The Crow and the Pitcher: a book club kit

Where it comes from. Aesop, a storyteller in Greece, told this about 2,600 years ago. Real crows can do this trick too!

In short (for the leader; it gives the ending away). A thirsty crow finds a jug with a little water at the bottom, too low for his beak to reach. He cannot tip the jug over, so he drops in small rocks, one at a time. The water rises until he can take a long, cool drink.

The lesson, in one line. Think it through, and keep at it a little at a time.

Reading plan. Read it together at the meeting: about 2 minutes aloud, or ahead of time at home.

Questions to talk about

1. Is The Crow and the Pitcher a true story?
   The story's answer: The story is a fable, but birds really can do this. In 2009, researchers at the University of Cambridge gave four rooks, which are relatives of crows, a tube of water with a worm floating on top, and the rooks dropped in stones until the worm was in reach. In 2014 a study of New Caledonian crows found they dropped stones into water rather than sand, and chose sinking objects over floating ones, though they failed two harder tests. The authors compared their understanding to that of children aged 5 to 7.
2. What is the moral of The Crow and the Pitcher?
   The story's answer: Tellers have drawn different lessons from it. The Latin poet Avianus took it to show that thoughtfulness beats brute strength, and some later versions say “necessity is the mother of invention.” In this telling Crow solves the problem by thinking, and then by working a little at a time.
3. Who wrote The Crow and the Pitcher?
   The story's answer: It is one of Aesop's fables, and no one knows who first told it. The Roman writer Pliny the Elder wrote about a thirsty crow and an urn in his Natural History, and the Latin poet Avianus put the fable into verse around the 4th or 5th century. This page is a retelling in Peabody's own words.
4. Do you agree with the lesson? Can you think of a time it would not be true?
   Listen for: Any answer with a reason is a good one; listen for a real example from their own lives.
5. Which animal would you rather be in this story, and why?
   Listen for: Children often pick the winner; ask what the other animal could have done differently.
6. If you told this fable with people instead of animals, who would they be?
   Listen for: A way into why fables use animals: everyone can see themselves in them.

Did you know?

• One of Aesop's fables, the animal stories of ancient Greece. No one knows who first told this one.
• The Roman writer Pliny the Elder wrote of a thirsty crow piling stones into an urn to bring the water within reach, in his Natural History.
• The Latin poet Avianus put the fable into verse around the 4th or 5th century.

Activity: Act it out, then swap the ending

Two readers play the animals and the rest are the narrator. Then play it again where the other animal wins: what is the lesson now?