This is a story from Aesop’s Fables. The story is about a heron. A heron is a tall bird with a long beak. Herons live near lakes and like to eat fish. In the story, the heron is hungry. Can he catch a fish? Let’s start the story.

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The Heron

One day, a tall and white heron stands in the lake. He stands near the shore. The water isn’t too deep near the shore. So the heron can stand in the water. It is a beautiful morning. The water is clear because there is no wind. It is a perfect time to look for food. The heron looks for his breakfast. He looks for fish. He sees a few fish swim by. The first fish is too small. The next fish is also too small. The heron says, “I don’t want to open my beak for that small fish.” Then a small perch fish swims by. The heron says, “I don’t like this kind of fish! It doesn’t taste good.” Then the heron waits for more fish to swim by him. All of the fish are too small. None of the fish are big enough for the heron. The heron doesn’t open his beak to eat any of these small fish. Time passes. The sun is high in the sky. The heron doesn’t see any more fish. The fish already swam to the middle of the lake. But the middle of the lake is too deep for the heron. The heron can’t stand in the middle of the lake. He can only stand near the shore, where the water isn’t too deep. He waits for fish. But he doesn’t see any fish. The heron is hungry. He sees something small move on the bottom of the lake. It is a small snail. The heron opens his beak to eat the small snail. The end.

In this story, the heron waits for the perfect fish. He wants a big and tasty fish. He doesn’t open his beak for any of the small fish. Then the small fish are gone. So, all he can eat is a snail. He missed his opportunity to eat a fish.