The Emperor's New Clothes
An emperor who loves fine clothing is deceived by two swindlers until a child speaks the plain truth.
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Story library page 4
Pulling Up the Seedlings
A farmer in Song wants his seedlings to grow faster, so he pulls them taller by hand, only to learn that hurry without the right method can ruin what is slowly growing.
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The Goose That Laid the Golden Eggs
A farmer and his wife own a goose that lays a golden egg each day, but their greed to have all the gold at once costs them the steady good fortune they already had.
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The Boy Who Cried Wolf
A bored shepherd boy tricks the village again and again by shouting "Wolf!" for fun, until a real wolf comes — and no one believes him anymore.
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Waiting by the Stump for a Hare
A farmer in Song finds a hare that runs into an old tree stump and dies, and hopes the same luck will happen again — until his field turns to weeds and the whole village laughs.
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The Fox and the Goat
A thirsty fox tricks a goat into jumping down a dry well with him, then climbs out on the goat's back and abandons him — a story about looking closely before you leap, not just after someone says something sounds good.
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The Two Travelers and the Bear
Two old friends set out together on a journey, but when a bear appears on the path, one abandons the other — and later hears a piercing piece of advice.
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The Oak and the Reeds
A tall oak mocks the reeds for being weak, but when a storm comes, the oak's refusal to bend gets it uprooted, while the bending reeds come through unharmed.
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The Ant and the Dove
A little ant is swept away by the current and saved by a dove's falling leaf — and soon repays that small kindness with an even smaller, braver one.
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Mending the Sheepfold
A shepherd's sheepfold fence breaks open, and a wolf carries off a sheep in the night; only after losing a second sheep does he finally mend the gap, and his flock is never troubled again.
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The Peacock and the Crane
A vain peacock mocks a crane's plain feathers, until winter comes and shows which of them truly has something worth having.
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The Elves and the Shoemaker
A poor shoemaker's last piece of leather turns into a perfect pair of shoes overnight, and when he and his wife discover the tiny, ragged elves who have been helping them, they repay the kindness with gifts instead of secrecy.
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