A Grasshopper sat chirping in the branches of a tree. A Fox heard her, and, thinking what a dainty morsel she would make, he tried to get her down by a trick. Standing below in full view of her, he praised her song in the most flattering terms, and begged her to descend, saying he would like to make the acquaintance of the owner of so beautiful a voice. But she was not to be taken in, and replied, “You are very much mistaken, my dear sir, if you imagine I am going to come down: I keep well out of the way of you and your kind ever since the day when I saw numbers of grasshoppers' wings strewn about the entrance to a fox's earth.”
蚱蜢坐在一棵树的树枝上唱歌。一只狐狸听到了，觉得可以将她吃掉。于是，他试图骗她下来。他一直看着她，用尽花言巧语夸赞她的歌声，乞求她落下来，说自己很想和拥有这么美好歌喉的人做朋友。但是蚱蜢没有上当，回答说：“如果你以为我会下来，那你就错了，我亲爱的先生，自从看到一个狐狸窝的入口处有一些断了的蚱蜢的翅膀，我就一直远离你们族类。”