
The Crow & the Pitcher (Aesop’s Fables)
The Crow and the Pitcher is one of Aesop’s most famous fables. It’s about encountering a difficult situation and finding a way through it.
In the heart of a scorching summer, under the relentless sun, a thirsty crow flew from place to place in desperate search of water. The land was dry and barren, and there seemed to be no relief in sight.
Finally, after hours of fruitless searching, the crow saw a small glimmer of hope. There, in the distance, half-buried in the parched earth, was a tall, narrow pitcher half full of dusky rainwater. With a caw of relief, the crow swooped down to the pitcher, eager to quench its thirst.
But alas, when the crow tried to sip from the pitcher, its heart sank. The water was at the very bottom, far beyond the reach of its beak. The crow tried to push its head into the pitcher, but the neck of the pitcher was too narrow.
The crow could have flown away, given up, or let despair distract it. But it did none of these things. Instead, it took a moment to think. As it paced back and forth, deep in thought, it noticed the pebbles beneath its feet. An idea sparked in its mind.
The crow picked up one of the pebbles in its beak and dropped it into the pitcher. Then it went back and did it again. And again. And again. Pebble by pebble, the water in the pitcher slowly began to rise.
Finally, after dropping many pebbles into the pitcher, the water rose high enough for the crow to reach. With a triumphant caw, the crow dipped its beak into the water and drank deeply, finally able to quench its thirst.
Juan Artola Miranda
I am Juan Artola Miranda, a fabulist living in the Mexican Caribbean. My friends know me by the name of my father's father, but that name grew into something bigger, my writing reaching tens of millions of readers. It was too strong for me to control. Artola Miranda is the name of my mother's mother. It's a better name for a fabulist.