English Short Stories

The Thirsty Crow

The Thirsty Crow

An Indian crow dropping pebbles into a clay pot under a banyan tree on a hot day.
Reading Time: < 1 minute

It was a hot summer afternoon in a small Indian village.
The sun blazed in the sky, and the fields shimmered like gold.

A little crow flew from one field to another, searching for water. “Caw! Caw!” he cried, but not a drop was to be found.
His throat was dry, and his wings felt heavy.

Finally, near a banyan tree, he saw a small clay pot outside a hut. Hope sparked in his eyes.
He perched on the rim and looked inside — there was a little water at the bottom, but too low for his beak to reach.

“Oh no!” sighed the crow. “So close, yet so far.”

For a moment, he almost gave up. Then he looked around and saw some small pebbles lying nearby.

An idea struck him. “If I drop these pebbles into the pot, maybe the water will rise!”

One by one, he picked up the pebbles and dropped them into the pot.
Plop… plop… plop…

Slowly, the water rose higher and higher.
Finally, the crow bent his head and drank deeply. “Ahh!” he cried in joy.

He looked up at the sky and whispered, “Bhagwan helps those who help themselves.”

Then, with a cheerful flap of his wings, he flew away — his thirst quenched, his heart full.

Moral of the Story:

Where there’s a will, there’s a way.

🧠 Vocabulary

WordMeaning
BlazedShone very brightly and hotly
PerchedSat or rested on a high place
PebblesSmall round stones
QuenchedSatisfied thirst
RimThe edge or border of something round

🌍 Glossary

TermExplanation
Banyan TreeA large, sacred tree found across India
BhagwanCommon Indian word for God
Clay PotEarthen container used to store water
Village HutSmall rural home made of mud and straw

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Featured Vocabulary
Smudged
spoiled slightly by rubbing or touching. You might say: I accidentally smudged the wet rangoli.
Literary Term
Manuscript
A writer’s draft or book before publishing.
Idiomatic Expression
"garam chai"
Hot tea (common phrase heard at Indian railway stations)
Speech & Pronunciation
Tentatively
Phonetic: TEN-tuh-tiv-lee

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