Interesting Stories for
Our Kids
THE
THIRSTY CROW
Once upon a time, there lived a crow in the forest. One day, it flew high up in the sky and flew and flew while it was on a journey.
Then
it felt a lot of thirst. Despite the fact that it sought water from everywhere,
it could not see any sign of water. However, the crow has not lost all hope but
continued with the search for water.
Eventually,
it has seen a very beautiful house somewhere in the middle of the forest. There
might be some water in that house. It thought. 'I must go there and look for
water to drink from that house'. The crow decided.
It
landed on the roof of the house and glanced at the compound of the house.
Luckily, the crow saw a pot with some water in it inside the compound. It
landed on the edge of the pot but could not drink the water as the level of the
water was down in the pot. The level of the water was low.
After
so many trials, it could not achieve to reach the water and drink it. The crow
thought hard to find ways and means of drinking that water since there was no
other water available around. Finally, the crow got a very brilliant idea. It
thought of putting some pebbles in it so as to displace the water from down the
pot so as to raise its level up inside the pot.
It
put pebble after pebble after which the water level rose to where it could
drink. The crow was very happy and excited. It laughed a lot with a joy. 'Aah
aaah, aaaah'. It has drunk the water till it quenched its thirst. The
crow's friends arrived and quenched their thirst as well.
So
many other birds arrived, landed and have drunk the water and were happy and
excited as well. They were overjoyed. They thanked the crow for finding the
water and allowing them to drink and quench their thirst as well.
They
flew to their destinations while very happy.
Questions:
1.
After feeling thirsty, what did the crow do?
2.
From where has the crow sought water?
3.What
has the crow eventually seen?
4.Why
has the crow put some pebbles into the pot?
5.
Once it quenched its thirst, what has the crow done?
6.
For what reason have the other birds came there as well?
7.
Why have the other birds thanked the crow?
8.
What lesson can be learnt from this story?
The
Greedy Dog
Once upon a time, there lived a greedy dog. His name was Mooge.
One day Mooge decided to look for ample food that can satisfy
it. After a long search, the dog found a bone of a cow with some meat on it.
The dog picked the bone with its mouth. No one else was there to
claim the bone. There was no scramble for the bone. There was no other animal
around to scramble for the same bone. Therefore, Mooge was probably the lucky
one. The dog therefore run away with the bone while it was very happy and
delighted.
It decided to go to a very conducive place where it could calmly
eat the bone with no one else making noise around. It did not want anyone else
to scramble for the same bone.
It walked and walked and finally arrived at bridge on a river.
It decided to cross the river. In the middle of the bridge, it stood because it
saw its shadow in the water of the river down there. It thought that there was
another dog carrying another bone inside the water.
It decided to also get that imaginary bone. It was irritated
towards its shadow, 'wah,wah, wah, wah wah wah'. It barked very loudly.
Hurrah, immediately it opened the mouth, the bone it was holding with its mouth
fell into the river 'tumbuluw'.
It had sunk into the water of the river. It disappeared like
that. It became very angry and sad.
It lost its bone.
Questions
1. What was the name of the greedy dog?
2. What kind of food did the dog get?
3. Was there any other animal around to claim or scramble for
the same bone?
4. Eventually, where has the dog arrived?
5. What has it seen inside the river water?
6. What happened when the dog opened its mouth to bark?
7. What does the word ‘greedy’ mean?
8. What other title would you give this story?
THE HARE AND THE TORTOISE
Once upon a time, there was a hare who was quick and speedy when running. He used to boast that no one could beat him in a race.
'I
can cover a long distance within a short period of time'. That is what it used
to say. However, tortoise who is known for slowness could NOT withstand the
boastful hare's remark. He was overwhelmed by the hare's mentality. So, the
tortoise challenged the hare to a race between them.
'Let's
compete each other in a marathon so that we can know who wins'. The tortoise
suggested and the hare accepted in a shock. All the wildlife animals decided to
become their spectators.
They
included, the lion, the cheetah, the Leopard, the tiger, hyena, the wolf, the
elephant, the Buffalo, the hippo, the rhino, you name them. One, two,
three, set, go! The hare was ahead the tortoise a way away when it sat under a
tree to rest. After all, the tortoise was much slower.
He
thought when the tortoise was nearer, it would dash and finish the race before
it. The hare glance back and said, 'how do you expect to win this race with
that slow pace? Hhhh, you can't'. But he thought he could even take
a nap but suddenly fell asleep.
The
hare thought it had ample time to rest and sleep briefly. But the tortoise
never slept or stopped. It walked and walked up until it crossed the finishing
line. All of the other animals clapped for the success of the tortoise in the
race.
They
cheered loudly in that the hare woke up, stretched and yawned. 'AAAH'.
It dashed towards the finishing line, but it was too late. Alas, the tortoise
was already on the other side of the finishing line. The other animals started
teasing it and praised the tortoise.
The
hare has never again in its life boasted that it could run faster than any
other animal.
Questions:
1. How fast was the hare? Was he faster than other animals especially
the tortoise?
2.
How has the hare boasted before the race?
3.
The tortoise could not withstand what?
4.
What has the tortoise suggested?
5.
Which animals have come to watch the race between the hare and the tortoise?
6.
Why do you think the hare thought it had an ample time to rest or take a nap?
7.
How far has the tortoise gone in the race?
8.
Why have the other animals cheered?
9.
After it has woken up, what has the hare done?
10.
Why have the other animals teased the hare?
11.
Has the hare never boasted again or it continued to boast even after the race?
THE STORY OF THE FOX AND THE TORTOISE
Once upon a time, a fox and a tortoise were friends. The area in which they lived has been hit by a severe drought so, they have decided to move in search of a better place to live in.
So, they have
started their journey. They walked for miles and miles across valleys and
deserts. Weeks have turned to months. Then all over sudden, the road they were
travelling on divided into two, a black road and a white one.
On seeing this,
immediately the fox thought the white road would lead to a better place
compared to the other one. ‘I am traveling on the white road, you travel on the
black one' she suggested so for the humble tortoise who accepted it. He decided
to put his faith in the black one.
Each one parted
ways with the other.
After traveling
on the white road for a while, the fox found a half way poorly built shack with
holes all over the walls and the roof. Meanwhile, the tortoise carried on with
the journey on the black road up until he found a very beautiful house, very
warm and very comfortable.
After several weeks, there was a heavy downpour. Rain water from up and its flood have filled the fox's house. It became wet and began to shiver in that it could not withstand the problems there. Thus, the fox decided to go the tortoise's house so as to deceive it and take its good house.
Upon arrival at
he beautiful abode of the tortoise, the fox cunningly said, 'Mr. tortoise, my
house is better than yours. Mine has openings everywhere. If an enemy attacks,
I have an exit every corner unlike yours which has only a door, no other
opening. If an enemy comes through the door, there no other exit for
you'.
'Xoox, xoox,
xoox, xoox'. The tortoise was very frightened. He could not sleep the
entire night. The following night, the tortoise hurriedly came to the fox and
told it, 'I have now accepted. So, let us exchange the houses'.
The fox has
overtaken the nice house of the tortoise!
Questions:
1. Who was the
tortoise's friend?
2. Why have they
decided to move from where they initially lived?
3. Has the
tortoise traveled on the white road or he traveled on the black one?
4. What kind of a
house has the fox gotten?
5. How was the
house the tortoise found?
6. Using your own
words, can you explain how the fox persuaded the tortoise to hand over his
house to the fox in exchange of hers?
7. What do you
think happened to the tortoise after he handed over the possession of his house
to the fox?
8. If you were
the tortoise, what would you do?
THE
CAMEL AND THE FOX
Once upon a time, a camel was the best friend of a fox.
One day, the fox requested from the camel to carry it on its hump
and cross a nearby river with it.
The camel accepted and the fox jumped on the hump of the camel and
sat on there. The camel crossed the river while the fox was on top of its hump.
Once they were there on the other side of the river, the fox shouted. A man who
owned a nearby farm came out and thought the camel was eating the crops in the
farm.
The man held a stick and beat the camel badly. The fox hid under
bushes. The camel yelped with a pain. Afterwards, the fox asked the camel to
take it back across the river once more on the other side where they came from
initially.
The camel accepted it. However, in the middle of the river, the
camel sat. The fox drowned but the camel was not since the camel has a long
tall neck.
QUESTIONS
1. Who was the friend of the camel?
2.Where have the two animals gone to?
3.What happened after the fox shouted?
4. What did the camel do in the middle of the river?
5. What happened to the fox after the camel sat in the middle of
the river?
6.What lesson have you learnt from this story?
THE DONKEY AND THE HYENA
Once upon a time a deceitful hyena asked a donkey to befriend with it.
The
unsuspecting donkey accepted the offer. One day, when they were out there in
the field, the hyena asked the donkey to tell him the part in its body which is
the softest while in return the hyena said it will also tell the donkey that
part that is the softest in its body.
The
unsuspecting donkey though it was true that he was told. But it wanted the
hyena to tell it first where in its body is the softest. However, the cunning
hyena said, it was the head. However, the head is the hardest in the body of
the hyena.
Then
the donkey said, the kidney was the softest in its body. Then the hyena said,
'let each of us hit the softest part of the other so that we can see what
happens'. The donkey was the first to hit the hyena with a kick to the head.
Being
the hardest part of the hyena's body, the hyena did not feel any pain. But it
pretended that it felt a lot of pain. It yelped falsely producing a sharp cry.
Then
it was the turn for the hyena to hit the donkey. It has hit and cut that part
of the skin and flesh above the kidney of the donkey in that the kidney of the
donkey was hurt. It was exposed and finally cut. The donkey died of the injury
it sustained.
The
hyena ate the dead donkey.
QUESTIONS
1.
Who was the friend of the donkey?
2.
What did the hyena asked the donkey to tell it?
3.
Which was the softest part of the donkey?
4.
Was the head the softest part of the hyena?
5.What
did the hyena do when he was hit on the head by the donkey?
6.How
has the hyena attacked the donkey?
7.What
happened to donkey?
8.
What lesson can you learn from this story?
THE STORY OF THE HEN, HARE, THE DOG AND THE CAT
(THE HEN AND THE MAIZE)
Once upon a time
a hen befriended a dog, a cat and a hare.
One of the days,
the hen got a maize on the ground.
The hen decided
to plant the seed so that it can grow to many maize cobs with a lot of maize so
that her friends and she could not be hungry. She wanted her friend to plant
the seed with her, cultivate, water and harvest the maize with her and so on.
The hen
approached her friends and asked them. 'Who will plant the maize with me?' The
hare said 'no, I can't', the dog said, 'no, I can't', the cat said, 'no, I
can't'.
Then, the little
hen planted the maize all alone. She then approached her friends and asked,
'who will water the maize with me?' The hare said 'no, I can't', the dog said,
'no, I can't', the cat said, 'no, I can't'.
The little hen
then headed to the well to fetch water. The hen brought a lot of water and
watered the maize that was growing in her farm.
Then hen then
asked her friends, 'who is willing to cultivate the maize with me' The hare
said 'no, I can't', the dog said, 'no, I can't', the cat said, 'no, I can't'.
The hen then cultivated the maize all alone for many days.
After so many
days, the maize grew and there were many maize cobs on it. Then the hen asked
her friends, 'who is willing to harvest the maize with me?' The hare said 'no,
I can't', the dog said, 'no, I can't', the cat said, 'no, I can't'.
Then, the little
hen harvested the maize all by herself.
The little hen
asked them, 'who is willing to prepare and cook the maize with me? 'The hare
said 'no, I can't', the dog said, 'no, I can't', the cat said, 'no, I can't'.
Then the little
hen prepared the maize and cooked it alone. The hen then asked her friends,
'who will eat the maize with me?' The hare answered, 'me, me!', the dog, 'me,
me!', the cat, 'me, me!'.
The little hen
then said, 'I refused. You will not eat it with me because you refused to plant
it with me, to water it with me, you refused to cultivate, harvest it, prepare
and cook it with me'.
The little hen
told them to forget eating with her'. The hen enjoyed eating her maize all
alone and it lasted for her for so many months and years.
QUESTIONS
1. Who were the
friends of the little hen?
2.How many
friends did the hen have?
3. What did the
hen got?
4. When the hen
asked them to help her, what answer did they give?
5. Finally, did
the hen allow them to eat the maize with her?
6. What lesson
can we learn from this story?
7. Which proverb
applies to this story?













