[c100]
   Mister Raven, perched on a tree,
   Held a cheese in his beak.
   Mister Fox, enticed by the smell,
   Addressed him in language like this:
   [w400]
   Oh!  Good morning, Mr. Raven.
   How pretty you are!  How beautiful you seem to me!
   In truth, if your song 
   is like your plumage,
   [l1000]
   You are the phoenix of the hosts of this wood.
   At these words the raven becomes overjoyed;
   And, to show off his beautiful voice,
   He opens his beak wide and lets his prey fall.
   The fox grabs it and says:
   My dear man,
   Learn that every flatterer
   Lives at the expense of the one who listens to him.
   No doubt, that lesson is easily worth a cheese.
   Lah! Ah! Ah! Ah!
   The raven, ashamed and confused,
   Swore, though somewhat belatedly, that he would never be taken again.
   [p2000]