Introduction
“Will you tell me a story?”
Every evening at bedtime, children around the world ask to be told a story. It’s part of a ritual that helps them relax into a peaceful night’s sleep.
Fairy tales and fables are perfect for this, leading children on an adventure full of unforgettable characters, emotions, and magic, yet also helping soothe and calm them.
The tales in this book are no exception, and they have two other benefits: First, they all tell the adventures of smart or foolish animals, but all, without exception, are funny. Second, they can all be read in five minutes, making it easy to fit in story time at the end of a busy day.
The Sated Wolf
One day, a wolf came across the catch of a hunter, carelessly left under a tree. What a wonderful day! He stole the bounty, eating a feast worthy of a great king. Sated and fully satisfied, he then went into the woods for a healthy walk to burn off the extra calories. After a while, a young sheep appeared in his path, having carelessly wandered away from her flock. The poor thing was half scared to death when she saw the wolf, and she froze in her tracks, unable to escape. After all, the wolf had a well-deserved reputation for being an insatiable predator. So, in part by instinct and in part not to lose face, he pounced on the sheep, holding her still with his claws. But as he looked at her trembling, he realized that he wasn’t even really hungry, having eaten until he was about to burst not long before. So, how could he do it? What justification could he find for letting his prey go without the other beasts of the woods questioning his hard-earned reputation? He came up with a very unique solution indeed. He said to the sheep, “Today I am feeling extraordinarily generous, so I will let you go. But first you must make three wishes. If I judge them to be intelligent, I will let you go.”
Already resigned to her sad fate, the sheep didn’t quite know what to make of the wolf’s request. She thought about it for a moment and then answered, “First of all, I wish I had never met you. Second, if this absolutely had to happen, I would have wished that you were blind. But since the first two wishes were not granted, I wish for a sad fate to befall you and all wolves, since you have made life impossible for me, my friends, and so many other animals of the forest who have never done anything to hurt you!”
The wolf was surprised by the sheep’s response, but instead of getting angry as you might expect, he replied calmly, “You were very brave to tell me what you really think. For that reason alone, I will let you go!”
With that, he let go of the sheep and walked away.
So, what’s the moral of the story? That smart people can always appreciate honesty without being offended by criticism.
The Fox and the Leopard
On a cool spring day, a fox and a leopard met as they were scouring the forest for food.
They said hello, then looked at each other thoughtfully. The fox’s fur was tawny and glossy, and his tail was nothing short of majestic. His dark, sharp eyes stood out on his small face.
The leopard was slender, but sturdy, powerful, elegant, and lofty. And his coat! What a treat. Spots harmoniously covered his shiny fur, playing with the sun’s rays as they filtered through the branches of the trees.
It was clear that each one thought he was more beautiful than the other.
And so, having guessed what the fox was thinking, the leopard said, “You can’t possibly think you can compete with me in terms of beauty. That’s impossible! Look at me: I’m strong, but well-proportioned. My fur is the finest in the entire forest. Even the sun shines on my spots to admire them better!”
The fox smiled and then replied, “You must be joking. Look at me: My fur is thick and shiny, it is the warm color of gold, capturing the tones of the sun at sunset. When it comes to elegance, I am second to none. Besides, you couldn’t possibly think of comparing your miserable tail to mine, could you?”
The leopard laughed scornfully, making it clear he didn’t agree at all.
With a sigh, he replied, “That’s nothing! I will always be stronger and more beautiful than you.”
The fox realized that, if they focused only on physical qualities, the debate would go on forever. So, he made the leopard an offer: “My dear friend, I have a quality with which you can never compete. It is the beauty of the mind: intelligence.”
And with that, he walked away, leaving the leopard speechless.
Tug-of-War
For some time, a small turtle had been wandering around the forest, boasting that he was stronger and more powerful than both the elephant and the hippopotamus.
Rumors in the forest, as you know, spread quickly from branch to branch, and these particular rumors soon reached the ears of the two big animals. They had a good laugh at the vain turtle, contemptuously calling him a small, insignificant creature.
Just as quickly, their snide remarks reached the turtle, who vowed to take revenge on the two arrogant beasts. “I’ll make them regret it!” he exclaimed angrily, already thinking of a plan of attack.
Slowly (as you know, speed is not the turtle’s forte), he set off toward the river, where the elephant and hippo spent their days.
He came across the elephant first, standing under the shade of a large tree. The turtle walked right up and shouted, “Who do you think you are?! How dare you call me insignificant? Now I’ll prove that I’m just as strong as you are. Are you up for a challenge?”
The elephant looked down. He was amazed to see the turtle, and even more amazed at what he was hearing.
Once he got over his initial shock, he chuckled, “I don’t know what’s on your mind, so tell me what you think we should do.”
“I propose a tug-of-war,” replied the little turtle.
“Tug-of-war? Are you sure about that?”
“Of course,” replied the turtle. “Don’t tell me you’re afraid!”
The Horse and the Fox
There once was an old horse who lived on a farm, where he had served his owner tirelessly for years. He had pulled the plow to till the fields for many, many seasons; he had pulled the cart laden with goods to market in the stifling heat of summer and the frost of winter. He always went the extra mile, and never once did he complain. Now he was growing long in the tooth, and he was no longer able to do all the things he once could. So, what would you expect his owner to do? You would think the farmer would be grateful, that he would set him up in a comfortable stall and take care of him, right? Quite the contrary. He cruelly kicked the horse off the farm, saying that there was no room for those who couldn’t pull their weight. He added with a sneer, “If you can prove that you’re as strong as a lion, you can come back!”
The poor horse sadly said goodbye to his barnyard friends, the same ones with whom he had shared so many years of hard work, but also so much joy. With that, he left. He walked down the road, deep in thought: What would become of him now?
When he reached the edge of the forest, he came across a fox, who asked him why he was so sad. The horse told the fox his story, and the fox, after thinking about it a bit, asked, “Are you sure the farmer didn’t give you a way to keep working for him?”
“Oh, sure!” replied the horse wryly. “He told me I could come back if I proved I was as strong as a lion!”
The Jaguar, the Fire, and the Rain
One day, a jaguar was walking through the forest with his head held high. He knew he was strong and feared by all, which made him extremely proud. Along a narrow path, he came across a strange, very small creature. The oddest thing about it was the basket full of fish on its back.
“Who are you?” he asked arrogantly.
“I am fire,” the creature replied quietly.
The jaguar looked at it, confused. Why didn’t it flee from him, like all the other animals? He then asked, “You do know who I am, don’t you? Aren’t you afraid of me?”
“No, why should I fear you?”
“What do you mean? Because I am the jaguar!” and with a forceful swipe of his paw he smashed a large branch to smithereens.
“Now that you’ve seen how strong I am, if you don’t want to meet the same fate as that branch, give me the basket of fish on your back. Now!” he snarled.
The fire said nothing and handed the jaguar what he asked for, then closed in on itself, becoming a tiny glowing ember.
The beast pounced on that ember to put it out, but as soon as he touched it, it turned into a big flame.
The jaguar yelped in pain and turned away in shock, quickly climbing a tree and looking at his paws, which had become strangely blackened, just like the paws of all jaguars today.
“Why do you flee in fear?” the fire then said to him. “Did you not claim to be stronger than me and all the other creatures?”
The fire slowly approached the tree’s roots, burning them, then climbed up the trunk and gradually to the higher branches.
Terrified, the jaguar managed to save himself with a leap. He then jumped atop a cluster of boulders, which he believed were unassailable by fire.
The Bird that Wanted to Neigh
Long ago, kites, like all other birds, had their own song. It wasn’t particularly beautiful, but it got the job done. An envious animal by nature, one particular kite resented all his fellow birds, some for their colorful plumage, like parrots; some for their imposing, regal appearance, like eagles; and others, like the nightingale, for their sweet, harmonious song. But the thing he wanted most was to have a rich, resounding voice that could be heard by all.
One hot day, while the kite was resting on a branch, a horse walked by looking for the shade of a tree to cool off in. By accident, the animal pricked itself on a thorn and let out a loud whinny, which echoed far and wide. The bird was ecstatic; that was just the voice he wanted!
From then on, the kite began practicing that wonderful sound. But no matter how much he tried, he made no progress and just ended up with a sore throat! Eventually, disappointed, he gave up and decided he would settle for his own unremarkable voice.
But a nasty surprise awaited him; his throat, irritated and sore from all those useless attempts at imitating the horse, would produce nothing other than a feeble, hoarse croaking sound. He was doomed to have that terrible voice forever!
After learning that hard lesson, the foolish kite realized that there is no point in trying to change one’s nature by imitating others. The best thing to do is work on improving the qualities you do have, without envying others!
The Crow and the Fox
Perched on the branch of a tree, a crow was carefully looking on the ground below for something to eat. Finally, not far away, he saw a farmer’s cart pass by, headed to the market, carrying loads of products from the farm. In other words, an opportunity not to be missed! The crow took flight, glided over to the cart, stole a big piece of cheese, and quickly returned to his branch.
He was looking forward to a delicious meal, when a fox came along and, seeing the crow with cheese in his beak, thought, “What a tasty morsel! That’s right up my alley!”
However, because the crow was too high up for him to reach, he had to come up with a clever plan!
He stopped under the branch and said, “I never realized how shiny your feathers are! Not to mention the way you carry yourself! You are so handsome and regal. No one would be better suited to be king of the birds than you!”
The crow, who was a little wary at first, knowing the fox’s reputation, soon took a liking to all that flattery.
“That’s right. No one else would be better suited to be king of the birds, if only you also had a nice voice!” the fox continued.
With that, the fox had the crow hook, line, and sinker! Wanting to prove he also had a great singing voice, the crow opened its beak to emit its rather awful “caw-caw” and accidentally dropped the piece of cheese!
The fox, who was waiting for just that, grabbed it and mockingly exclaimed, “My friend, if you had brains as well as beauty, you most certainly would be king!” And with that, he ran happily into the woods.
So, what does this fairy tale teach us? That you should always be wary of people who shower you with too many compliments!
The Hare and the Frogs
Once upon a time, a hare who was afraid of everything lived in the woods. Hares, as you know, are not the bravest of animals and they prefer to flee rather than fight. But this hare was really scared of everything. Plus, she never stopped complaining about the fate of hares everywhere, hunted by hunters, dogs, and birds of prey! In short, life was unbearable!
“No one is more miserable than we are!” she thought to herself as she crossed a clearing. Frightened by a sudden rustle in the bushes, she instinctively ran off at a breakneck speed until she came to a pond. Out of breath, she stopped to regain her strength. What did she see? A few nearby frogs, who were quietly croaking away. They were frightened by her and quickly dove into the water. Surprised, the hare looked at them and thought:
“No, it can’t be! Did they run away because of little old me? Did I really scare them? I certainly am not the scariest animal in the forest. Even they, the frogs, are scarier!”
Having gained a new perspective, the hare hopped off and never complained about her life again, having realized that everyone, really everyone, has their own problems and fears!
