The Old Man Who Fed the Pigeons
- 3 minute read
- Ages 5-9
- Bedtime Stories
There was a square in the middle of the town with a fountain that had not worked for years, and an old man came every morning at seven and fed the pigeons.
He brought grain in a cloth bag, the same amount every day, and he sat on the same bench and scattered it in the same way: a handful out to the far side first, then closer, then at his own feet last.
He had done it for a very long time.
The order
The order mattered and he had worked it out himself.
If you throw the grain at your feet first, the big confident pigeons come in and take all of it, and the small ones and the slow ones and the one with the bad foot never get anywhere near.
If you throw it far out first, the confident ones go for it, and while they are out there you can put some down closer for the second lot, and then a little at your own feet for the ones who will not go into a crowd at all.
Nobody had told him this. He had watched them for about a month when he first started and then changed how he did it.
The one with the bad foot
There was a pigeon with a damaged foot who could not compete for anything.
She came every day and stood a little apart and waited, and he always kept a small handful back until the others had scattered, and put it down about a metre from her, which was close enough for her to reach and far enough that she did not panic.
This took an extra four or five minutes each morning and he was in no hurry.
The bench
People walked through that square all day and most of them had seen him at some point without particularly noticing.
He did not talk to anybody. He was not lonely, exactly; he had a daughter who came on Sundays. He simply had a thing that he did in the mornings, and he did it properly, and then he went home and had his breakfast.
Winter
In the cold months he came anyway.
The square was empty and grey and the fountain had ice on it, and there were fewer pigeons, and he sat on the same bench in a heavy coat and did the same three throws in the same order.
And the pigeon with the bad foot got her handful last, a metre away, exactly as always.
Nobody was watching. That was rather the point.
Moral of the story
He worked out the order by watching for a month and then did it that way for years. Nobody ever knew he was doing anything more complicated than throwing grain, and the extra four minutes were the whole thing.
Questions and answers
- What did the old man do every morning?
He came to the square at seven and fed the pigeons with grain from a cloth bag.
- In what order did he scatter the grain?
Far out first, then closer, then at his own feet last.
- Why did the order matter?
Throwing it at his feet first would let the biggest, boldest pigeons take everything before the small or slow ones could reach it.
- How had he worked this out?
He watched the pigeons for about a month when he first started and then changed his method.
- What did he do for the pigeon with the bad foot?
He kept a small handful back until the others scattered and put it down a metre from her, close enough to reach but not close enough to frighten her.
Word meanings
- scattered
- Thrown about in different directions.
- confident
- Sure of yourself and not afraid.
- compete
- To try to get something that others also want.
- panic
- Sudden uncontrollable fear.
Questions about The Old Man Who Fed the Pigeons
What is the moral of this story?
That thinking carefully about how you help changes who actually receives it. Throwing the same grain in a different order fed entirely different birds.
Why does the story say nobody was watching?
Because that is the point being made. He carried on doing the careful version in an empty square in winter, with nobody to see it.
Is this a good bedtime story?
Yes. Nothing happens, nobody is at risk, and it ends on a quiet winter morning.
What is a good question afterwards?
Ask the child how they would share something so that the quietest person in the room still got some.