The Crows and the Snake: a gentle retelling, the moral and questions

The story, retold

Once upon a time, two crows lived in a tall banyan tree. But in a hollow at the bottom of the same tree lived a snake. Each time the mother crow laid her eggs, the snake slithered up while the crows were away and the eggs were gone.

The crows were very sad. They could not fight a snake, and they did not want to leave their tree. So the father crow asked an old friend, a wise fox (in some tellings a jackal), what to do.

The fox listened quietly and then said, "You are not strong enough to beat the snake, but you are clever enough to outwit it. Where does a snake worry most? Where there are people with sticks. Let us make the king's guards your helpers."

Here is the plan. The mother crow flew to a lake where the royal family was bathing. Beside the water lay a shiny gold chain on the bank. She swooped down, picked it up in her beak and flew off, cawing loudly. The guards saw it and ran after her, shouting.

The crow flew straight to the banyan tree and dropped the chain into the snake's hollow. Then she hopped to a branch far away and watched. The guards ran up, peeped into the hollow and saw the chain glittering there. They also saw the snake. They made so much noise that the snake slid away, never to return. The guards took back the gold chain and went home.

The crows were safe at last. They built their nest again, and this time the eggs hatched.

A note for grown-ups: in the traditional telling the guards deal with the snake more firmly. We keep it gentle here and simply say that the snake left for good.

What is the moral?

The classic moral is that cleverness is worth more than strength. The crows were small, but they stopped, thought and asked for advice, and that solved the problem.

Think before you act

The crows could have scolded the snake or flown away in a panic. Instead they made a plan, and the plan worked.

Ask a wise friend

A good friend saw what the crows could not.

Meet the characters

The father and mother crow

They are gentle parents who feel helpless at first, then brave once they have a plan.

The snake

The snake is strong and sly, and it thinks nobody can stop it. It never imagined that two small birds could be a problem for it.

The wise fox (or jackal)

This friend is the thinker of the tale: a fox in some tellings and a jackal in others, which shows how the details change from teller to teller.

Questions to ask, by age

For ages five and six

• Where did the crows build their nest?
• What did the mother crow pick up from the lake?
• Who gave the crows the idea?

For ages seven to nine

• Why could the crows not simply fight the snake?
• Why was asking the fox a wise thing to do?
• Can you think of a time you solved a problem by thinking instead of pushing?

Where does the story come from?

The tale of the crows and the snake is listed in the Panchatantra, the old collection of Indian animal fables. It also appears in the Hitopadesha, a related collection. Some tellers use a gold chain, others a necklace, and the helper can be a fox or a jackal.

More to explore on Rangooo

Browse the Panchatantra stories, try the story picker or the moral quiz, read the Blue Jackal and Talkative Tortoise guides, or learn to tell moral stories.

Questions

What is the moral of the Crows and the Snake story?

Cleverness is worth more than strength. The small crows could not beat the snake by force, but a good plan made with a wise friend's help solved their problem.

Is the Crows and the Snake a Panchatantra story?

Yes. It is listed among the Panchatantra stories, and it also appears in the Hitopadesha. Tellers differ on the details, such as the helper being a fox or a jackal.

Who helped the crows?

A wise fox (in some tellings a jackal). The crows were not strong enough to fight the snake, so they went to this wise friend, who thought of a clever plan.

How did the crows get rid of the snake?

The mother crow took a gold chain and dropped it into the snake's hollow. The royal guards who followed it found the snake there, and it left for good.