Aesop
|
Greece

The Dog and The Oyster

A curious dog exploring the beach mistakenly swallows an oyster, thinking it's an egg, but regrets it due to the resulting stomach pain.
Curiosity
Caution
Regret
Aesop's Fables - The Dog and The Oyster
Audio available for B1 version

Once there was a Dog who loved to explore the woods, fields, and beach near his home. He was always curious and liked to discover new things.

One sunny day, as the Dog was walking along the sandy shore, he noticed something strange sticking out of the sand. It looked round and solid, like the eggs he sometimes found in the chicken coop. The Dog got really excited and started digging it up, thinking it would be a delicious treat.

To his surprise, it was an Oyster that had been washed up by the tide. However, the Dog had never seen an oyster before, so he mistook it for a big, juicy egg. He couldn't resist the temptation and quickly swallowed it without thinking twice.

But soon, the Dog started feeling a lot of pain. His belly was hurting badly because the hard Oyster was sitting in his stomach. He realized that his eagerness to eat what he thought was an egg had been a mistake, and he regretted it.

Once upon a time, in a land where dogs wore cool sunglasses and frolicked in the sand, there was this one Dog who was always up for an adventure. He thought of himself as the top dog detective – always sniffing out mysteries and looking for clues.

"Let's see," he mused. "Grass? Did that. Trees? Sniffed them all. The beach? Now we’re talking!"

As he was trotting along the beach, feeling the groove of his own bark-beat, he noticed something peeking out from the sand. "Hmm," he scratched his head, "that looks egg-stravagant!"

Eyes wide, tail wagging, he started digging like it was a game of hide and seek. "I'm the best seeker ever!" he chuckled.

"Ta-da!" he exclaimed, pulling out the mysterious find. It was an Oyster, but our friend Dog had no idea. In his eyes, it was like a shiny, special beach egg. And who wouldn’t want a beach egg, right?

Feeling the rumbles in his tummy, he thought, "It's munch time!" So, imagining a tasty treat, he chomped down in one go.

Uh-oh! It felt like he had swallowed a bouncy ball. "Oooof! That wasn’t soft and fluffy," he whined.

Rubbing his round belly, Dog learned something that day: not everything that glitters is gold, and not everything that looks like a treat... well, treats you right.

With a little wobble and a giggle at his own silliness, our furry hero trotted off, ready for his next big adventure, preferably one that didn't include mystery snacks.

Deep in the woods and past the dunes,
Where the sun always shines, never any monsoons,
Lived a Dog, full of cheer and keen for new sights,
He'd explore all day, from mornings to nights.

By the sea one day, on the sunlit beach,
A mysterious object was within his reach.
It was round and firm, under the sand it lay,
Dog thought it was an egg, hooray!

With joy in his heart and a wag in his tail,
He thought of the treat, without any fail.
Swallowed it whole, with a gulp and a slide,
Only to find an oyster inside!

"Oh dear!" thought the Dog, with a twist and a turn,
"My belly's upset, oh when will I learn?"
It wasn't an egg, as he first believed,
But an oyster that left him feeling quite peeved.

From that day on, he vowed to think twice,
Before eating something, without checking it thrice.
For not all that glitters is golden, you see,
Sometimes it's an oyster, from the deep blue sea.

Share
Feedback

Word Finder

Understanding Questions

Word Finder

Understanding Questions

Reflection Questions

  1. Why do you think the Dog decided to swallow the Oyster so quickly?
  2. How do you think the Dog felt when he realized that what he ate wasn't an egg?
  3. Can you remember a time when you did something quickly, without thinking, and then wished you hadn't?
  4. What does this story teach us about the importance of understanding something before we interact with it?
  5. How can we apply the lesson from this story in our own lives to be more thoughtful and careful about our actions?

Fable Quotes

Curiosity can lead to great discoveries or painful lessons.
Proceed with caution, for not everything is as it seems.
Rash decisions often leave us with a bellyful of regret.
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.