Seven vines

Ukrainian folk tale of the Upper Dnipro region retold by Clever Hedgehog

Dear friends! Read a story about unity and family.

Once upon a time, there was a man who had seven sons. These brothers loved each other very much. They played together, had fun together, and were always there for each other. Nothing in the world could separate them.

As the brothers grew up, they each got married and had their own families. They moved to different places and became very busy with their own lives. Because of this, they stopped visiting their father and didn’t spend time with each other anymore.

One of the yellow ducklings pointed. “What is THAT? He cannot be one of us!”

Sometimes, they would visit their father, but they didn’t get along as well as they used to. The father was sad because he saw his sons growing apart and would become strangers if things didn’t change.

One day, the father called all his sons to come and see him.

When they arrived, he said, “My sons, I need each of you to bring me a thick willow vine tomorrow.”

“How can you say such a thing?” said Mama Duck in a stern voice. “You are only one day old!  

“Okay, Father,” the sons replied, and they left to find the vines.

The next morning, each son brought a thick willow vine.

The father took the vines and tied them together tightly with a rope in the middle.

Then he said, “Now, my sons, I want to see if any of you can break this bunch of vines.”

Each brother tried very hard to break the bundle of vines, but none of them could do it.

Then the father untied the bundle and gave one vine to each son. He asked them to break their vine. Breaking just one vine was very easy for each of them.

“So, Father, tell us what does it mean?” the sons asked his father.

“These seven vines,” the father explained, “are like you, the seven brothers. If you stay together, you are strong and no one can harm you, just like these seven vines when they were tied together.”

The sons understood their father’s lesson. From that day on, they started caring for each other again and lived together in peace and harmony.

“How can you say such a thing?” said Mama Duck in a stern voice. “You are only one day old!  

This story teaches us the importance of unity and family bonds. It shows that when people stick together and support each other, they are much stronger and can easily overcome challenges. But, when they are divided and isolated, they become weaker and more vulnerable. The story emphasizes the value of maintaining close relationships and caring for one another, especially within a family.

The End

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Tags: stories for kids, bedtime stories, fairy tales for children, story Seven vines, stories for toddlers, stories for preschoolers, stories for kindergarten, fairy tales for 5-years-old, fairy tales for 6-years-old, fairy tales for 7-years-old, fairy tales for 8-years-old, fairy tales for 9-years-old