short story for kids The Fox and the Crow

The Fox and the Crow

A Fox once saw a Crow fly off with a piece of cheese in its beak and settle on a branch of a tree. "That's for me, as I am a Fox," said Master Reynard, and he walked up to the foot of the tree. "Good-day, Mistress Crow," he cried. "How well you are looking to-day: how glossy your feathers; how bright your eye. I feel sure your voice must surpass that of other birds, just as your figure does; let me hear but one song from you that I may greet you as the Queen of Birds." 

The Crow lifted up her head and began to caw her best, but the moment she opened her mouth the piece of cheese fell to the ground, only to be snapped up by Master Fox. "That will do," said he. "That was all I wanted. In exchange for your cheese I will give you a piece of advice for the future:

"Do not trust flatterers."

 

short story for kids The Little Red Hen

The Little Red Hen

The little Red Hen was in the farmyard with her chickens, when she found a grain of wheat.

 

"Who will plant this wheat?" she said.

 

"Not I," said the Goose.

 

"Not I," said the Duck.

 

"I will, then," said the little Red Hen, and she planted the grain of wheat.

 

When the wheat was ripe she said, "Who will take this wheat to the mill?"

 

"Not I," said the Goose.

 

"Not I," said the Duck.

 

"I will, then," said the little Red Hen, and she took the wheat to the mill.

 

When she brought the flour home she said, "Who will make some bread with this flour?"

 

"Not I," said the Goose.

 

"Not I," said the Duck.

 

"I will, then," said the little Red Hen.

 

When the bread was baked, she said, "Who will eat this bread?"

 

"I will," said the Goose

 

"I will," said the Duck

 

"No, you won't," said the little Red Hen. "I shall eat it myself.  Cluck! cluck!"  And she called her chickens to help her.

  

short story for kids The City Mouse and The Country Mouse

 The City Mouse  and The Country Mouse

Once a little mouse who lived in the country invited a little Mouse from the city to visit him.  When the little City Mouse  sat down to dinner he was surprised to find that the Country Mouse had nothing to eat except barley and grain.

"Really," he said, "you do not live well at all; you should see how I live!  I have all sorts of fine things to eat every day.  You must come to visit me and see how nice it is to live in the city."
  
The little Country Mouse was glad to do this, and after a while he went to the city to visit his friend.  

The very first place that the City Mouse took the Country Mouse to see was the kitchen cupboard of the house where he lived.  There, on the lowest shelf, behind some stone jars, stood a big paper bag of brown sugar.  The little City Mouse gnawed a hole in the bag and invited his friend to nibble for himself.  

The two little mice nibbled and nibbled, and the Country Mouse thought he had never tasted anything so delicious in his life.  He was just thinking how lucky the City Mouse was, when suddenly the door opened with a bang, and in came the cook to get some flour.

"Run!" whispered the City Mouse. And they ran as fast as they could to the little hole where they had come in.  The little Country Mouse was shaking all over when they got safely away, but the little City Mouse said, "That is nothing; she will soon go away and then we can go back."

After the cook had gone away and shut the door they stole softly back, and this time the City Mouse had something new to show: he took the little Country Mouse into a corner on the top shelf, where a big jar of dried prunes stood open.  After much tugging and pulling they got a large dried prune out of the jar on to the shelf and began to nibble at it.  This was even better than the brown sugar.  The little Country Mouse liked the taste so much that he could hardly nibble fast enough. But all at once, in the midst of their eating, there came a scratching at the door and a sharp, loud MIAOUW!  

"What is that?" said the Country Mouse.  The City Mouse just whispered, "Sh!" and ran as fast as he could to the hole.  

The Country Mouse ran after, you may be sure, as fast as HE could.  As soon as they were out of danger the City Mouse  said, "That was the old Cat; she is the best mouser in town,--if she once gets you, you are lost."   

"This is very terrible," said the little Country Mouse; "let us not go back to the cupboard again."

"No," said the City Mouse, "I will take you to the cellar; there is something especial there."

So the City Mouse took his little friend down the cellar stairs and into a big cupboard where there were many shelves.  On the shelves were jars of butter, and cheeses in bags and out of bags.  Overhead hung bunches of sausages, and there were spicy apples in barrels standing about.  It smelled so good that it went to the little Country Mouse's head.  He ran along the shelf and nibbled at a cheese here, and a bit of butter there, until he saw an especially rich, very delicious-smelling piece of cheese on a queer little stand in a corner. He was just on the point of putting his teeth into the cheese when the City Mouse saw him.  


"Stop! stop!" cried the City Mouse. "That is a trap!"

The little Country Mouse stopped and said, "What is a trap?"

"That thing is a trap," said the little City Mouse.  "The minute you touch the cheese with your teeth something comes down on your head hard, and you're dead."  

The little Country Mouse looked at the trap, and he looked at the cheese, and he looked at the little City Mouse.  "If you'll excuse me," he said, "I think I will go home.  I'd rather have barley and grain to eat and eat it in peace and comfort, than have brown sugar and dried prunes and cheese,--and be frightened to death all the time!"  


So the little Country Mouse went back to his home, and there he stayed all the rest of his life.

short story The Little Pink Rose

The Little Pink Rose

Once there was a little pink Rosebud, and she lived down in a little dark house under the ground.  One day she was sitting there, all by herself, and it was very still.  Suddenly, she heard a little TAP, TAP, TAP, at the door.

"Who is that?" she said.

"It's the Rain, and I want to come in;" said a soft, sad, little voice.

"No, you can't come in," the little Rosebud said.

By and by she heard another little TAP, TAP, TAP on the window pane.

"Who is there?" she said.

The same soft little voice answered, "It's the Rain, and I want to come in!"

"No, you can't come in," said the little Rosebud.

Then it was very still for a long time.  At last, there came a little rustling, whispering sound, all round the window: RUSTLE, WHISPER, WHISPER.

"Who is there?" said the little Rosebud.

"It's the Sunshine," said a little, soft, cheery voice, "and I want to come in!"

"N--no," said the little pink rose, "you can't come in."  And she sat still again.

Pretty soon she heard the sweet little rustling noise at the key-hole.

"Who is there?" she said.

"It's the Sunshine," said the cheery little voice, "and I want to come in, I want to come in!"

"No, no," said the little pink rose, "you cannot come in."

By and by, as she sat so still, she heard TAP, TAP, TAP, and RUSTLE, WHISPER, RUSTLE, all up and down the window pane, and on the door, and at the key-hole.

"WHO IS THERE?" she said.

"It's the Rain and the Sun, the Rain and the Sun," said two little voices, together, "and we want to come in!  We want to come in!  We want to come in!"

"Dear, dear!" said the little Rosebud, "if there are two of you, I s'pose I shall have to let you in."

So she opened the door a little wee crack, and in they came.  And one took one of her little hands, and the other took her other little hand, and they ran, ran, ran with her, right up to the top of the ground.  Then they said,--

"Poke your head through!"

So she poked her head through; and she was in the midst of a beautiful garden.  It was springtime, and all the other flowers had their heads poked through; and she was the prettiest little pink rose in the whole garden!