The Fox and the Grapes

One hot summer’s day a fox was strolling through an orchard when he came to a bunch
of grapes that were ripening on a vine, hanging over a lofty branch. ‘Those grapes
are just the things to quench my thirst,’ said the fox. Drawing back a few paces,
the fox took a run and a jump, but just missed the bunch of grapes. Turning round
again he jumped up, but with no greater success. Again and again the fox tried to
jump up and reach the juicy grapes, but at last had to give it up, and walked away
with his nose in the air, saying: ‘Oh well, I am sure they are sour anyway.’

What is the moral of the fable of the fox and the grapes? It is easier to despise
what you cannot get. This fable gave rise to the common expression ‘sour grapes’,
which, although often used to denote any sour or bitter mood, can also more
specifically denote the idea of having liked something, which one has gone off
(turned sour, if you will) because one is unable to obtain it.