The Storks

Quick Answer

Why This Story Works for Bedtime

Soft and reflective with a clear empathy message. Great for bedtime conversations about being gentle with animals and words.

Story Synopsis

High above rooftops, storks build their nests and glide through the sky. In this story, storks are linked to a tender bit of folklore: they bring babies to families. But a group of children begins to tease a stork’s nest, treating it like a silly target. The storks notice, and the story turns into a quiet lesson about how mockery lands. As consequences unfold, the children are guided toward empathy and respect. The tale ends with the idea that gentleness—toward creatures and toward one another—helps keep the world safe and kind.

Story Excerpt

On the last house in a little village, high up on the roof where the wind could comb the straw, the storks had built their nest. Mother Stork sat deep in it, warm and steady, with her four young ones pressed close together. They were growing fast, those youngsters. They stretched their long necks and pointed their black beaks at the sky — beaks that had not yet turned red like their parents ’. A little way off, on the edge of the roof, stood Father Stork. He held himself very upright and very stiff, like a tall guard. To keep from looking lazy, he drew up one leg and stood on the other so still that, from below, he might have seemed carved out of wood. “ It must look very grand, ” he thought to himself. “ My wife has a sentry guarding her nest. No one needs to know I’m her husband. They’ll think I’ve been appointed here — how aristocratic! ” And he stayed on one leg, proud as a flagpole. Down in the street, children were playing. When they noticed the storks, one of the boldest boys began to sing, and soon the others joined in, each singing the parts he remembered. “ Stork, stork, fly away, Stand not on one leg, I pray, See your wife is in her nest, With her little ones at rest. They will hang one, And…

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