Early reader (Grades 2-3)

The Crow and the Pitcher

A Crow perishing with thirst saw a pitcher, and, hoping to find water, flew to it with great delight When he reached it, he discovered to his grief that it contained so little water that he could not possibly get at it. He tried everything he could think of to reach the water, but all his efforts were in vain. At last he collected as many stones as he could carry, and dropped them one by one with his beak into the pitcher, until he brought the water within his reach, and thus saved his life.

Necessity is the mother of invention.

From The Crow and the Pitcher by Aesop, translated by George Fyler Townsend (1867). Public domain.

Check your understanding

1. Put these sentences back in the order they appear in the passage.

Click the events in the correct order.

2. Read the line and type the missing word.

A Crow perishing with thirst saw a pitcher, and, hoping to find water, flew to it with great delight When he reached it, he _____ to his grief that it contained so little water that he could not possibly get at it.