Aesops fables are short stories with morals that generally have animals as characters. These stories are ideal for kids to be told as bedtime stories as they are concise and easily understandable. Kindness is an essential trait that should be imbibed in our little ones from a very early age. Read out this tale of kindness named ‘The Ant And The Dove’ to your kids and let them know the importance of good deeds. How two characters, an ant and a dove, who don’t know each other, help each other to get out of life-threatening situations is something to look forward to in ‘The Ant And the Dove’ story in English.
Origin and History of ‘The Ant And The Dove’ Tale
The fable is originally known to be written in Greece by Aesop in his collection of short stories named “Aesop’s fables.” These fables have been passed down by generations by people retelling them and have been loved by children for decades.
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Story Type of ‘The Ant And The Dove’
This story is a short fable with a moral lesson children can be introduced to early on. It is often also read as a bedtime story.
Story Characters
The story mainly has three characters: the ant, the dove, and the hunter.
The Ant: The ant is one of the main characters who get stuck in a life-threatening situation and is helped by a stranger (the dove).
The Dove: Another main character of the fable is the dove, who helps the ant selflessly to get out of a dangerous situation, and his deeds do not go unnoticed.
The Hunter: He is the one who tried to put the dove in danger but got bravely tackled by the ant.
‘The Ant And The Dove’ Story For Children
On a bright sunny day, an ant was roaming around in the forest in search of water to quench his thirst. After walking for a very long time, he came across a river.
‘Finally! Now I can drink water from this lake’, thought the ant happily.
As soon as the ant bent down to drink water from the lake, he suddenly slipped and fell into the river. The water force was so strong that he was swept away from the shore before the ant could do anything.
‘Oh no!’ cried the ant sadly, ‘What do I do now? How do I get out?’
‘Help! Please help! Is there anyone who can help me get out?’ shouted the ant with all his might.
Sadly, there was no one to help him.
The ant kept on shouting for help, but all his efforts were in vain.
‘Help! Help! Please, someone, help me!’ the ant cried again.
Suddenly, there was a dove flying who noticed the ant struggling. He stopped on a nearby tree and realised the ant needed some help.
After thinking for a few moments, the dove plucked a leaf from the tree and threw it in the river. The ant saw the leaf and immediately climbed on it.
Slowly, he reached the shore with the help of the leaf.
‘Oh, my friend! Thank you so much for helping me today. If it was not for you, I don’t know what would have happened to me. Thank you so much’, said the ant with tears in his eyes.
‘It’s a pleasure, my friend. I am so happy that I could help someone in need today’, said the dove.
‘Is there anything that I can do for you, mate? I would be happy to help you’, the ant excitedly asked.
‘Oh no, no! I don’t need help with anything now. Thanks for asking. Bye’, said the dove and flew away.
The ant, too, walked away happily.
After a few hours, while the ant was roaming around, he noticed a strange man in the woods. After seeing him for some time, he realised that he was a hunter and was trying to aim at someone with his gun.
Soon, he realised that the hunter was trying to shoot his friend, the dove, who was sitting on a nearby tree!
‘Oh no! That’s my friend who saved my life!’ shrieked the ant. ‘His life is in danger, and he has no idea. I must do something to save him!’
The ant immediately ran to the hunter, who was ready to shoot with his loaded gun. As soon as he was about to shoot, the ant stung him on his heels, making the hunter scream in pain and miss his target.
The dove was stunned to hear the sound of the gun and realised what had happened. He immediately flew away.
The ant was very happy as he could help his friend. He went back to his home happily, and the dove also flew back to his nest.
Story Summary
Given below is the summary of ‘The Ant And The Dove’:
One day, an ant went to a nearby river to quench his thirst. As he bent down, he slipped into the river and was carried away by the strong current. He started shouting for help, but all his efforts seemed to go in vain. But soon, a dove saw the ant struggling and decided to help him. He immediately plucked a leaf from the nearby tree and threw it in the river. The ant climbed on the leaf and reached the shore safely. After a few hours, the ant saw a hunter aiming his gun at the dove sitting on a nearby tree. The ant quickly ran to the hunter and stung him on his heels, making him scream in pain. The hunter got distracted by the pain and ended up missing his target. The dove heard the loud sound and realised what had happened. He flew away immediately. The ant also left for his home happily.
Moral Of The Story
The moral of the story is – A good deed never goes unnoticed and comes back to us in one form or another.
The dove’s act of kindness returned to him when the ant saved his life from the hunter, i.e., if you do good, good will come to you.
Similarly, in life, we should always do good deeds and help people. We never know when some might be dangerous, and our good deeds might come back to us in some form. It’s the same with bad deeds too. If we do bad deeds, they will come back to us in some form. Hence, we should always try to help people in need.
The story also teaches the importance of having the presence of mind and acting quickly.
The dove thought and acted quickly and threw a leaf in the water as soon as he saw the ant struggling. The poor ant could have lost his life if he had been late for even a few minutes.
In life, too, we should be able to make quick decisions and always keep our minds alert, as even a minor delay can sometimes result in a huge loss.
How Can Children Apply The Moral Of The Story In Their Real Life?
We should teach children the importance of kindness from a very young age, as it helps them grow up to be kind human beings. Here are a few ways children can do that:
- Kids can help carry groceries for the elderly when they visit the store or market or assist them while crossing the street. Helping others is a great way to uplift their and our spirits.
- Helping a friend or a sibling in need is the most basic thing to do. They are close to us, and we should always do everything possible to protect them or rescue them when they are in a problematic situation.
Get this story with pictures and read it out to your child during a lazy afternoon or before bedtime. It’s a great story to teach your child that kindness never goes unnoticed. And if they do a good deed, it will come back to them in one way or the other.
