Once upon a time, a man entered a forest with an axe in hand. He approached the trees and kindly asked them for a small branch, claiming he needed it for a specific purpose. The trees, being generous and trusting, offered him a branch without hesitation.
However, the man had ulterior motives. He took the branch and attached it to the head of his axe. With his new tool, he began to chop down tree after tree, mercilessly destroying the very forest that had provided him with help.
Realizing their grave mistake, the trees understood that they had unwittingly given their enemy the means to bring about their own destruction. The moral of the story is clear: never provide your enemy with the tools to harm you.
What the fable teaches children
The Man and the Wood is one of Aesop’s fables, short stories told for more than two thousand years to teach a lesson in just a few lines. For children, the message can be put simply: being kind and generous is good, but it’s also wise to think about why someone is asking for help, and what they might do with it.
Questions to talk about at bedtime
- Why do you think the trees gave the man a branch so quickly?
- How do you think the trees felt when they understood what the branch was used for?
- Can you think of a time when it was good to ask “why?” before saying yes?
Read more 2 minute bedtime stories.
This story is part of our calm bedtime stories collection, created to support peaceful bedtimes.
Stories that carry a message help children understand right and wrong in a gentle and memorable way.
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