One sunny afternoon, a clever fox named Frankie trotted through the forest, feeling quite hungry. His tummy rumbled and grumbled, sounding like rocks tumbling down a hill. "I need something delicious!" Frankie thought, glancing around for a snack. Suddenly, his sharp eyes spotted a bunch of plump, juicy grapes hanging high up on a vine. They shimmered like tiny purple jewels in the sunlight. "Perfect!" Frankie said, licking his lips. "Those grapes will do just fine!"

Frankie pranced over to the vine and stood beneath the tempting grapes. He stretched his neck, lifted his paws, and hopped into the air, but the grapes were far out of reach. "Hmm," Frankie mumbled, narrowing his eyes. "I’ll just have to try harder." He backed up a few steps, crouched low, and leapt as high as he could. But even with his best jump, Frankie’s paws barely brushed the bottom leaves of the vine. The grapes dangled above him, as if they were laughing. "Oh, come on now," Frankie grumbled.

Determined not to give up, Frankie tried again. This time, he sprinted toward the vine before jumping, hoping that extra speed would send him soaring. But nope! Frankie landed with a soft thud on the ground, his tail puffing out like a fuzzy cloud. "Okay, plan B," Frankie muttered, tapping his chin. He looked around for something to climb—maybe a rock or a fallen log—but the forest floor was disappointingly flat. "Alright, grapes," Frankie said, wagging a paw at them. "You win this round, but don’t get too comfortable!"

Frankie’s clever mind whirred with ideas. "What if I make a slingshot?" he thought. But when he found a stretchy vine and pulled it, it snapped back and flicked his nose. "Ouch!" Frankie yelped. "Okay, no slingshots." Next, he tried building a tower out of sticks. He stacked them carefully, balancing each one like a game of forest Jenga. But just as he climbed to the top, the tower wobbled and came crashing down in a noisy heap. Frankie ended up sitting in the pile of sticks, looking more like a defeated porcupine than a clever fox.

Frustrated and feeling rather silly, Frankie sat under the vine, staring at the grapes. "Maybe I don’t want you after all," he said, crossing his paws. "You probably aren’t even sweet. You’re probably sour! So there!" He stuck his nose in the air and turned away, pretending he didn’t care. But as he walked off, his tummy gave another loud rumble. "Quiet, you," Frankie muttered to his belly.

As Frankie trotted back into the forest, he started to laugh. "Well, that was an adventure," he said to himself. "Next time, I’ll bring a ladder!" And with a flick of his fluffy tail, Frankie went off to find another snack.

Sometimes, when things seem out of reach, it’s okay to walk away and keep smiling.