Introduction

Aesop’s “The Fox and the Stork” is witty and strategic. I enjoyed reading it as a child and rereading it as an adult. But as a parent of a 3 year old, I find myself telling it with a modification to remove hostility and cunning.

A link to the original or a form of it is provided in references below.

I think the original is cool for older kids but for young ones, you may (or may not) like the following twist.

Why I tweak: https://drsandhya.org/2023/01/03/story-telling-for-kids/

‘The Fox and the Stork’ Retold

There were two good friends, the Fox and the Stork. One day, the Fox invited Stork to dine with him at his house and the Stork accepted the invitation gladly. The Fox cooked with enthusiasm, laboring over the aromatic thick soup.

The Fox set the table in style, with large rimmed plates savoring the thought of licking the plate till it is dry. The Stork came to the Fox’s house and sat at the table eager to enjoy the great smelling soup. However the Stork couldn’t feed on the soup as it couldn’t take anything from the shallow plate with it’s long beak also called as the bill. The Stork was silent but disappointed, while the Fox licked and ate the soup.

As the Stork said goodbye to the Fox, she thought that the shallow plate is a bad idea and that she could show the Fox the right way to enjoy a meal. She invited the Fox to supper to her home and prepared a great smelling Fish soup and served it in tall jars with narrow neck. The Fox couldn’t resist the smell but alas, it couldn’t eat from the narrow jar. All it could do was sniff while the Stork enjoyed her meal thoroughly. As the Fox stared, it realized that the reason Stork didn’t enjoy her meal at his home was because the shallow plate wasn’t the right one for the Stork’s bill. And when the Stork looked up from her empty jar and gazed at the Fox who was hardly eating, she realized that the jar wasn’t suitable for the Fox. They laughed at almost the same time and when they got together the next time, they served the food in a shallow plate for the fox and a long jar for the Stork. They enjoyed their discovery, friendship and food.

Moral: What’s good for one-self may not be good for another. Think from the point of view of the other person.

References

1. https://read.gov/aesop/016.html

2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fox_and_the_Stork

3. Image source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:NP-87.jpg