The Oak and the Reeds by Aesop for advanced ESL students with a podcast and vocabulary practice in real context
The Oak and the Reeds is now in the public domain available on Gutenberg Project.
Podcast of the Oak and the Reeds
The Oak and the Reeds
An oak that grew on the bank of a river was uprooted by a severe gale of wind, and thrown across the stream. It fell among some reeds growing by the water, and said to them:
“How is it that you, who are so frail and slender, have managed to weather the storm, whereas I, with all my strength, have been torn up by the roots and hurled into the river?”
“You were stubborn,” came the reply, “and fought against the storm, which proved stronger than you: but we bow and yield to every breeze, and thus the gale passed harmlessly over our heads.”
Vocabulary in context
- oak: an evergreen tree with acorns as fruit grown for its wood and shade
- uproot: to pull out a plant and its roots from the soil, eradicate
- gale of wind: strong blow of wind, windstorm
- reed: a tall and slender water plant
- frail: physically weak, feeble, fragile
- slender: slim and thin
- to weather: to endure, withstand, tolerate
- whereas: while, although
- hurl: to throw something with great force, toss, fling
- stubborn: unreasonably determined, obstinate, dogged
- bow: to bend the top part of your body to show respect
- yield to: to accept, come to terms, reconcile yourself
- breeze: gentle wind
This story was really nice as always and I noticed that this story is telling about the challenging situations In our life.
I think the main area of focus in this short story is about adopting appropriate strategies compared to the significance of challenges in life.
—
Feedback
this story is telling about = this story is talking about
Sometimes life’s challenges become out of our control, and it’s better for us to accept what they are. We shouldn’t be stubborn and have so much rigidity that would make the situation harder for us. We all should have some flexibility and adaptability.
As you correctly mentioned, adaptability and flexibility in dealing with life’s challenges are two major themes of this short story as indexed in the tags section right above the “Related Lessons and Posts” section.
The theme of this fable is to be flexible in difficult and challenging situations. I understand the message and goal it conveys, but I don’t entirely agree with it. It’s not reasonable to simply give up and accept everything that comes on our way in life.
I really liked the way you critically reviewed this short story. I also believe that too much flexibility and adaptability must signify a deficiency of principles and integrity in life.