Grades 3-5 reading level · Fable
One fine day two Crabs came out from their home to take a stroll on the sand. "Child," said the mother, "you are walking very ungracefully. You should accustom yourself to walking straight forward without twisting from side to side." "Pray, mother," said the young one," do but set the example yourself, and I will follow you."
Example is the best precept.
From The Two Crabs by Aesop, translated by Joseph Jacobs (1894). Public domain.
1. Where did the two Crabs go for a stroll?
2. What did the mother crab tell her child to do?
3. What happens in the story from beginning to end?
4. Why did the mother crab complain about how her child was walking?
5. Why does the young crab ask his mother to set an example? What does he know about how crabs walk?
6. The story ends with 'Example is the best precept,' which means it is better to show someone how to do something than just tell them. Can you think of a time when someone showing you how to do something helped you learn better than just being told?