Aesop
|
Greece

The Crow and The Serpent

A hungry crow pounces on a basking snake, gets bitten by its venomous fangs, and dies, regretting its foolish decision.
Regret
Consequences
Choice
Aesop's Fables - The Crow and The Serpent
Audio available for B1 version

Once upon a time, a hungry crow was flying over a field in search of food. As it soared through the sky, it spotted a serpent basking in the sun, lying still and motionless on the ground. The crow, delighted at the prospect of an easy meal, dove down and pounced on the serpent.

The crow swiftly attacked the serpent with its sharp talons, but the serpent quickly woke up and retaliated by biting the crow with its venomous fangs. The crow, realizing its mistake, struggled to break free, but it was too late. The serpent's venom had already coursed through its body, and the crow fell to the ground, lifeless.

Thus, the serpent slithered away, content and satisfied, while the unfortunate crow lay dead on the ground, regretting its foolish decision.

Once upon a time, in a field that was sooo bo-ring, a peckish crow was flying around, doing the whole "Where’s my lunch?" thing. You know, up, down, loop-de-loop—just your average crow aerobics. Then, voila! Down below, it saw a serpent just chilling like a cucumber in the sun, not even twitching an eye.

Crow thought, "Oh, boy, oh, boy, oh, boy! It's like a drive-thru, but for birds! Fast food, here I come!" So down it swooped, all ninja-like, ready for its "easy peasy lemon squeezy" meal. As the crow dive-bombed, talons at the ready, the serpent woke up like, "Hey, what's the big idea, mate?" And quicker than you can say "s-s-s-surprise," the serpent gave crow a little nibble with its venomous chompers. Yikes!

Crow was like, "Uh-oh, SpaghettiOs. I've bitten off more than I can chew, haven't I?" It tried to flit away, but those venomous fangs had already done their zappy thing. Crow tumbled down from the sky like a bag of bricks and flopped onto the ground, more lifeless than last year's party balloons. Serpent grinned—or, you know, did whatever it is that snakes do that's like grinning—and said, "I guess you're not such a fast-food fan after all!" Then it slithered away, humming a tune and feeling pretty darn smug, leaving crow on the ground, full of nothing but regrets and some rather unfortunate life choices.

In a field where the sun did gleam,
A crow was flying, lost in a dream.
Below it saw, lying flat and grand,
A snake sunbathing on the soft, warm sand.

"Ah-ha!" thought Crow, "A meal, oh so fine!
That sleeping snake will soon be mine!"
So down it swooped with talons keen,
On the snake who lay there, not so serene.

Crow's sharp claws went tap-tap-tap,
But Snake woke up from its sun-soaked nap.
"Oh no you don't," Snake hissed real loud,
And bit the crow; it wasn't proud.

Crow tried to flee, to fly, to soar,
But alas, it couldn't, not anymore.
The venom worked, oh quick and fast,
Poor Crow's next breath would be its last.

So Snake slithered off, all happy and sly,
As Crow lay still, under the open sky.
And the lesson learned, as clear as day,
Is think twice before you swoop and play.

Share
Feedback

Word Finder

Understanding Questions

Reflection Questions

  1. Why do you think the crow decided to attack the serpent?
  2. How do you think the crow felt when it realized it made a mistake?
  3. Can you think of a time when you or someone else acted without thinking, and it led to a problem?
  4. What does this story teach us about the dangers of making quick decisions without considering the risks?
  5. How can we apply the lesson from this story in our own lives, especially when it comes to thinking before we act?

Fable Quotes

Regret is insight that comes a day too late.
Actions without thought lead to outcomes one can never undo, teaching us the power of consequences.
Every choice made has an end result.
About

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.