The Oak and the Reeds

About this story

The Oak and the Reeds is one of Aesop's Fables, the short moral tales handed down from ancient Greece, and Jean de La Fontaine retold it in 1668 as The Oak and the Reed. A proud oak mocks the reeds for bending in the wind; a storm tears the oak up by its roots while the reeds bow down and survive. In this VoiceSmiths retelling the fallen oak learns his lesson from the reeds, and in spring one of his acorns sprouts among them.

Tips for telling it

• Stand up together and play the trees and reeds: stiff as an oak, then swaying like a reed when the wind blows.
• Ask: who was really stronger in the storm, the oak or the reeds? Why?
• Talk about times when it helps to bend a little, like sharing, taking turns or changing a plan.

Questions people ask

What is the moral of The Oak and the Reeds?

It is better to bend than to break. The reeds bow before the storm and survive, while the proud oak refuses to bend and is torn up by the wind.

Who wrote The Oak and the Reeds?

It is one of Aesop's Fables, traditionally credited to Aesop, a storyteller said to have lived in ancient Greece around the sixth century BCE. Jean de La Fontaine's version, Le Chêne et le Roseau (1668), is one of the best-known poems in French.

What does "better to bend than to break" mean?

It means that when you face a force you cannot beat, it is often wiser to adapt or give way a little than to resist stubbornly and be broken. The saying is often linked to this fable.