English print from John L. Kennedy & Co., 47 Mosley St., Manchester, United Kingdom. 1885. 

Fox & crane print on cotton. Late 19th century. John L. Kennedy & Co.

We find the imagery in this particular print to be directly related to Aesop’s infamous fable, entitled, The Fox and the Crane.  

The fable is summarized below (via Wikipedia):
A fox invites the stork to eat with him and provides soup in a bowl, which the fox can lap up easily but which the stork cannot drink with its beak. The stork then invites the fox to a meal, which is served in a narrow-necked vessel, easy for the stork to access but impossible for the fox. The moral drawn is that the trickster must expect trickery in return and that the golden rule of conduct is to do to others what one would wish for oneself. 

Fox print on cotton. Edmund Potter and Co. England. Jan. 1, 1883.

Fox print on poly/cotton blend. David-Martin, New York. 1970s.

This would be a great print on a whimsical shirt dress. I’m looking at you mod cloth…