A Clever Fox and a Foolish Crow Completing Story — Your Complete Exam Guide

The completing story of a clever fox and a foolish crow is one of the most common story-writing questions in Bangladesh school and board exams. Year after year, students of class 6, 7, 8, SSC and HSC are asked to complete this story from a given beginning. The idea comes from an old fable in which a hungry fox tricks a crow out of its food with sweet, false praise. If you understand the flow of this story and learn a few strong lines for the moral, you can score full marks on this question in any exam. This complete guide gives you the full story in simple English, the moral with real-life examples, a word-meaning table with Bangla translations, a short junior-class version, exam writing tips, and answers to the most asked questions about this story.

A Clever Fox and a Foolish Crow Completing Story (The Full Story)

Once there lived a clever fox in a forest. One day he was very hungry. He was wandering here and there in search of food. At last he came under a tree where a crow was sitting on a branch with a piece of meat in its beak.

The fox looked up and his eyes shone with joy. The meat was fresh and soft, and his empty stomach began to growl. But the crow was sitting high on the branch, far beyond his reach. The fox could not climb the tree. He had to think of some trick.

He thought for a while and then a clever plan came into his mind. He decided to flatter the crow. The fox stood under the tree, looked up with a sweet smile, and began to speak in a very soft voice.

"Good morning, dear friend! How beautiful you look today!" said the fox. "Your feathers are so black and shiny. They look like silk. And your beak — oh, what a fine beak! I have never seen a bird as handsome as you."

The crow heard the praise but said nothing. It held the meat tightly in its beak.

The fox continued, "I hear that your voice is as sweet as honey. All the birds of this forest sing your praise. People say that if you sing even once, the whole forest will stop to listen. Dear friend, would you please sing a song for me? I am eager to hear your sweet voice."

Now the crow felt very happy and proud. Nobody had ever praised it like this before. It thought, "What a good friend this fox is! He knows my beauty. He knows my sweet voice. Let me sing a song for him."

So the foolish crow forgot about the meat in its beak. It opened its beak wide to caw loudly — "Caw! Caw!"

And the moment it opened its mouth, the piece of meat fell from its beak. It dropped straight down under the tree. In a flash, the clever fox jumped forward and caught the meat in his mouth. He ate it up quickly with great joy.

The crow sat on the branch and watched its dinner disappear into the fox's stomach. It felt sad and ashamed. Then the fox looked up and said with a sly smile, "Thank you for the meal, dear friend. You have a loud voice, but you have no wisdom. Remember my advice — do not trust a flatterer."

Saying this, the clever fox went away happily into the forest, and the foolish crow was left alone on the branch, regretting its pride.

Moral of the Clever Fox and Foolish Crow Story

Moral: Beware of flatterers. Do not trust a flatterer.

A flatterer is a person who praises you only to get something from you. The fox did not really think the crow was beautiful or sweet-voiced. He praised the crow only because he wanted the meat. The crow believed the false praise because it was proud and foolish, and in the end it lost its food.

You can use this moral in your exam like this: "This story teaches us that we should never believe those who praise us too sweetly. Their sweet words may hide a selfish purpose. We should judge people by their actions, not by their flattery. True friends tell us the truth even when it hurts, but flatterers tell us sweet lies to get what they want."

Here are some real-life examples that show this moral at work. A student may fall into bad habits because his false friends praise him too much and never correct his mistakes. A shopper may buy an expensive and useless product because a dishonest salesman praises it as the best in the world. On social media, many people become proud because strangers praise them, and then they make foolish decisions. In every case, the person who believes sweet but false praise suffers the loss, just like the foolish crow. If we want to be wise, we must be careful of those who praise us without reason.

Difficult Word Meanings

A Clever Fox and a Foolish Crow for Junior Classes (Short Version)

Once there lived a clever fox in a forest. One day he was very hungry. He was wandering here and there in search of food. At last he came under a tree where a crow was sitting on a branch with a piece of meat in its beak.

The fox could not climb the tree, so he made a plan. He praised the crow's beauty and sweet voice. The crow felt proud. When it opened its beak to sing, the meat fell down. The fox ate it up and said, "Do not trust a flatterer."

Moral: Do not trust a flatterer.

Writing Tips for Completing Stories

1. Start with the given beginning exactly. In the exam, a few lines of the story are already given to you. Copy those lines word for word at the start of your answer. Do not change them. Your completion must join smoothly with the given beginning so that the whole story reads like one piece.

2. Keep the past tense throughout. Stories are told in the past tense. Write "lived", "said", "went", "thought" — not "lives", "says", "goes". Many students lose marks by mixing present and past tense in the same story.

3. Keep every event connected. A completing story is like a chain — each event must lead to the next. Here the chain is: hungry fox → sees meat → cannot reach → makes a plan → flatters → crow feels proud → opens beak → meat falls → fox takes it → moral. Do not add new characters or events that do not fit this chain.

4. Use dialogue to make the story lively. A few lines of conversation between the characters make your story interesting. For example, let the fox praise the crow in his own words and let him give the final advice. But keep dialogue short and natural.

5. Build toward a clear moral. Almost every completing story in Bangladeshi exams ends with a moral. For this story the moral is "Do not trust a flatterer." Write the moral in a separate line at the end, and if there is time, add one or two lines explaining it.

6. Watch your length. For junior classes (6–8), 120–150 words are enough. For classes 9–10 and HSC, write 180–250 words. A very long story wastes time; a very short story misses the moral and gets fewer marks.

7. Avoid common mistakes. Do not write the title inside the answer — the question already names the story. Do not change the characters (the crow with meat must not become a crow with bread, and the fox must not become a dog). Do not end the story suddenly; the fox's final words give it a proper ending. And always check your spelling and punctuation before you submit.

FAQs About This Completing Story

What is the completing story "a clever fox and a foolish crow" for class 6?

For class 6, students usually get the beginning about a hungry fox and a crow with meat, and they must complete it in about 120–150 words. The short junior version given above in this guide is exactly the right length and language level for class 6 students.

How should class 8 students write the clever fox and foolish crow story?

Class 8 students should write a fuller version of about 180–220 words. Use the full story given in this guide as your model: include the fox's praise, the crow's pride, some dialogue between them, and finish with the moral "Do not trust a flatterer" in a separate line.

What is the moral of the story "a clever fox and a foolish crow"?

The moral is "Do not trust a flatterer" — also written as "Beware of flatterers". It means we should not believe people who praise us too sweetly, because their praise may hide a selfish purpose. The full explanation and real-life examples are given in the moral section above, ready to quote in your exam.

What is a good story on clever fox and foolish crow with moral for SSC and HSC?

The full-length story given at the top of this page suits SSC and HSC students. It starts with the standard exam beginning used in Bangladesh, develops the plot with natural dialogue, and ends with the moral plus an explanation you can quote directly in your answer script.

How do I complete the story "a clever fox and a foolish crow" step by step?

First, copy the given beginning word for word. Second, describe how the fox plans to get the meat by flattery. Third, write the fox's sweet words to the crow. Fourth, show the crow opening its beak proudly and the meat falling. Finally, let the fox take the meat and say his closing advice, then write the moral. Following these steps keeps your story connected from start to finish.

Is this the same story as Aesop's "The Fox and the Crow"?

The idea is the same, but the version used in Bangladesh exams is different. In Aesop's fable the crow holds a piece of cheese; in the Bangladeshi exam version the crow holds a piece of meat and the beginning lines are fixed. For exams, always follow the version and beginning given in your question paper.

How many words should a completing story have in exams?

It depends on your class. Class 6–7 students should write 120–150 words, class 8 students around 150–200 words, and SSC/HSC students around 180–250 words. Never write less than 100 words, and do not make it so long that you run out of time for other questions.