Section 5
The Crow and the Pitcher explained simply
Aesop's Fables by Aesop
Original excerpt
Excerpt preview
A thirsty Crow found a Pitcher with some water in it, but so little was there that, try as she might, she could not reach it with her beak, and it seemed as though she would die of thirst within sight of the remedy. At last she hit upon a clever plan. She began dropping pebbles into the...
Read full original text in reading mode
Public-domain original
A thirsty Crow found a Pitcher with some water in it, but so little
was there that, try as she might, she could not reach it with her
beak, and it seemed as though she would die of thirst within sight of
the remedy. At last she hit upon a clever plan. She began dropping
pebbles into the Pitcher, and with each pebble the water rose a little
higher until at last it reached the brim, and the knowing bird was
enabled to quench her thirst.
Necessity is the mother of invention.
Public-domain original text shown for study context.
What happens here
A thirsty crow drops pebbles into a pitcher until the water rises high enough to drink.
Why this scene matters
This fable matters because it teaches practical problem-solving through patience and small steps.
Characters in this scene
- The Crow: The thirsty bird who solves the problem.
- The pitcher: The container with water too low to reach at first.
Simple story version
A crow cannot reach water in a pitcher. She drops pebbles in one by one until the water rises.