The Elephants and the Mice: the moral, the characters and an untangling game

The story in two lines

A herd of elephants accidentally crushes the homes of some mice, and the mouse king asks them to take a different path, promising to help one day. When hunters trap the elephants in nets, the mice gnaw through the ropes and set them free.

What is the moral?

Children tend to notice different parts of this tale. Here are three ideas to talk about.

No one is too small to help

The elephant king smiled at the idea of tiny mice helping elephants. Yet only the mice could reach the knots and ropes. Size is not the same as usefulness.

Listen when someone asks politely

The mouse king spoke bravely and kindly, and the elephants agreed to change their path. A calm request can solve a problem that anger would not.

Kind acts can come back

The elephants did not move their path in order to be rescued later. They simply listened. Be careful not to turn this into a deal, because the story is about friendship, not payment.

Meet the characters

The mouse king

Small but brave. He walks up to the biggest animals in the forest to speak for his people, and that takes courage.

The elephant king

Strong and kind. He does not brush the mice aside, and later he remembers the promise. Ask children what a good leader does.

The mice

Hundreds of them, working all night together. The story shows how many small hands can finish a very big job.

The hunters

They stay in the background and are never described. If a child finds this part worrying, you can simply say the elephants were caught in nets and soon helped.

Questions to ask, by age

For ages four to six

• Who were bigger, the elephants or the mice?
• What did the mice nibble?
• How do you think the elephants felt when they were free?

For ages seven and up

• Why did the elephant king laugh at first, and why did he agree anyway?
• Can you think of a time when a small helper made a big difference?
• Why did it take many mice and a whole night?
• What does it mean to be big on the inside?

Try it: the untangling game

Take a soft toy, or a doll, and loosely wrap a length of wool around it a few times, with a loose knot at the end. This is the elephant in the net. Do not use rope or anything tight. The children are the mice. Taking turns, each one may undo one wrap or one loop, but only one, so everyone has to help before the elephant is free. When it is done, count how many “mouse turns” it took and talk about how a large task becomes easy when everyone does a little. A grown-up should supervise and keep wool away from the toy’s face and from young children’s necks.

Where does the story come from?

This tale is part of the Panchatantra, the old collection of animal fables credited to Vishnu Sharma. Like other Panchatantra stories, it has been retold in many languages, so the animals’ names, the setting and the way the elephants are caught can differ. Our telling is only one of them. A Hindi version is on हाथी और चूहे.

More to explore on Rangooo

Read about the Talkative Tortoise, meet the Lion and the Rabbit, or browse all the Panchatantra stories.

Questions

What is the moral of the Elephants and the Mice?

A friend in need is a friend indeed, and no one is too small to help. Kindness shown early can come back when it is needed most.

Is the Elephants and the Mice a Panchatantra story?

Yes, it is a Panchatantra fable. Tellers differ on the details, such as the animals' names and how the elephants are trapped.

How did the mice help the elephants?

Hundreds of mice nibbled through the ropes of the hunters' nets all night until the elephants were free.

What is the Hindi name of this story?

It is usually told as हाथी और चूहे, which means the elephants and the mice.