Aesop

The Crow and the Serpent

Summary

This short story is about a crow's unfortunate encounter while searching for food, highlighting the theme of deceptive appearances and consequences of hasty actions. In its desperation for sustenance, the crow spots a seemingly opportune meal in the form of a sleeping serpent. However, the situation takes a drastic turn when the serpent bites back, delivering a deadly wound to the crow. As the crow faces its tragic end, it laments how what initially appeared to be a fortunate discovery turned into the cause of its demise. The narrative serves to illustrate that decisions driven by greed and impulsiveness can lead to unforeseen, negative outcomes.

Read Online

A Crow in great want of food saw a Serpent asleep in a sunny nook, and flying down, greedily seized him. The Serpent, turning about, bit the Crow with a mortal wound. In the agony of death, the bird exclaimed: “O unhappy me! who have found in that which I deemed a happy windfall the source of my destruction.”

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