The Crow and the Fox

(trans. Bishop Daniel of Erie)

For many years we have been taught

That flattery is bad and that it ought

To be despised, being a vile deception,

But all in vain: the flatterers are smart

And in the human heart

Will always find a welcoming reception.

A crow who found a slice of cheese

Looked for a perch among the trees

And, mounting on a spruce at last,

She was about to break her fast,

But for some reason she did pause

And held her breakfast in her jaws.

A fox comes by (the fragrance drew him near)

And he begins to flatter to to speak:

“You are so beautiful, my dear!

What pretty eyes and what a well-formed beak!

What pretty feathers, what a lovely tail!

You are a fairy-bird out of a fairy-tale!

Being so beautiful, if you know how to sing,

Among the birds you ought to be a king!

Sing to me, please, with your angelic voice,

Oh, let me hear it and rejoice!”

The bird of omen, who was otherwise

As wise

As any wizard

Was overjoyed

Hearing the praise the fox employed,

Her breath stopped in her gizzard,

And, being dizzy with delight,

She loudly crowed with all her might.

The cheese fell out, of course,

The fox was quick in taking it

And quit

Without remorse.

Lovely story, isn't it...?

I still remember the fable "The crow and the fox" by Ivan Krylov which I learned by heart when I was five (it's the Russian adaptation of Aesop's "The Fox and the Crow"; a very good one, in my opinion: the words are simple but the language of the poem is still colourful and idiomatic — I guess that's why it was so easy for me to memorise it). You can read it in Russian here — https://pritchi.ru/id_6550, and here's the only English translation of it that I've managed to find (so that you know what it's all about):

Olga

Do you still have those books?