The Oak and the Reeds

Name: The Oak and the Reeds
Author: Aesop

Aesop B1 Fable

A free B1-level English story for language learners, readable online in 7 languages, with an option to listen via the free Storyteller app.

Level: B1
Genres: Fable
Reading time: 1 min
Languages available: EN, VI, ES, ZH, PT, HI, ID

A mighty Oak mocks the slender Reeds for bending before every storm — until a raging gale tests which of them really knows how to survive.

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An Oak that grew on the bank of a river was uprooted by a severe gale of wind, and thrown across the stream. It fell among some Reeds growing by the water, and said to them, "How is it that you, who are so frail and slender, have managed to weather the storm, whereas I, with all my strength, have been torn up by the roots and hurled into the river?" "You were stubborn," came the reply, "and fought against the storm, which proved stronger than you: but we bow and yield to every breeze, and thus the gale passed harmlessly over our heads."

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What happens to the Oak during the storm?
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Answer: It is uprooted and thrown into the river
A severe gale uproots the Oak and hurls it across the stream into the river.
Why do the Reeds survive the same storm unharmed?
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Answer: They bend and yield to the wind instead of fighting it
The Reeds explain that they bow and yield to every breeze, so the gale passes harmlessly over them.
What does the Oak say to the Reeds right after it falls?
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Answer: It asks how such frail, slender plants survived when it did not
The fallen Oak asks how the frail, slender Reeds withstood the storm when its own great strength could not.
What is the moral of the fable?
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Answer: It is sometimes wiser to bend than to stubbornly resist
The Reeds' reply shows that yielding to a force too strong to fight can succeed where stubborn resistance fails.

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