Little Thinkerphilosophy for children

Stories

Stories that leave
the question open

These are not made-up examples. Every one of them is a real story that someone told a long time ago to make a point — a myth, a parable, a puzzle. We have retold them plainly for young readers and written down where each one comes from. None of them ends in an answer.

An open book on the ground with a dotted trail rising from its pages toward a big question mark, under a crescent moon and stars
A 1666 engraving of a shepherd boy calling out, with a wolf among the sheep

Aesop

The Boy Who Cried Wolf

Who believes a liar when they finally tell the truth?

Ages 5–8

An old etching of the wind and the sun above a traveller on a road

Aesop

The North Wind and the Sun

Which works better — pushing, or warming?

Ages 5–8

An old engraving of a father handing a bundle of sticks to his sons

Aesop

The Bundle of Sticks

One stick snaps. A bundle doesn't. So what exactly is the bundle?

Ages 6–9

A Chinese ink painting of a man asleep beside a butterfly

Zhuangzi

The Man Who Dreamed He Was a Butterfly

How do you know you are not dreaming right now?

Ages 6–9

An old Japanese drawing of blind men feeling an elephant, each holding a different part

An Indian parable

The Elephant and the Six Blind Men

Six people touch the same animal. They all describe something different.

Ages 6–9

An old drawing of a royal procession with a crowd watching on

Hans Christian Andersen

The Emperor's New Clothes

Everybody can see it. Nobody will say it.

Ages 6–10

A Victorian illustration of a fox leaping up at a grape vine

Aesop

The Fox and the Grapes

Have you ever decided you didn't want something — the exact moment you couldn't have it?

Ages 6–9

An ancient Greek painting of a sailing ship, on a wine cup

Plutarch, Theseus

The Ship That Was Replaced

Change one plank. Then another. When is it a different ship?

Ages 7–10

An old engraving of people sitting in a dark cave, watching shadows on the wall

Plato, The Republic

The Cave

What if you had never seen anything but shadows?

Ages 8–12

An old painting of a harvest, with sheaves of wheat standing in a field

Eubulides, the sorites

When Is a Heap Not a Heap?

Take one grain off a heap of rice. Still a heap. Keep going. So where did the heap go?

Ages 8–12

An ancient Greek vase painted with the warrior Achilles

Zeno's paradox

Achilles and the Tortoise

The fastest runner in Greece can never catch a tortoise. Can you find the cheat?

Ages 9–12

A Renaissance painting of a man kneeling among rocks, finding a ring

Plato, The Republic

The Ring That Made Him Invisible

What would you do if you knew nobody would ever find out?

Ages 9–12

How to read one

  1. Read it out loudThese were spoken long before they were written. They work better as something you tell.
  2. Stop before the endEvery story page gives you the place to stop and ask, and what to ask.
  3. Do not settle itA story that ends in a tidy answer teaches that thinking is a race to a finish line.