Section 155

The Farmer and the Stork explained simply

Aesop's Fables by Aesop

Original excerpt

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A Farmer set some traps in a field which he had lately sown with corn, in order to catch the cranes which came to pick up the seed. When he returned to look at his traps he found several cranes caught, and among them a Stork, which begged to be let go, and said, "You ought not to...
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Public-domain original

A Farmer set some traps in a field which he had lately sown with corn, in order to catch the cranes which came to pick up the seed. When he returned to look at his traps he found several cranes caught, and among them a Stork, which begged to be let go, and said, "You ought not to kill me: I am not a crane, but a Stork, as you can easily see by my feathers, and I am the most honest and harmless of birds." But the Farmer replied, "It's nothing to me what you are: I find you among these cranes, who ruin my crops, and, like them, you shall suffer." If you choose bad companions no one will believe that you are anything but bad yourself.

Public-domain original text shown for study context.

What happens here

A stork caught with cranes is punished for the company he kept.

Why this scene matters

This fable teaches that being with wrongdoers can make innocence hard to prove.

Characters in this scene

  • Farmer: A central figure in the fable’s conflict and lesson.
  • the Stork: A central figure in the fable’s conflict and lesson.

Simple story version

A stork says he is not like the cranes stealing seed. The farmer answers that he was caught with them.