The Boy and the Filberts- Aesop’s Fables

Aesop’s Fables has a large number of stories and some of them such as the Red riding hood, the honest woodcutter and many more are well known across the world. The story of the “The Boy and the Filberts” also has other names and is called as “The Greedy Boy” or “The Boy and the Hazelnuts”. It is the story of a boy who was very greedy and wanted to eat the entire jar of hazelnuts or filberts.

Story:

There was once a boy who was very greedy and wanted everything at the same time. If he saw a packet of biscuits, he would eat it up in one sitting. If he saw five toys, he would want all five of them.

The boy’s mother was very concerned and then wanted to teach him a lesson. She took a jar which had a very small nozzle and filled it up with tasty roasted Filberts (or Hazelnuts). The mother called her son over and showed him the jar.

She said to her son, “Child. Would you like some Filberts?”

The child asked, “Mommy, what are Filberts?”

His mother replied, “Filberts are also called as Hazelnuts. I have roasted them for you.”

The boy immediately said, “Yes Mummy! Can I have some?”

The mother said, “Of course dear. You can have all that you want. But on one condition, you should take only one fistful of Filberts.”

The boy put his hand in, and tried to take out an entire fistful of Filberts. But much as he wanted, he could not take his hand out. He stood there without dropping a single Filbert but still could not take his hand out. Soon his hand began to hurt and he started to cry.

The mother told the boy, “My child, you should be satisfied with half the Filberts in your hand. Then only can you take out your hand. If you try to take more Filberts than you can hold, you will easily get your hand out.”

What is the moral of the story?

The moral of the story “The Boy and the Filberts” is “Do not attempt too much at once.” Alternatively the moral of the story can also be said as “Do not be too greedy or you will end up with more than you can handle”

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Questions on “The Boy and the Filberts“

1. Who are the main characters of the story?
2. What was the boy like?
3. What did the mother offer the child?
4. Why was the child unable to take his hand out of the jar of Filberts?
5. Explain is the moral of the story?

Answers:

1. The main characters of the story are a mother and her son.
2. The boy was very greedy and wanted everything at the same time.
3. The mother offered the child a small jar full of Filberts and told him that he could have one fistful of them.
4. The boy put his hand in, and tried to take out an entire fistful. He could not take his hand out since his hand full of hazelnuts was bigger than the jar’s small nozzle.
5. The moral of the story “The Boy and the Filberts” is “Do not attempt too much at once.” Alternatively the moral of the story can also be said as “Do not be too greedy or you will end up with more than you can handle”

The Boy and the Filberts – PDF

Looking for the free downloadable PDF version of “The Boy and the Filberts” short story in English? If so, you’ve come to the right place. You can click on the link below to download the free story in PDF version format.

The Boy and the Filberts – PDF