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| The Hare and the Tortoise |
Some fables are centuries Ovid. Three very old ones are "The Hare and the Tortoise," 'The Shepherd Boy and the Wolf," and "The Fox and the Grapes."
Many of our common sayings come from fables. "Sour grapes" is one of them. It comes from the fable "The Fox and the Grapes." In the story a fox saw a bunch of grapes hanging from a vine. They looked ripe and good to eat. But they were rather high. He jumped and jumped, but he could not reach them. At last he gave up. As he went away he said, "Those grapes were sour anyway." Now we say, "Sour grapes!" when someone pretends he does not want something he tried to get but couldn't.
Today writers do not write many fables. Comic strips and animated cartoons are taking their place.
