Tales with a lesson
AESOP's FABLES have been teaching lessons for thousands of years, and this word search gathers the classics. You'll be finding the famous animal heroes — the steady TORTOISE and speedy HARE, the brave MOUSE who helps the LION, and the sly FOX eyeing the GRAPES.
Each puzzle pulls a fresh selection from the list, so the tales change every time you play — gentle on Easy, and a Hard-mode hunt once the diagonals and backwards words appear.
The moral of the story
Every fable ends with a MORAL, and the lessons are here. There's the CROW tricked out of its CHEESE, the hard-working ANT and the lazy grasshopper, the boy who cried WOLF and the SHEPHERD who stopped believing him, and the GOLDEN goose. The tales warn against being GREEDY, PROUD or BOASTFUL, and praise being CLEVER, WISE and STEADY — a LESSON in every story.
A storyteller from ancient Greece
AESOP is said to have been an enslaved man in ancient Greece around 2,600 years ago, famous for winning arguments and warnings by telling little animal stories instead of lecturing. We don't know how much of his life is true — he may be partly legend himself — but the FABLES attached to his name were passed down by mouth for centuries before anyone wrote them in a book, which is why so many cultures tell their own versions of the same tale.
The genius of a fable is its size: a tiny story with one clear MORAL you never forget. 'Slow and STEADY wins the race' from the TORTOISE and the HARE, 'sour GRAPES' from the FOX who couldn't reach them, and 'don't cry WOLF' from the SHEPHERD boy have all become everyday phrases — proof that a good lesson sticks better as a story than as a telling-off. That's exactly why teachers reach for Aesop in PSHE and assembly: the animals do the moralising, so children can talk about honesty, greed and kindness without feeling preached at.
Great for a reading or PSHE topic
The fables' clear lessons pair perfectly with a PSHE discussion or a storytime about right and wrong — Easy mode keeps the grid small with no diagonals or reverse words. Play online, print a PDF pack, or use our Make Your Own tool to build a grid from your favourite fables.
Frequently asked questions
What's in the Aesop's Fables word search?
The classic tales — the tortoise and the hare, the lion and the mouse, the fox and the grapes, and the boy who cried wolf, each with its moral. Each puzzle uses a fresh mix.
Which fables are included?
The classics — the TORTOISE and the HARE, the LION and the MOUSE, the FOX and the GRAPES, and the boy who cried WOLF, each with its MORAL.
Is it good for a PSHE or reading topic?
Great fit — the fables' lessons pair well with a PSHE or storytime discussion. Easy mode keeps the grid small with no diagonals or reverse words.