Very short story · A1

The Ant and the Dove

Aesop’s fable·~150 words·~1 min read

A dove saves an ant, and the ant returns the kindness.

One hot day an ant went down to the river to drink. But the water moved fast, and the ant fell in. She could not swim, and she began to drown.

A dove was sitting in a tree above the river. She saw the little ant in trouble. Quickly she picked a leaf and dropped it into the water. The ant climbed onto the leaf and floated safely to the bank.

Some days later, a hunter came to the river. He saw the dove in the tree and lifted his net to catch her.

The ant saw this. She ran to the hunter and bit him hard on the foot. He cried out and dropped his net. The dove heard the noise and flew away safely. So the ant paid back the kindness.

Moral: One kind act brings back another.

Tap any word in the story to see its meaning and add it to your vocabulary list.

Check what you remember

3 quick questions about the story. Scroll up to re-read any time.

Question 1
How did the dove help the ant?
Question 2
What did the hunter want to do?
Question 3
How did the ant save the dove?
0 of 3 answered

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