The fable The Crow and the Fox, originally attributed to the Greek fabulist Aesop, was taken up by Jean de La Fontaine and published for the first time in 1668 in his first collection entitled "Fables choisis, mis en vers". Very popular in France, it also found an echo in Poland, notably thanks to the translation by the famous 18th century Polish writer, Ignacy Krasicki.

​This fable teaches us humility and critical thinking. It invites us not to give in to vanity and to remain attentive to flattery. The crow, by losing his cheese because of the fox's compliments, reminds us of the importance of not being led astray by praise that could hide manipulative intentions. By developing their critical thinking, children learn to evaluate compliments with discernment and to recognize the intentions behind the words. Thus, the fable encourages a thoughtful approach in our interactions.

​Jean de la Fontaine invented a genre that broke with the Aesopian, evangelical and humanist traditions, where the style and the spirit rather than the subject were intended to be didactic. A model of classical French, these apologues were used from the beginning of the 18th century as a teaching support by the Jesuits, the main teaching body in France until 1763, and by family tutors, then became, under the Third Republic and until after the war, an essential part of primary school.