Once upon a time there was a piece of cheese on the ground. The piece of cheese was so delicious that it would soon cause a battle of wits to take place. A fox and crow who were passing through the forest in opposite directions came across the piece of cheese at the same time. But as the crow was flying, he was able to move fast and take the cheese in a single swoop. The fox saw this and felt disappointed but he had still not given up.
The crow went and sat on a branch in the tree, with the cheese in her beak. The fox saw this and he got an idea in his mind. He convinced himself that he would be able to use his cunning nature in order to get the cheese back from the crow. So at once he put his plan into action. He went and sat below the tree, right under the branch where the crow was sitting. Then, he praised the crow for being fast in flying and said that he must be unparalleled by any other bird in the world.
The crow knew this was a ploy by the fox to get the cheese and so remained quiet. However, the fox was relentless and he tried very hard to flatter the crow. This was slowly working and the crow himself did know that the flattery of the fox had an effect on her mind. Finally, the fox said that he heard the singing of the crow was so good that she was suitable to be the queen of the birds. At this, the crow opened her beak to sing and the cheese slipped from her beak and fell right into the mouth of the fox, who was eagerly waiting for it below. The fox gobbled it up and vanished from the spot without any other word. The crow at once knew her mistake and could do nothing but regret her actions.
Moral - Never let flattery from strangers impress you as it may result in unfortunate consequences.