The Devoted Friend

Quick Answer

Why This Story Works for Bedtime

It’s best for older kids because it has a sad outcome. As a bedtime read, it works when you frame it as a ‘wisdom story’ about kindness *with boundaries*—and you pause for reassurance and reflection.

Story Synopsis

On a bright morning by a pond, a Water-rat announces that friendship is the noblest thing in the world. A Green Linnet, doubtful, offers an example. He tells of Little Hans, a gentle, hardworking gardener who loves his small garden and his simple life. Hans’s neighbor, a rich Miller, calls himself Hans’s “devoted friend,” often visiting to praise friendship—especially when he wants something. The Miller borrows flowers, vegetables, and tools, promising that good friends share. Hans, eager to be kind, gives and gives. Meanwhile, the Miller holds out the one thing Hans truly needs: a wheelbarrow he promises to give “someday,” but only after Hans has proven himself helpful enough. The friendship becomes a pattern of taking wrapped in pretty words. When harsh weather comes, Hans struggles, but the Miller still expects favors. One stormy night, the Miller sends Hans on an urgent errand through darkness and rain. Hans, loyal and tired, goes anyway. The journey is dangerous, and Hans does not make it back. Afterward, the Miller speaks at the funeral, still insisting he was a wonderful friend—unable to see that he used Hans. The Linnet finishes, and the Water-rat, offended, misses the moral entirely. The Devoted Friend is a sharp, thoughtful story about how true friendship looks in actions, not speeches: caring goes both ways, and kindness should never require losing yourself.

Story Excerpt

One bright morning, the old Water - rat put his head out of his hole by the pond. He had sharp little eyes, stiff grey whiskers, and a tail that looked like a long strip of black rubber. On the water, a mother Duck — white as milk with red legs — was trying to teach her ducklings a very serious lesson. “ You will never be in the best society unless you can stand on your heads, ” she kept telling them. And every so often, she tipped forward and showed them exactly how to do it. But the ducklings only bobbed and paddled, paying no attention at all. “ What disobedient children! ” cried the Water - rat. “ They really deserve to be — well — dunked for it! ” “ Nothing of the kind, ” said the Duck calmly. “ Everyone must make a beginning, and parents cannot be too patient. ” “ Ah, ” said the Water - rat, flicking his whiskers, “ I know nothing about the feelings of parents. I am not a family man. I have never been married, and I never intend to be. Love is all very well, but friendship is much higher. Indeed, I know of nothing in the world that is nobler or rarer than a devoted friendship. ” A Green Linnet, who had been listening from a willow tree, fluttered his wings and called down, “ And what, pray, is your idea of the duties of a devoted friend? ” “ Yes, ” said the Duck, drifting away to the far end of the pond. She stood on her head again, to set a good example. “ What a silly question! ” snapped the…

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