Shapes - Stories for Children

A fox was frustrated with his short legs, while the elk was dissatisfied with his long, skinny ones. They proposed a swap, and it worked great for a while! But when it came down to the really important things-hunting and gathering food-the poor friends discovered that they were running into problems. In the end, they decided things were best left the way they were meant to be!

Crow was a great singer, but he faced a problem: he had been singing so much, his voice was hoarse. Now the only water he had was in a pitcher he couldn't reach into. How is Crow supposed to the get the drink he so badly needs?

A lion caught a mouse and was about to eat it, when the mouse started pleading for its life. Being compassionate, the lion decided to let it go. Then the lion got caught in a hunter's trap. The grateful mouse, repaying its debt, freed the lion by chewing through the ropes of the trap.

In a herd of tan deer, there was one blue deer whose special coloration made him extremely proud. He was always boasting about his special color and refusing to play with the other ordinary deer. But when the wolves hunted him because of his fabulous coloration, he had to rely on the help of others to escape.

A country mouse met a barn mouse, who invited him back to her barn. He followed her and was at first wowed by the excitement he experienced in the barn. But as the day wore on he began to find it more and more unpleasant: perils lurking, food he didn't like, and the menace of a cat. In the end, he decided that the barn was fancy, but he liked his simple life better.

Three catfish lived in a pond. They were very good friends, and they searched out food together, played together, and even fend off the hungry bear that wanted to eat them. One day, though, they had an argument over food, and each left to seek its own meal, alone. The bear saw his chance to pounce! Will the three catfish get back together before it's too late?

Two Frogs lived together in a marsh, one was rash and one was not! The rash one was always jumping into danger because he was too impulsive. But after a really close shave with a deep well, he learned that he should really look before he leaps.

A family of chimpanzees adopted a lost orangutan. Growing up, though, the orangutan felt different from his brothers and sisters as he looked and behaved differently from them. Eventually, he decided to run away. But when his baby chimp brother got into trouble while the family was searching for Orangutan, only Orangutan could help them!

A frog who lived in a barnyard accidentally fell into a pail of milk. Try as they might, the frog's friends couldn't get him out of the pail. However, the persistent frog didn't give up, and continued kicking, and kicking, and keeping afloat. Eventually, he kicked so much that the pail of milk churned into solid butter, and he was able to climb out!

Two goats, both carrying presents for their grandmothers, met on a bridge over a river they were supposed to cross on opposite sides. The bridge was only narrow enough for one of them, but the goats both insisted on going first, refusing to budge. After bouts of horn-locking and falling into the river as a result of their stubbornness, they finally decided it was better for them to take turns.

Four oxen lived in a field where a lion also lived. Everytime he tried to attack them, they would bunch together and fend him off. But one day one of the oxen was distracted by an ox-pecker and went off to play with the bird. The lion saw his chance, and attacked the solo ox! The four friends quickly learnt that it was best for them to stick together.

A Mousedeer was happily going on with its business when a tiger came along and decided to hunt the mousedeer for lunch. But despite the tiger being bigger, stronger and faster, the mousedeer managed to outwit the Tiger everytime!

A pair of greedy young flies were warned not to gorge themselves on snacks while she was out on an errand. But did they listen? No! The two went on an eating spree, until they became too bloated to fly. Soon, they learnt their lesson in an unpleasant way.