Storytelling is one of the oldest methods of teaching. Introducing children to stories at a young age helps to develop an essential skill of reading in them. Children love listening to fascinating stories, which helps parents to encourage them to read when the right time comes. Reading moral stories also opens the door to the world of imagination and creativity for children.
In this article, we have covered “The Wolf And The Crane” story in English for children. This story will help them learn an important moral lesson. They will also learn how they can apply the moral lesson of the story in their real life.
Let’s read “The Wolf And The Crane” full story.
Origin And History Of The Wolf And The Crane
“The Wolf And The Crane” story is a fable attributed to Aesop that has several eastern analogues. There are similar stories with a lion in place of a wolf and a stork, partridge or heron in place of the crane. The story has been passed down from generation to generation through word of mouth, resulting in various but similar plots of the story.
Story Type Of The Wolf And The Crane
“The Wolf And The Crane” is a moral story for kids that can be read to them as a bedtime story. You must also encourage your child to read this story to sharpen their reading skills.
Story Characters
The characters of “The Wolf And The Crane” story are:
- Wolf
- Crane
- Wild Rooster
- Forest Animals
The Wolf And The Crane Story For Children
There used to live a wolf in a deep forest. He was quite greedy and selfish. The wolf only thought about himself and had no real friends in the forest. Every animal hated the wolf for his cunning behaviour and stayed away from him.
One day, the wolf was very hungry and went out hunting for food. He found a wild rooster after roaming around for hours and hours in the thick jungle. The cunning wolf pounced on the rooster and made it his meal. When the wolf was eating the rooster, a big bone got stuck in his throat.
The wolf coughed and coughed, tried everything but could not get the bone out of his throat. His face went red with all that coughing and irritation in the throat. The wolf tried his best to get the bone out but couldn’t succeed. He ran up and down the hills in the deep forest, groaning and moaning, trying to relieve his pain.
When it became difficult for him to breathe, the wolf ran back towards his deep forest and started pleading with all the other animals in the forest that he met on his way to help him get the bone out.
“Help! Please, someone, help me get this bone out of my throat.” begged the wolf.
But no one stepped forward to help the cunning wolf. Then, with no option left, the wolf thought of a crane that lived on the bank of a nearby lake. He went to the crane and begged the crane to help. He promised to pay by rewarding the crane suitably for helping him out.
The generous crane took pity on seeing the wolf’s condition and decided to help him. The crane told the wolf to lie down and open his sharp jaws as wide as he could. The crane then put her long neck down his throat and pulled the bone out.
“This feels so much better,” said the wolf, taking long deep breaths.
“I am glad that you are fine. Now, give me the reward you promised.” replied the crane.
The wolf grinned, showing all his sharp teeth.
“Dear crane, be content. You put your head inside my mouth and took it out again safely. Isn’t that a big life reward in itself? I guess this prize is good enough for you. You must be thankful to me for not tearing you apart when your head was inside my big mouth.” replied the wolf.
Poor crane was very unhappy. The wolf went back his way, leaving the crane disappointed. She made a mistake by trusting the cunning wolf. The crane learnt her lesson and decided to be careful of wicked animals like the wolf.
Story Summary
Here is the summary of “The Wolf and The Crane” story for kids.
Once upon a time, a hungry wolf was eating a wild rooster. All of a sudden, a big bone got stuck in his throat. He started groaning out in pain and tried everything to get the bone out of his throat. He ran around the deep forest howling in pain. He asked all the animals for help, but no one agreed. He even promised a reward, but no animal came forward to help him.
The wolf ultimately went to the nearby lake to look for the crane for help. He promised the crane reward in exchange for taking out the bone with her long neck and beak. The crane agreed to help him. He asked the wolf to lie down on the ground with his throat wide open and stay still.
The wolf followed the crane’s instruction and opened his mouth. As promised, the crane did her job. The wolf heaved a sigh of relief. When the crane asked for her reward, the wolf said that she should feel thankful enough that she was able to take her head out of his throat. The crane walked away disappointed and decided to be careful of wicked animals like the cunning wolf.
Moral Of The Story
The moral of “The Wolf And The Crane” short story is that “One should not expect any reward/prize for serving the one who has no honour. Staying in the company of selfish people will not do any favour.”
In this story, the humble crane helps the cunning wolf when the wolf is in pain. But the wolf didn’t pay any reward to the crane for helping him as promised. The wolf was selfish here and walked away without thanking or rewarding the crane for helping him.
How Can Children Apply The Moral Lesson Of The Story In Their Real Life?
The children can apply the moral of this story with pictures in their real life by thanking and helping others when they get help from someone and otherwise also when someone is in need. Parents must teach this important moral to their little one with the help of “The Wolf And The Crane” story”.
Also Read:
The Little Red Hen Story for Kids with Moral
Moral Story of The Wolf And The Lamb for Kids
The Boy Who Cried Wolf Story with Moral for Children
