Stories For Children

The Stag and His Reflection. A stag, one day, was studying his reflection in the crystal clear water of the forest lake. He looked at his antlers and then he looked at his legs. He looked at his legs and then he looked at his antlers. The stag was not satisfied at all. " I have such beautiful antlers but I have such skinny, spindly legs. If only my legs were a little muscular! " While the stag was busy studying his reflection, he did not notice that a panther was creeping up behind him. Suddenly he heard a twig crack and knew straight away, that he was being stalked. Stag sprang into a sprint and nimbly dodged his way through the forest. He was suddenly very grateful for his spindly legs. All at once, however, he found himself tangled in the branches above his head. The panther was gaining on him. The stag realised that his antlers, really were much less useful than his legs, in this case, and that very soon he was about to become the panther's supper. Moral:Do n

The Crow and the Pitcher of Water. Once upon a time, there was a very thirsty crow. He had not had a drink for many days and he feared that if he did not find water soon, he would die. His wings were weak and his legs were tired, but still he did not give up hope of finding water. Suddenly, just as he was about to collapse, he spotted a tall pitcher with a narrow neck. He summoned up all the energy he had and perched himself on the opening on the jar. He was in luck! Inside was, indeed, water! Crow's spirits were lifted immediately but he had to think of a way to reach the water. The opening and the neck of the jar were too slim for crow to reach the water inside. He had to think fast before it was too late. Just then, like a light bulb turning on, Crow had a brilliant idea. He picked at the small pebbles that were all around him and dropped them into the pitcher. Slowly, slowly the water began to rice. Soon it was high enough for Crow to take a sip, and eventually, Crow had

The Lion and the Mouse. The jungle was quite and it was time for all the animals to take their afternoon nap. Loin lay down and stretched out his powerful paws. He yawned loudly and soon fell into a deep and happy sleep. Mouse, on the other hand, was a restless creature. She never slept in the afternoons. She would spend her time looking for nuts and berries or chasing butterflies. As Mouse ran, she tripped and fell. She landed right on top sleeping Lion's paws. Loin awoke with a start and when he saw Mouse he roared his most terrifying roar! "How dare you disturb me? I will eat you up, you silly creature! I will swallow you whole so you never disturb me again! " Mouse trembled at Lion's words. She did not mean to disturb the king of the forest. "Oh, your Highness, please don't eat me. I promise, if you spare me, just this once, I will repay your kindness. " The lion thought it was funny that a tinny little mouse thought she could ever be able to

The Eagle and the Jackdaw. There once was a shepherd who lived in a beautiful green valley. All day long his lambs and sheep grazed happily and grew fat with the fresh grass and beautiful sunshine. One day an eagle swooped down and carried off a lamb in it's powerful talons. In the meantime a jackdaw sat watching, from a nearby tree. "I could do that! " he thought to himself. He drew himself up to his full height and flew into the sky. He circled and swooped, just as he had seen the eagle do, and then he dived faster and faster towards the biggest sheep he could find. The shepherd, who was watching, ran and caught the jackdaw. He clipped the bird 's wings immediately, so it could not fly away, and gave it to his children to keep as a pet. "what do we call this bird, papa? It cannot fly! " asked the children. "This is called a jackdaw, " said the shepherd, "But it thought itself to be an eagle! " Moral:Do not let vanity make you

The Stork and the Fox. One morning, in the Great Forest, Fox was feeling very bored. He decided to play a trick on his neighbour, the stork. "Dear Stork, would you like to join me for a delicious meal at my house, tonight? " Fox asked eagerly. "Why, that's very kind of you, Fox. Of course, I shall come. " Later that evening, Fox laid out two shallow bowls of delicious smelling soup. He placed one bowl in front of Stork and invited her to begin her meal. Stork could only wet the tip of her beak, while she hungrily watched Fox as he lapped up his own soup with great enjoyment and ease. Stork did not say a word, although she was very unhappy at the trick. She only smiled and thanked Fox for a wonderful evening and then invited Fox for a meal at her own home, to repay him for his kindness. Fox agreed, happy that his trick had worked so well. The next day, Fox arrived at Stork's house. He was hungry and was looking forward to a tasty lunch. Stork gave Fox

The Tortoise and the Ducks.  One-day, Tortoise was sitting alone by the duck pond. He was feeling very sad and lonely. He watched the ducks as they swam, he watched the frogs as they jumped and he watched the dragonflies as they skimmed over the water. Tortoise could only drag his feet along the ground. The ducks, upon seeing Tortoise's frown, swam up to him and asked him what was the matter. "You are so lucky, my friends. You can swim and waddle and even fly. I can only plod along the ground, dragging my house upon my back. You see, I've always wanted to see what the world looked like from under water or above the trees! " The ducks quacked and nodded. This was very sad indeed. They did not like to see Tortoise this way. They talked amongst themselves for a minute or two and then came up with a very clever idea. "Tortoise, Tortoise! " they quacked excitedly, "we can help you fly! All you have to is hold on this stick with your mouth, whilst we