Aesop’s fables are short stories that teach us important lessons about life. These lessons are very valuable and allow the children to learn about the different types of people, circumstances, behavioural variations, judgement, etc., in our surroundings and how to deal with them. Kids love listening to new and exciting tales as these stories are written in simple language, making them easily understandable for kids and also giving them a chance to learn new words and expressions. The Fox and The Crow’s full story is one of the famous stories and has been loved by children for many decades. The story revolves around the cunningness of a sly fox and a foolish crow who ends up losing his food because of the fox’s flattery. What exactly happened in the tale makes the story “The Fox and The Crow” in English a fascinating and fun read.
Origin And History Of The Story Of The Fox And The Crow
The story “The Fox and The Crow” is one of Aesop’s fables originally published in Greek and Latin versions. However, due to its popularity and the lesson it provides, it has been translated into several different languages, and the children love it.
Story Type Of The Story Of The Fox And The Crow
“The Fox and the Crow” story is an Aesop fable, and kids love this short story and often listen to it as a bedtime story.
Story Characters
The two main characters of this story are the crow and the fox.
The crow: The crow falls prey to the fox’s cunningness and flattery and ends up losing his food.
The fox: The fox was witty and cunning and used his smartness to fool the crow and grab his share of food.
The Story Of The Fox And The Crow For Children
Once upon a time, in a faraway jungle lived a crow. One day, he was flying here and there in search of food but did not get anything to eat.
Tired, he sat on the branch of a nearby tree. Suddenly, he saw a piece of cheese on a plate on the table.
“Oh my, my!” exclaimed the hungry crow happily. “Looks like I’ll get to eat something very delicious today.”
He saw here and there and saw no one around. He quickly grabbed the piece of cheese in his beak and took off.
On his way, he saw many crows but didn’t stop, as he didn’t want to share his food with anyone. He flew to a faraway tree and sat on its highest branch.
At the same time, a fox was strolling across the jungle and saw the crow with a piece of cheese in his beak.
“Umm. That’s a tasty-looking piece of cheese”, thought the fox. “I deserve that piece of cheese and will get it anyhow.”
The fox started trying to have a conversation with the crow with the motto of urging the crow to open his beak.
“Hello, beautiful crow! How are you? How is your day going?” said the fox.
Naturally, the crow did not say anything as he was taught not to speak with his mouth full.
“Look at your big and shiny feathers, my dear friend”, the fox said again. “No wonder you can fly up so high. I wish I were as beautiful as you.”
The crow again did not answer.
“Your eyes are sparkling like a diamond. No wonder you are the most beautiful amongst all”, the fox said.
“I have heard that crows sing well. I am sure you also have a magical voice”, the fox continued with his flattery. “Please sing a song for me. If you sing well, I promise you to declare the most beautiful voice of the jungle.”
This time, the crow fell for his words and started singing. He opened his mouth and started singing, “Caw Caw Caw”.
As the crow opened his mouth, the piece of cheese naturally fell from his beak to the ground.
The fox rushed and grabbed the piece of cheese from the ground.
“Ha ha ha”, the fox started laughing. “You foolish crow! I knew you were going to fall for it! You think you have a beautiful voice? Ha Ha! No way”.
The fox said this and left, enjoying the cheese. The crow kept sitting there quietly, realising his mistake and how foolish he had been.
Story Summary
Given below is a summary of “The Fox and The Crow” story:
Once upon a time, in a jungle, lived a crow. One day he was searching for food when he suddenly saw a piece of cheese on the nearby table. The crow grabbed it in his beak and flew to a faraway tree as he did not want to share it with anyone else. A fox was passing by as he was sitting on a branch with the cheese in his beak. He saw the crow and thought of getting the cheese for himself. He immediately started flattering the crow.
He started saying how beautiful the crow and his wings were. The fox also said that he had heard that crows are excellent singers, and if he sang for him, he would declare him to be the most beautiful voice in the entire jungle. Flattered by the fox’s words, the crow opened his beak to sing and ended up dropping the cheese on the ground. The fox quickly picked up the cheese, laughed at the crow, and left. The crow sat there, realising how foolish he had been.
Moral Of The Story
The moral of the famous “The Fox and The Crow” story is “Never believe flatterers”.
In the given story, none of the words said by the fox was genuine, and his only intention was to grab the cheese. The crow believed his sweet words and ended up losing his food. Similarly, in life, we meet many people who flatter us to get their job done or to distract us from our goals, and we end up believing in their sweet lies. We need to identify such people and stay away from them, as they can go to any extent to fulfil their agenda and even harm us.
How Can Children Apply The Moral Lesson Of The Story In Their Real Life?
The short story “The Fox and The Crow” teaches us a vital lesson of staying away from flatterers, which is very relevant today. Some ways in which the children can apply morals in their real life are:
- We should always ask the children to stay away from strangers. They can often meet strangers outside their school gate that offer them chocolates with their sweet talk. We should teach them to avoid such people at any cost and only talk to family members and friends.
- They should always be careful as to who they trust. It is always advised to trust someone only when we know them and understand that they don’t have any hidden agendas for talking to us. We should never blindly trust anyone; if anyone is too sweet with their words, we should always think twice before talking to strangers or believing them.
Short story with pictures takes kids to a whole new world of fantasy and imagination. It also helps in their brain development as pictures require them to concentrate, thus being a suitable learning medium. So, the next time you are having trouble making your kid fall asleep, grab a bedtime story book from the bookshelf and read out this story “The Fox and The Crow” to them.
