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READ, WATCH, TALK, PLAY

Stories to share,
questions to ask.

Pick a story, then choose how to share it: watch the animation, read the story, play the puzzle, or print a one-page teacher pack, a picture book and coloring pages. Everything is free, with no sign-up.

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Choose a story and a way to share it

How to use a Fable Stories fable

  1. Read or watch. Every story has a complete written retelling, and most also have a short animation.
  2. Talk. Each story below has open questions that move from what happened to why, and then to what you would do. Pick the ones that suit your group, or print the one-page teacher pack to take them with you.
  3. Play. Stories with a puzzle end with a four-question game. A video hint opens the relevant chapter, so nothing needs to be memorised.
  4. Read the picture book. Some stories also have a free illustrated picture book. It is a shorter, simpler telling than the written retelling: read it page by page on a tablet, or print it for a quiet read-aloud.
  5. Create. Print the free coloring pages for a quiet follow-up at home or in class.

Your puzzle answers and progress are not saved, and no sign-up is needed. The coloring pages and picture books are free for personal and classroom use.

The Monkey and the Crocodile

Themes: Quick thinking, Friendship, Trust

Moral: A quick mind can carry you through troubled waters.

Suggested ages: 6 to 9. Watch: 7:49. Read aloud: about 4 minutes.

Talk about it

  1. Why did Kavi keep visiting Ranga?
  2. When did Kavi first have a choice to say no to his wife?
  3. What did Ranga notice that told him something was wrong?
  4. Why did Ranga stay calm instead of shouting for help?
  5. Was Ranga right not to forgive Kavi straight away?
  6. Have you ever had to think fast when you were scared?

Try this: Act out the river crossing in pairs. Pause at the deepest water and let each child say what Ranga could try next.

Teacher pack: the summary, questions and activity on one printable page, with links to the story and coloring pages.A4 PDFUS Letter PDF

Watch and read the story →Back to all resources ↑

Manu and the Great Flood

Themes: Compassion, Faith, Courage

Moral: Kindness to the smallest creature is never wasted; a compassionate heart that listens and acts with courage can carry others safely through the greatest storm.

Suggested ages: 6 to 10. Watch: 4:22. Read aloud: about 4 minutes.

Talk about it

  1. What did Satyavrata find in his hands, and what did he decide to do?
  2. How did the fish change as the days went by?
  3. What did Matsya ask the king to prepare, and why was it hard to trust a warning when the sky was clear?
  4. How did the king stay calm during the flood?
  5. Why do you think the story begins with one tiny fish instead of the flood?
  6. What is one small kind thing you could do this week?

Try this: Make a kindness boat. Each child draws or writes one small kind act on a paper boat, then the group floats the boats on a tray of water and talks about how small acts can carry people a long way. Preview the flood scenes first with younger listeners.

Teacher pack: the summary, questions and activity on one printable page, with links to the story and coloring pages.A4 PDFUS Letter PDF

Watch and read the story →Back to all resources ↑

The Four Friends and the Hunter

Themes: Friendship, Teamwork, Courage

Moral: Friends do not need the same strengths; when each person contributes what they can, even a difficult problem becomes possible to solve.

Suggested ages: 4 to 8. Watch: 4:03. Read aloud: about 3 minutes.

Talk about it

  1. Which friend did each job in the first rescue?
  2. Why did nobody blame Dhruv for being slow?
  3. What did the friends need to do at exactly the right moment in the second rescue?
  4. Which friend's strength seemed smallest, and when did it matter most?
  5. What can you do well that your friends or family could not do without you?

Try this: Draw the four friends and write one strength under each. Then add your own strength and one a friend has that you do not.

Teacher pack: the summary, questions and activity on one printable page, with links to the story and coloring pages.A4 PDFUS Letter PDF

Watch and read the story →Back to all resources ↑

The Blue Jackal

Themes: Honesty, Identity, Pride

Moral: Pretending to be something you are not may bring temporary success, but your true nature eventually reveals itself.

Suggested ages: 6 to 10. Watch: 8:33. Read aloud: about 4 minutes.

Talk about it

  1. How did Chandra become blue?
  2. Why did the animals believe he had been sent from the heavens?
  3. Why did Chandra send the other jackals away from the palace?
  4. What happened when he heard the jackals howling?
  5. Why did the animals stop trusting him?
  6. Is it ever right to pretend to be someone else? What would you say to Chandra?

Try this: Once Chandra is blue, he calls himself Neelambar, the name the animals know him by. Make a list of what they could have asked Neelambar before they believed him. Which question would have been hardest for Chandra to answer?

Teacher pack: the summary, questions and activity on one printable page, with links to the story and coloring pages.A4 PDFUS Letter PDF

Watch and read the story →Back to all resources ↑

The Bird with Golden Feathers

Themes: Wisdom, Evidence, Humility

Moral: Do not dismiss something merely because it seems impossible. Test the truth before you judge it.

Suggested ages: 6 to 10. Watch: 4:43. Read aloud: about 6 minutes.

Talk about it

  1. What was special about Sindhuka's feathers?
  2. Why did Madan take the bird to the king instead of keeping it?
  3. Why did Devraj refuse Madan's idea of keeping the bird for an hour?
  4. What would the king have gained if he had tested the claim?
  5. When is it fair to say something is impossible, and when should we check?
  6. Think of a time you were sure about something and then learned you were wrong.

Try this: Test a claim like the king should have. Bridge a gap between two books with a flat sheet of paper, then with a sheet folded into pleats. Predict which holds more coins, add coins one at a time, and write down what actually happened.

Teacher pack: the summary, questions and activity on one printable page, with links to the story and coloring pages.A4 PDFUS Letter PDF

Watch and read the story →Back to all resources ↑

The Lion and the Clever Rabbit

Themes: Intelligence, Courage, Pride

Moral: Wisdom finds a way where strength cannot.

Suggested ages: 6 to 10. Watch: 6:30. Read aloud: about 4 minutes.

Talk about it

  1. Why were the animals afraid of Bhairav?
  2. What bargain did the animals offer him, and why did he agree?
  3. How did Chiku use the walk to the den?
  4. What was Bhairav's weakness, and how did Chiku use it?
  5. Chiku was frightened too. How can someone be brave and scared at the same time?
  6. When has a small or quiet person solved a problem that a strong one could not?

Try this: Retell the story from the lion's point of view. What did Bhairav see and believe when he looked into the well?

Teacher pack: the summary, questions and activity on one printable page, with links to the story and coloring pages.A4 PDFUS Letter PDF

Watch and read the story →Back to all resources ↑

The Talkative Tortoise (The Tortoise and the Geese)

Themes: Self-control, Listening, Patience

Moral: Wisdom is not only knowing what to say; it is knowing when silence protects what matters most.

Suggested ages: 5 to 8. Read aloud: about 3 minutes.

Talk about it

  1. Why did Kambu need to leave his lake?
  2. What was the one rule for the flight?
  3. What did the people below say, and how did Kambu feel?
  4. What did Kambu do differently on the second flight?
  5. Is there something you do when you want to answer quickly but should wait?

Try this: Play Silent Tortoise. Everyone is Kambu on the stick: stay quiet while the teacher asks easy questions, and speak only after the signal, such as a raised hand. Then talk about how it felt to wait.

Teacher pack: the summary, questions and activity on one printable page, with links to the story and coloring pages.A4 PDFUS Letter PDF

Read the story →Back to all resources ↑

The Brahmin and the Mongoose

Themes: Loyalty, Patience, Judgment

Moral: A frightening first impression is not the whole truth; pause, examine the evidence, and understand before you act.

Suggested ages: 7 to 10. Read aloud: about 3 minutes.

Talk about it

  1. Who was Veer, and how did he spend his days?
  2. What did Somdev see when he came back, and what did he think it meant?
  3. What did he do before he made up his mind?
  4. What clues showed what really happened?
  5. Why might Veer have felt confused when Somdev called him?
  6. What is one thing you can do when you feel a strong feeling before you know the facts?

Try this: Play detective: write down what Somdev saw at the door, then what he found when he checked the cradle. What changed?

Teacher pack: the summary, questions and activity on one printable page, with links to the story and coloring pages.A4 PDFUS Letter PDF

Read the story →Back to all resources ↑

Using the videos in class

Videos play in YouTube's privacy-enhanced player (youtube-nocookie.com) with related videos limited to Fable Stories' own channel. Nothing plays automatically when a page opens. The puzzle's video hint starts that story's video at the right moment, and you can pause it at any time. YouTube, not Fable Stories, decides whether ads appear. If YouTube is blocked at your school, every story also has a full written retelling, and the picture books and coloring pages are plain PDFs.

Where these stories fit the curriculum

These are suggestions for where fables fit, not an endorsement by any education body.

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