Fox And Grapes Fable Scene In Vineyard Coloring Page

Here is the fable drawn at the moment before the famous line. The fox sits in profile, muzzle tipped up, eyes fixed on a bunch of grapes hanging from the vine above and to its right, and it does not look as though it has given up yet.

The grapes are the best thing on the sheet. Two dozen or so overlapping circles, each drawn separately, taper to a point at the bottom of the bunch. Broad vine leaves with deep lobes and strong veins fill the right side and both upper corners. Behind the fox the land opens out into a vineyard, rows of staked plants running away over two low hills toward a distant stand of trees.

The animal is marked with short dashes instead of continuous fur lines, which leaves you a dotted coat to work around.

Purple on the fruit and green on the leaves is the obvious route, so the interesting decision is what to do with the vineyard. Holding it pale and low in contrast pushes it back and makes the bunch jump forward. This is the story that gave English the phrase sour grapes, from the conclusion the fox reaches once the fruit proves out of reach: that it was probably not worth having anyway.