that, the fox walked away.

Some people despise and belittle the things they cannot have.

“TO THE FOX”
Gianni Rodari’s fable

This is that arbour
And those are the grapes
That the Fox of the fable
Thought too sour to take
But they were too high
For him to get.
Jump one
Jump twice.
If you don’t get there
Tomorrow morning try
You’ll see that each day
The sweet fruit gets nearer;
‘Cause, remember just this
Training is all.

(Gianni Rodari)

THINK IT OVER: Gianni Rodari’s fable “To the fox”

This fable in verse by Rodari refers to Phaedrus’ most famous fable about the fox who uselessly tries to get the grapes of an arbour and, defeated, goes away despising the elusive bunch. Rodari replaces the tradition’s renunciatory fox with the bravest and firmest one, a fox who does not give up his purpose and sooner or later will be able to reach his aim.

Source: http://www.lefavole.org/en/volpe_uva.htm