The Oak and the Reeds
- 2 minute read
- Ages 6-10
- Aesop's Fables
A great oak grew on a riverbank, and at its foot, right at the water's edge, grew a bed of thin reeds.
The oak was enormous. Its trunk was wider than three men could reach around and its roots went down further than anyone could dig.
The oak's opinion
"I do not understand you," the oak said to the reeds one day. "Look at you. The smallest breeze comes along and you bend flat. A sparrow lands on you and you bow. Have you no strength at all?"
"Very little," said the reeds.
"I have never bent in my life," said the oak. "Not once. Whatever comes, I stand."
"We know," said the reeds. "We have watched you do it."
The storm
That night a storm came up the valley.
It was not an ordinary storm. The wind came off the hills in one long roar and hit the river bank without stopping.
The reeds went flat. They lay down along the ground with the water and let the whole thing pass over the top of them, and when the wind eased for a second they came halfway up, and when it came again they went down.
The oak did what it had always done. It stood.
It stood against the first hour of it, and it was still standing at midnight, and the wind kept coming and the oak did not give an inch, because that was the only thing it knew how to do.
Just before dawn there was a sound like something enormous tearing.
The morning
The reeds came up at sunrise, wet and battered and whole.
The oak was lying across the bank with its roots in the air, and the hole where it had been was full of river water.
It had not bent. That was the trouble.
Moral of the story
Knowing when to give way is a kind of strength. The thing that never bends is the thing that breaks.
Questions and answers
- What did the oak think of the reeds?
He thought they were weak because they bent at the slightest breeze and even when a small bird landed on them.
- What was the oak proud of?
That he had never bent in his life, and always stood firm no matter what came against him.
- How did the reeds survive the storm?
They lay flat along the ground and let the wind pass over them, rising a little whenever it eased.
- Why did the oak fall?
He refused to bend at all, so the full force of the wind worked against him until his roots tore out of the ground.
- What is the difference between the oak's strength and the reeds' strength?
The oak's strength was resistance, which had a limit. The reeds' strength was flexibility, which had none.
Word meanings
- reeds
- Tall thin plants that grow in or near water.
- trunk
- The thick main stem of a tree.
- eased
- Became less strong or less severe.
- battered
- Damaged by being hit repeatedly.
Questions about The Oak and the Reeds
What is the moral of The Oak and the Reeds?
The moral is that flexibility can outlast rigid strength. Being willing to give way is not weakness; it is often what keeps you standing.
How can children apply this fable?
In arguments, in sport and in schoolwork, being willing to adapt or accept a correction usually works better than refusing to move at all.
Is the oak foolish or brave?
Both, which is why the fable lasts. He is genuinely strong and genuinely admirable, and it is exactly that quality that destroys him.
Does this fable appear in other cultures?
Yes. Very similar stories about bending versus breaking appear in Chinese, Indian and Persian traditions, often using bamboo instead of reeds.