Mr. Stork and Ms. Heron

retold by Oksana Vasilenko

Copyright Oksana Vasilenko 2011

Smashwords Edition License Notes:

Thank you for downloading this free ebook. You are welcome to share it with your friends. This book may be reproduced, copied and distributed for non-commercial purposes, provided the book remains in its complete original form. If you enjoyed this book, please return to Smashwords.com to discover other works by this author. Thank you for your support.

Mr. Stork lived on a marsh in a very nice house made of reeds. There were plenty of frogs and fish to eat and life seemed to be very good indeed. Except it was somewhat boring.

One day Mr. Stork was standing on one leg, as was his habit, and looked into the calm waters beneath. From the water a stork was looking back at him.

‘I wish I had someone to talk to,’ Mr. Stork sighed.

‘Croak, croak! You need to get married!’ someone said.

Mr. Stork looked around and saw an old toad sitting on a mossy rock.

‘Living alone is always boring,’ the toad said. ‘You need a family. At the other end of the marsh lives Ms. Heron. Why don’t you propose to her?’

And with this, the old toad disappeared into the reeds.

‘Get married?’ Mr. Stork said thoughtfully. ‘It may not be such a bad idea. It would be nice to have someone waiting for me at home. And in the evening we could watch sunsets together and listen to the chorus of crickets… Yes, it’s a very good idea.’

So he preened his feathers and went to meet Ms. Heron.

As the old toad said, Ms. Heron lived at the other end of the marsh in a nice house made of reeds with a little garden of water lilies growing around it. She spent most of her days looking at her own reflection in the water and dreaming about a charming Mr. Heron who would come to her one day. Of course, he would fall in love with her at first sight, they would get married and live happily ever after. She had those dreams for a long time, but no Mr. Heron was coming for some strange reason.

Then one day Mr. Stork showed up.

‘Good day to you, Ms. Heron,’ he said.

‘Good day to you, too, Mr. Stork,’ she replied.

‘You know, Ms. Heron, I have a nice house made of reeds and there are plenty of frogs and fish, but I feel somewhat lonely, especially when the sun goes down. Would you marry me?’ Mr. Stork asked.

Ms. Heron looked at him: he didn’t look like Mr. Heron she had been dreaming about.

‘No, Mr. Stork,’ she said. ‘Sorry, but I don’t feel like marrying you.’

Mr. Stork was so upset that he turned around and walked away without saying his goodbyes.

Days went by and Mr. Heron still wasn’t coming. Ms. Heron started to regret her harsh words. ‘Maybe I should not have turned Mr. Stork down,’ she thought and went to see him. She was sure that he would be happy to repeat his proposal.

‘Hello, Mr. Stork,’ Ms. Heron said. ‘I’ve come to see how you’re doing. Do you still feel lonely and wish for a family?’

Mr. Stork looked at her and remembered her harsh words. They still hurt very much and he felt angry.

‘No, Ms. Heron,’ he said. ‘I’m doing fine and need no family.’

Ms. Heron blushed and felt like crying. She went away without saying another word.

Days went by and Mr. Stork felt even more lonely. He started to regret his harsh words. ‘Maybe I should go to Ms. Heron again and this time we will both be happy,’ he thought.

He went back but this time she was angry with him.

And so they have been going back and forth for ever and ever and still haven’t tied the knot.

This story is from the book ‘Russian Folk Tales’.

If you enjoyed this story, you might also enjoy my other stories—

more is to come soon. Check for new stories here