The other day I was sitting on my balcony overlooking the rice fields opposite my house. I was trying to think of a topic for this blog when a big black bird flew by. It immediately got me thinking of the fable ‘The Crow and the Pitcher'.
This is a great story and has an important money lesson which I want to share.
First, let me share the fable.
The Crow and the Pitcher Fable
In a spell of dry weather, when the Birds could find very little to drink, a thirsty Crow found a pitcher with a little water in it. But the pitcher was tall and had a narrow neck, and no matter how he tried, the Crow could not reach the water. The poor thing felt as if he would die of thirst.
Then an idea came to him. Picking up some small pebbles, he dropped them into the pitcher one by one. With each pebble, the water rose a little higher until at last, it was near enough so he could drink.
The Money Lesson
The moral of the fable is that you have to take a series of small actions to get what you want. A bit like our money, we need to keep saving a little bit of money over time and then we’ll have something great in the end.
Remember, for kids to be great with money, the best thing to do is get them in the habit of doing the small things consistently over a period of time, e.g. saving 10% of all the money they receive (the first rules of wealth).
Too many people feel there will be a Big Bang moment that will change our financial futures. This could be an inheritance, a big promotion, hearing of a new investment idea or a lottery win. Sadly, even if these big events happen, the money doesn’t last long as they don’t know how to look after the money when it comes.
I hope you share this fable and money lesson with your kids. If you do, before you explain the money lesson to your kids, ask them what they think the money might be.
Thanks for reading!
Will
P.S. For more short and impactful stories, why not get your kids a copy of Grandpa's Fortune Fables
