00:00Welcome to This Explainer. I'm your host today, but hey, I'm not just any normal host. I am
00:06the fox, and I'm here to tell you the true story behind a super famous 80-word tale.
00:13Yep, I'm giving you the inside scoop on a story written way, way back around 400 BCE
00:18by a really clever guy named Aesop. It's called The Fox and the Grapes.
00:23So, are you ready to hear my side of the story? Let's jump right in.
00:27Have you ever wanted something you just couldn't reach? You know, like trying to grab a special toy
00:32or maybe a super yummy snack from a really high shelf? You stretch, you reach, you stand on your
00:38tippy toes, and your fingers just barely brush the edge of it. Well, my friends, that is exactly what
00:44happened to me on one very unforgettable afternoon out in the forest. Let me paint the picture for
00:49you. It all started on this beautiful day when I was incredibly, absolutely, just insanely hungry.
00:56I'm talking about a totally empty tummy here. Rumble, rumble. Seriously. My stomach was making
01:01the absolute loudest rumbling sounds you can possibly imagine. Every single step I took through
01:06the trees, it would just roar. I needed a snack, and I needed it right then and there. Have you
01:11ever
01:12been that hungry where your tummy feels like a loud, grumpy monster? Yeah, well, that was me.
01:17Section 1. Finding the Perfect Snack.
01:20And oh boy, did I find it. I looked up, and what did I see? These incredibly fine bunches
01:26of grapes. And not just any grapes. They were hanging from this beautiful, thick green vine.
01:31But well, here was the tricky part. The vine was trained along a very, very high trellis. You know,
01:37a trellis is basically a tall wooden fence made for plants to climb. And these beautiful grapes were
01:42right at the very top. I tell you, my mouth was practically watering.
01:47Section 2. Time to jump. Even though I was starving, I knew I had to focus if I wanted that
01:54delicious
01:54snack. So I came up with a plan. Step 1. Look way up at the tall trellis and pick out
02:00the absolute best
02:01bunch. Step 2. Bend my furry fox knees down deep, getting ready to spring like a coil. And step 3.
02:08Jump high
02:09into the air. It sounds like a perfect foolproof plan, right? I was so sure I'd be eating those
02:15grapes in no time at all. And so I did it. Jump. I gave it my absolute best, leaping just
02:22as high as
02:22I possibly could into the air. I pushed off the ground with my strong back legs, reached up with
02:27my paws, and snapped my jaws, just trying to catch those sweet, sweet grapes. I mean, I was practically
02:33flying. But then I missed. So I had to jump again. And then again. Honestly, it felt like I jumped
02:40a
02:40hundred times. And with every single leap into the air, my tummy just felt hungrier and hungrier.
02:45My poor little legs grew weaker and weaker. I was panting. I was exhausted. And man, I was getting
02:51more and more frustrated. I was working so incredibly hard, trying my absolute best. But those grapes just
02:58wouldn't budge. Sadly, as Mr. Aesop wrote in his story, it was all in vain. Now, all in vain is
03:06just
03:06a fancy way of saying that my hard work didn't work out at all. It was a giant waste of
03:11whatever
03:11energy I had left. No matter how high I jumped, those yummy, juicy grapes were just barely out of
03:17reach. I missed them every single time. Section 3. Giving up, but looking good. So what did I do?
03:25First, instead of crying about it, I simply gave up trying. Yep, no more jumping. Second, I turned and
03:32walked away. But third, and honestly, this is the most important part. I acted with an air of dignity
03:38and unconcern. What does that mean exactly? Well, it means I puffed out my chest, stuck my little nose
03:45up in the air, and strutted away, pretending I didn't care about those grapes at all. As I was walking
03:51away,
03:51really trying to look super cool and totally unbothered, I turned back around and said,
03:56I thought those grapes were ripe, but I see now they are quite sour. Do you see what I did
04:01right
04:01there? I made up a little excuse. I told myself and anyone else who might have been watching that I
04:06didn't actually want the grapes anyway because, hey, they were probably yucky and sour. Section 4.
04:12The lesson of the grapes. Okay, let's look at what was true versus what I said. The absolute truth was
04:19that the grapes were just way too high for a hungry fox. I couldn't jump high enough and I
04:25failed. But what I said out loud? Well, that was a fib. It was a tiny lie to make myself
04:31feel better
04:31about not getting them. I basically blamed the grapes instead of just admitting they were just
04:36too hard for me to reach. Because of my famous little fib from way back in 400 BCE, people now
04:42use
04:42a very special phrase. We call it sour grapes. Today, people use the phrase sour grapes to describe when
04:48someone acts like they don't like something or they pretend they don't want it just because
04:53they're frustrated that they can't have it. Like if you lose a fun game and say, well, that game is
04:58boring anyway. Guess what? That's sour grapes. So my young friends, I'm going to leave you with this
05:04final thought. What will you do the next time you can't reach your grapes? The next time you feel
05:09hungry and frustrated because something is out of your reach or a goal is just a little too hard?
05:14Will you tell a silly fib like I did and pretend you didn't want it? Or will you find a
05:19better,
05:19more honest way to handle your feelings? Think about that. Thank you so much for joining me on
05:24this explainer today. And remember, keep jumping and always stay honest.
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