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Aesop's Fables ⏲ 3 min read Ages 6-8

The Oak and the Reed

After a gale uproots an oak, it asks the reeds how their frail stems survived. Their answer contrasts bending with resisting the wind.

The Oak and the Reed - Cover - Magnificent ancient Greek oak tree with proud personified face on its grey trunk on high firm ground above a slow blue Greek river, beside a small slender humble green Greek reed at the muddy edge of the river, gnarled silver-green olive trees, distant Greek mountains

A strong oak on a riverbank was torn up by a fierce gale and thrown across the stream among reeds. “How did you frail stems weather the storm,” the oak asked, “when I, with all my strength, was ripped out by the roots?”

“You stood stubborn and fought the wind,” the reeds replied, “and it proved stronger. We bow to every breeze, so the gale passes over our heads.”

About this fable

Vernon Jones titles this Aesop fable “The Oak and the Reeds”, and it is retold here from his 1912 translation. This page follows a printed Aesopic version associated with the Greek fable tradition.

His version opens after the storm, with the uprooted oak lying across the river and asking the reeds how they survived. Joseph Jacobs’s 1894 retelling, “The Tree and the Reed”, shows the boasting before the hurricane and ends with the moral “Obscurity often brings safety.”

Read the original: V. S. Vernon Jones, Aesop’s Fables (Project Gutenberg #11339, The Oak and the Reeds)

Best for ages 6–8: a two-voice fable about pride and bending, short enough to read aloud and talk over.

Start with the fallen tree

This version lets us see the outcome before hearing the explanation. The oak’s size, which looks like an advantage, has not protected it; the reeds’ apparent weakness has allowed them to move with the wind. The surprise challenges the oak’s definition of strength. But plants surviving a storm are an image, not a complete rule for human conduct: yielding can sometimes help, while a person may still need to resist an unfair demand.

Test the comparison

Draw the oak and reeds after the gale. Add one everyday example where changing a plan helps and one where keeping a boundary matters. Explain why “bend in every situation” would go further than this storm scene can show.

Talk about it

  • Why was the oak surprised that the reeds were still standing?
  • What did the reeds do that the oak would not do?
  • Is it always good to bend, or are there times to stand firm? Give an example.

Related stories

Also known as: The Oak and the Reeds

Moral of the Story
“Flexibility can protect us when rigid resistance meets a stronger force.”
Themes: Friendship & Loyalty Justice & Fairness Patience & Perseverance

Frequently Asked Questions

What happens to the oak?
A fierce gale tears it from the ground and throws it across the stream among the reeds.
How do the reeds survive the storm?
They bend to the wind instead of resisting it.
What moral does Jacobs give?
'Obscurity often brings safety.'

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