Illustration Friday - "Tales and Legends"

Aesop's fable of the Fox and the Crow.

Here is the story;
A Fox once saw a Crow fly off with a piece of cheese in its beak and settle on a branch of a tree.
"That's for me, as I am a Fox," said Master Reynard, and he walked up to the foot of the tree.
"Good day, Mistress Crow," he cried. "How well you are looking today: how glossy your feathers; how bright your eye. I feel sure your voice must surpass that of other birds, just as your figure does; let me hear but one song from you that I may greet you as the Queen of Birds."
The Crow lifted up her head and began to caw her best, but the moment she opened her mouth the piece of cheese fell to the ground, only to be snapped up by Master Fox.
"That will do," said he. "That was all I wanted. In exchange for your cheese I will give you a piece of advice for the future: "Do not trust flatterers."

This was part of a double-page spread I was asked to produce for an AOI ( Association of Illustrators) forthcoming publication, The Illustrator's Guide to Law and Business Practice, coming out this month I think.
The chapter was about Negotiating, and so I've shown 6 examples of situations where negotiation played a key part.
They are;
A victorian Parisian enquiring as to the price of ..une poule de trottoir,
the crusader and Death playing chess (Seventh Seal),
a deal struck between a Morrocan carpet salesman and a European traveller,

Benjamin Disraeli flattering Queen Victoria,
Aesop's fable of the Fox and the Crow,
and a Navajo chieftan trading with a frontier Fursman.


Please click on the Images to ENLARGE