Twistales

One day a fox invited a stork to dinner, and since he wanted to amuse himself at the expense of his guest, he provided a meal that consisted only of some thin soup in a large flat dish. The fox was able to lap this soup up very easily, while the stork, unable to take a mouthful with her long narrow bill, was as hungry at the end of dinner as when she began. Meanwhile, the fox pretended to regret seeing her eat so sparingly and feared, so he said, that the dish might not be tasty enough for her. The stork said little but requested the honour of allowing her to invite him to her place in the near future. He was delighted with the invitation, and a week later, he showed up punctually at the stork’s home, where the dinner was served right away. To the fox’s dismay, however, he found that the meal was contained in a narrow-necked vessel down which the stork easily thrust her long neck and bill, while he was obliged to content himself with licking the neck of the jar. Unable to satisfy his hunger, he left as graciously as possible. Observing that he could hardly find fault with his host, who had only paid him back in his own coin.

Old Learning: Those who mistreat others with their cunning must expect to suffer from it in return.