The Wren and the Fox
Once upon a time, beside a green valley where cool waters murmured, there lived a small and cheerful wren. She built her nest carefully among the low bushes with soft grasses, and every morning she sang merry songs and spread joy in hearts. But in the hidden corners of this beautiful valley there wandered an old fox who was always chasing after tricks. One day, when the fox heard the sweet chirping of the wren, he swallowed hungrily and at once made a wicked plan. He thought that by approaching the bush with slow steps he could easily catch the tiny bird. With a sly smile the cunning fox slipped out from behind the bushes and began to speak. “O wren with the beautiful voice, what are you doing all alone on this low branch?” he asked.
The wren understood the intention of the fox at once, but without any fear she smiled calmly. “I live here in my little nest, brother fox, but the real great feast lies at the bottom of that deep pit,” she said. The fox pricked up his ears excitedly and came right to the edge of the pit with hungry eyes. “Is there truly a tasty prey down there for me?” he cried greedily. Flapping her wings, the clever wren whispered, “Yes, under that dark shadow a huge piece of meat is waiting for you.” The fox forgot the little bird and began to stare hungrily into the darkness below. The greedy fox could bear it no longer and leapt eagerly toward the deep pit.
But at the bottom of the pit, instead of tasty meat, there was only deep mud and sharp thorns. Sinking into the mud, the cunning fox struggled and struggled but could not climb up. The clever wren, however, perched on a high tree branch and went on singing her merry song. So the cunning fox, who trusted his own traps, paid the price of his ambition and his greed. And the little wren went on living in peace in her safe nest. Those who set out with evil intentions are always defeated before wit and courage. In the end, a man falls into the pit that he himself has dug.