The Jackdaw and the Fox

Summary

This fable tells the story of a Jackdaw who is perched on a fig tree, eagerly waiting for the unseasonal figs to ripen so he can eat. A Fox observes the Jackdaw's hopeful anticipation and comments that he is deceiving himself by waiting for something that is unlikely to happen. The Fox suggests that the Jackdaw's strong hope is a form of self-deception that will ultimately lead to disappointment because the figs are not going to ripen. This story conveys a moral lesson about false hopes and the importance of understanding practical realities rather than waiting for unlikely outcomes.

Read Online

A half-famished Jackdaw seated himself on a fig-tree, which had produced some fruit entirely out of season, and waited in the hope that the figs would ripen. A Fox seeing him sitting so long and learning the reason of his doing so, said to him, “You are indeed, sir, sadly deceiving yourself; you are indulging a hope strong enough to cheat you, but which will never reward you with enjoyment.”