a famished fox saw some clusters of ripe black grapes hanging from a trellised vine. she resorted to all her tricks to get at them, but wearied herself in vain, for she could not reach them. at last she turned away, hiding her disappointment and saying: "the grapes are sour, and not ripe as i thought."

一只饥肠辘辘的狐狸看见高高的葡萄架上挂着一串串熟透了的紫葡萄，禁不住垂涎三尺。狐狸绞尽脑汁，想了很多办法，可是他还是够不到葡萄。最后，狐狸只好无可奈何地走开，嘴里还自言自语:“那葡萄一定是酸的！并没有我想象的那么好吃。”

人们经常鄙视自己得不到的东西。（这就是我们经常说的:“吃不到葡萄就说葡萄酸”。）