ਕਾਂ ਅਤੇ ਘੜਾ
The Crow and the Pitcher
Bilingual Punjabi + English Aesop's Fables Ages 4-8
, ਖੁਸ਼ਕ , । , , ਗਲਾ ।
It was a hot, dry day, and a thirsty Crow was looking for water. He had flown a long, long way, and his throat was very dry.
ਅਖ਼ੀਰ ਉਸ ਨੂੰ ਧਰਤੀ ' ਲੰਮੀ ਧੌਣ ਵਾਲਾ ਦਿਸਿਆ। ਝੱਟ ਉੱਤਰਿਆ ਝਾਕਿਆ। ਤਾਂ , ਤਲੇ !
At last he saw a tall pitcher standing on the ground. The Crow flew down and looked inside. There was water at the very bottom!
ਉਸ , ਨੀਵਾਂ । ਉਸ ਧੌਣ ਲੰਮੀ ਕਰ-ਕਰ ਬਥੇਰਾ ਜ਼ੋਰ ਲਾਇਆ, ਨਾ ਅੱਪੜੀ।
He put in his beak to drink, but the water was too low. He stretched and stretched, but he could not reach it.
ਨਾ । ਉਸ -ਦੁਆਲੇ ਨਜ਼ਰ ਦੌੜਾਈ ਤਾਂ ਉਸ ਨੂੰ ਜ਼ਮੀਨ ' ਛੋਟੀਆਂ-ਛੋਟੀਆਂ ਰੋੜੀਆਂ ਪਈਆਂ ਦਿਸੀਆਂ।
The Crow did not give up. He looked around and saw some small pebbles on the ground.
ਉਸ ਰੋੜੀ ਚੁੱਕੀ ਦਿੱਤੀ। ਛਪਾਕ! ਸੁੱਟੀ। ਛਪਾਕ! —ਛਪਾਕ, ਛਪਾਕ, ਛਪਾਕ!
He picked up a pebble in his beak and dropped it into the pitcher. Plop! Then another. Plop! And another. Plop, plop, plop!
ਜਿਉਂ-ਜਿਉਂ ਰੋੜੀਆਂ ਡਿੱਗਦੀਆਂ ਗਈਆਂ, ਦਾ ਹੌਲੀ-ਹੌਲੀ ਆਉਣ ਲੱਗਾ। - ਰੋੜੀਆਂ ।
With each pebble, the water rose a little higher in the pitcher. The Crow kept dropping pebbles in, one by one.
ਅਖ਼ੀਰ ਦੇ ਮੂੰਹ ਚੜ੍ਹ । ਸਿਆਣੇ ਅੱਗੇ ਝੁਕ ਰੱਜ-ਰੱਜ ਪੀਤਾ ਬੁਝਾਈ।
At last the water rose all the way to the top. The clever Crow leaned in and drank until his thirst was gone.
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A public-domain Aesop's Fables tale, retold and translated into Punjabi (Gurmukhi) for diaspora families by Maastarji. Read together to build Punjabi reading confidence.
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Frequently asked questions
- Is "The Crow and the Pitcher" written in Gurmukhi?
- Yes. The full story is written in Punjabi (Gurmukhi script) as “ਕਾਂ ਅਤੇ ਘੜਾ”, with the English shown alongside so you can read both together. You can hide the English to read in Gurmukhi only.
- Can my child read this if they are still learning Punjabi?
- Yes. Keep the English on so a new reader can follow the meaning while they sound out the Gurmukhi. As they grow more confident, switch to “Gurmukhi only” for reading practice.
- Is this story free to read?
- Yes — every story on Maastarji is free to read online, with no sign-up. “The Crow and the Pitcher” is a public-domain Aesop's Fables tale, retold and translated into Punjabi for diaspora families.
