Once upon a time, an old lady sat under a tree and was making vadais (a South Indian savoury) to sell. At that time, a crow came upon the scene and being hungry, swooped down, snatched up a vadai in her beak, and went and sat on a tree to eat it in peace.

A fox saw the crow having the vadai and made up a plan to get it. He looked up at the crow and said, "O Crow, how beautiful you are! How beautifully your feathers gleam in the sunlight. If you are so beautiful, how sweet your voice must be. Can you sing for me?"

The crow, being as vain as anyone whose beauty is being praised, started cawing in a loud voice. When she opened her mouth, the vadai fell to the ground, and the clever fox, his mission accomplished, made off with it.