The 10 Best Short Fables For Children, With Explained Morals
Aesop, Félix María Samaniego or the Indian and Chinese oral tradition have been some of the sources of creation of countless fun fables for children of all ages, all of them with a moral behind them.
We’ll see now a selection of fun and educational short fables for children many of them widely known, which not only serve to pass the time, but also to learn life lessons.
Along these lines we will see a few of the best-known fables.
1. The three blind men and the elephant
Once upon a time there were three very friendly old men who, in addition to having great intelligence and knowledge in common, were all of them blind.
One day they were gathered near the river and chatting about their knowledge, suddenly, they heard a roar. One of the three old men shouted, asking ‘Who’s there?’
Fortunately for them, the person who came was nothing more than a traveler accompanied by his pet, a peaceful but enormous elephant.
‘Sorry if I scared you.’ – said the traveler. ‘My elephant and I have gone to the river to drink.’
The three wise men, upon hearing that they were near an elephant, could not contain their great excitement, one of them asking ‘An elephant? Did I hear correctly?’
The traveler noticed that the three were blind and that, therefore, they could not have noticed the animal despite its large size.
‘We had heard about them, but we had never had the opportunity to have an elephant so close to us.’ Said another old man. ‘Can we touch it?’
Seeing the curiosity of the three old men, the traveler agreed to let them pet his pet.
The three old men got up and touched the animal.
‘An elephant is like a huge column!’ The first elder said as he caressed the quadruped’s paw.
‘What do you say, my friend? An elephant is like a fan, cooling you with a gentle breeze!’ The second said, while he felt the ears.
‘You are both wrong.’ said the third, blowing his horn. ‘An elephant is like an eel, or a snake, long and thick.’
While the three old men commented on what they were touching, the owner of the animal was left thinking how curious it was that three people were touching the same elephant and reached such different conclusions.
Moral: People give their opinions based on what we know and experience , which is why we can reach such different conclusions. You should try to have a more holistic view of things. The absolute truth does not exist.
2. The hunter’s two dogs
A man lived in the countryside with his two dogs One of them helped the man when he went hunting, while the other was in charge of guarding the house in his absence.
The hunting dog enjoyed going hunting, although he always returned exhausted. His mission was to detect prey. Sometimes he got it and other times, unfortunately, he couldn’t find any.
On the days when he did not get any prey he felt very disappointed, thinking about the great effort invested for nothing but, when he was lucky, he felt truly fulfilled.
When they returned home, the guard dog would come to greet them very happily, warmly welcoming his owner, licking his face and wagging his tail.
With the master and the two dogs at home, it was time for dinner. If they had managed to hunt something, the owner, who was very generous, always gave a piece of the hunt to each of his pets.
So that, both the hunting dog and the guard dog were equally rewarded and, of course, the first one did not agree with it, since he was the one who had worked to obtain food for both of them.
One day, fed up, the hunting dog said to the guard dog:
‘I’m offended by what’s happening! I help the master every day of hunting so that, when you return, after a day of doing nothing, you receive a delicious meal of what I have gotten!’
Upon hearing this, the watchdog replied:
‘Dude, you’re absolutely right, but what do you want me to do? I have been trained to watch the house. If you want to complain, complain to the master, who in the end is the one who distributes the goods regardless of our work.’
Despite the hunting dog’s anger at the situation, the truth was that the guard dog had hit the nail on the head. If he complained, he should go to the master, and so he did. He explained to his owner what he thought and the man understood.
Since then, he began training the guard dog to be a great retriever and then took him out to train with the other dog so that he could earn his dinner.
Moral: In life, not everything is given as a gift You have to learn to work hard to receive a good reward in return.
3. The fox and the grapes
There was a very hungry and thirsty fox in the forest. Poor thing, she had been searching for prey for hours, without having any luck.
After spending the whole day wandering through the forest, he managed to see a bunch of succulent grapes , which hung from a high vine. The fox, desperate, wanted to reach them. She jumped and jumped, but couldn’t reach them. After many attempts, the fox got tired.
‘Bah, I don’t care. Anyway, why do I want to eat those grapes? They sure are green and hard as rocks! Let someone else eat them…’
And after being convinced of this, She left believing herself very worthy for giving up the long-awaited fruit
Moral: if something is unattainable or seems impossible, you should not blame others or circumstances. Each one has its capabilities and also limitations.
4. Peter and the wolf
Once upon a time there lived a young shepherd named Pedro. Every day he took his sheep out to graze in the field.
A boring day, Pedro decided to play a joke on his neighbors She climbed a hill and started shouting:
‘The wolf is coming! The wolf is coming! Help, help me, please!’
The villagers were scared by the boy’s screams and ran out to help him, only to see the young man laughing out loud.
‘Innocents! Look how I have deceived you all!’
The villagers, very angry, turned around and returned to their homes.
The next day, Peter, while leading his sheep again, decided to make the same joke:
‘Help! I have seen the wolf! He’s coming for my sheep, help me!’
This time, the villagers went again, trusting that the boy was now telling them the truth, but to their surprise they had once again been victims of deception.
‘How I have deceived you again! Hahaha’.
The people, even more angry, returned to their homes.
The summer continued to pass and Pedro continued taking his animals out, bored as always, but one day something different happened: he heard a growl. Suddenly, he saw the wolf approaching the sheep to eat them as a snack. Pedro shouted, being sincere:
‘Aid! The wolf has come! The wolf is coming, the wolf is coming! He will eat my sheep!’
The villagers heard the boy scream, as always, but this time they did nothing They were convinced that it was another lie, that he was pulling their leg.
The wolf ate all the sheep without Pedro being able to prevent it, seeing how he lost his animals as well as understanding the serious mistake of having deceived the entire town.
Moral: lies should not be told, because The day a truth is told, it is possible that no one will believe it
5. The hare and the tortoise
In the field lived a fast hare and a slow tortoise. The hare ran constantly, while the tortoise moved slowly because of its heavy shell.
The hare made fun of the tortoise, boasting about how fast he was while his partner needed great effort to take just one step.
After days of teasing, the tortoise became angry with the hare and proposed that he compete in a race, which the hare, with a mocking air, happily accepted. The next day, hare and tortoise got together to start the race.
Both animals prepared themselves and, when the starting signal was given, they began to move. The tortoise was going step by step, soft, soft, while the hare had taken off.
The hare, turning his head, saw the great advantage he had over the reptile, and decided to stop and wait for her while he made fun of her.
‘Run, turtle, what excitement is there if you’re so slow? Why compete if the result is a foregone conclusion? Hahaha’.
The tortoise caught up with the hare, but he gave another push to get ahead. Every time the tortoise managed to catch up with the hare, the fast animal took off again
After doing this several times, the hare got closer to the goal. Instead of crossing it, the hare decided to make a stop a few meters from the end of the race, bored, so much so that she fell asleep.
The tortoise, who had not stopped moving, was getting closer, very little by little, to the goal, without the hare waking up having it so close.
When the tortoise was almost about to cross the finish line, the hare woke up, quickly realizing what was happening, and running to catch up, but the tortoise made it before her.
For the first time in his life, the hare, who boasted of being fast, She had just been defeated by someone she thought would never beat her
Moral: you have to be humble and understand that objectives are achieved with patience and dedication. You should never underestimate the least skilled person, because they may be the most constant and determined to achieve their goal.
6. The Milkmaid’s Tale
A young girl lived on a farm with her parents. One day, the girl’s mother, who was sick, gave her a message.
‘My daughter,’ said the woman. ‘She I have leftover milk and it is going to waste, since you are already older, could you go to the market to sell it?’
‘Sure, mom,’ said the helpful young woman.
Seeing how obedient his daughter was, The woman told him that all the money he got with that milk would be for her
The girl, on her way to the market, was thinking about how she could invest the money she earned from the milk she sold.
‘With the money I will buy twelve eggs, which I will make my hens hatch. When they are born and grow up, I will sell the chickens and buy a piglet,’ she said to herself.
‘When it has grown and is a huge pig, I will exchange it for a calf in the market, which will grow and give me milk, which I will sell every day,’ he kept thinking out loud.
The young woman was so absorbed in her thoughts that, to her bad luck, she did not see the stone that was on the path and tripped, falling to the ground. The milk spilled all over the road and erased the poor girl’s dreams.
Moral: sometimes, ambition makes you not think about the present nor monitor what is happening at the current moment.
7. The Raven and the Jug
A black crow was thirsty on a hot summer day , looking for something to drink. The field was dry and there was hardly any shade in which to take shelter. The bird had to move away from the forest and try its luck in other places. He flew and flew, without having much luck, until he managed to spot a clay vase.
‘Lucky! A jug in the middle of the grass. With a little luck you will have some water left.’
He swooped down, getting closer to see the contents of the jug and could see that it did indeed have some water inside.
He inserted his beak through the neck of the object but the poor crow was disappointed. Its beak was too short
‘I wish it were a heron with its long beak and not a crow…’ he said to himself.
Very nervous, he began to circle around the jug, attacking it to see if he was lucky to get a drink, but colliding with reality: it was a crow, it would not break the vase as if it had the strength of a bull.
He put his paw inside the vase to see if it would at least touch the water, but even that couldn’t do it.
Anguish gnawed at him, but instead of losing his calm he decided to think for a moment. After meditating, the light bulb went on.
He started putting stones inside the jar Little by little, the water was rising, while the stones occupied the base of the object. And in this way, with tenacity and determination he obtained his long-awaited water and quenched his thirst.
Moral: When faced with a problem, the best thing to do is stay calm and think In a calm way a solution will be found.
8. The country mouse and the city mouse
There lived a happy mouse in the countryside who had everything a rodent needed In nature there was never a shortage of seeds, in addition to being able to climb trees, sunbathe and, in its burrow, have a very spacious pantry.
Walking one day he met a mouse who, from his distinguished appearance and clothing, clearly came from the city. They both started talking and hit it off very well, so much so that the country mouse invited the city mouse to his home.
The city mouse was surprised by how simple and poor his host’s house was, who offered him to eat red fruits and nuts.
‘I thank you for your hospitality,’ said the urban rodent. ‘But it surprises me how happy you are with so little you own. I would like to invite you to my house one day so that you could see what it is like to live comfortably, with greater assets.’
A few days later, the field mouse went to visit his new friend in the city. The city mouse lived in a burrow built in a huge human house where nothing was missing.
At mealtime, both mice approached a table on which all the food one could want had been placed: meat, fish, fruits and succulent potatoes.
But when both rodents approached the food, a cat appeared and went for them. The mice fled to safety, with enormous fear in their bodies.
‘It’s our daily bread, this cat thing.’ Don’t worry, I’ll treat you to a big meal later,’ said the city mouse.
They tried again, but instead of the cat appearing, the housekeeper appeared, with a threatening broom that was going to be used to try to crush them. They fled again.
Once they saw that the lady was gone, they tried again, managing to take a bite this time. Their bellies were satisfactorily filled.
‘I never ate so well, friend!’ said the field mouse. ‘But, although you live with all the luxury one could wish for, so much stress and anxiety… I couldn’t stand that. I prefer my simple and quiet life, there, in the countryside.’
They said goodbye and the field mouse returned to his daily routine, with the calm that nature offered him.
Moral: It is better to be happy with little than to have everything and suffer
9. The bell to the cat
In a house there lived a cat who was very loved by his human family. The cat had soon taken over the house and, having fun, he chased the mice that lived there. The rodents, who could no longer go out to look for food because of the feline , they were becoming more and more emaciated. Given the situation, they decided to do something.
To keep the cat under control, they decided to put a bell on it, so that every time it moved, they would hear it and know if it was nearby.
The question that followed this was… who was going to undertake the fearful feat of putting the bell on the kitten?
One mouse said that it couldn’t be him, that he had osteoarthritis, another, also a coward, said that he had a limp, and another said that he had poor eyesight.
All the mice were making excuses and no one decided to carry out the plan. They understood that the idea of the rattlesnake was good, but difficult to carry out. Sad, they went to sleep, trying to think of another way to get rid of the cat.
Moral: Speaking and giving opinions is very easy, and so is giving advice but, when it comes to being an example, that is a different story.
10. The two snakes
Two snakes lived peacefully in the stagnant waters of a swamp , with everything you could want. But unfortunately, a summer arrived so hot that the waters began to dry up. Although they had stayed there, with each passing day they saw how their home was becoming drier and drier, but it was the only place they knew where they could live.
They waited for the rains to come, but they did not come and, with great regret, they had to abandon what had previously been their beloved pond.
Both snakes decided to leave. One of them told the other to go north, that she would follow her, but the other, who was very smart, warned her that if they did that, going in single file, the humans would detect them and hunt them. The wisest snake told her friend that they had to be smarter than humans, and she explained how they would do it.
She told her friend to get on top of her back, but upside down, while she herself put her tail inside her mouth and, also, her friend’s tail inside her mouth. Thus, instead of two snakes they would appear to be a strange, paranormal being.
They both did this and began to crawl, forming a sort of figure eight that moved through the grass. On the way They met peasants and travelers who, upon seeing them, fled in terror in the face of such a strange being.
As time went by, the rains returned and both snakes were able to move to a new humid place where they could continue with their lives.
Moral: when faced with a problem, what must be evaluated are the advantages and disadvantages of the situation. With calm and wisdom it is possible to find a solution.
