Theme

Read the passage and identify the theme. Theme is the message, moral, or lesson that the author wants to teach the reader.TheAntandtheDoveOne day an ant was out walking and became very thirsty. She saw a stream and decided to take a sip from it. But when she bent over, she slipped and fell into the water.Luckily, a dove flying overhead spotted the ant. The bird took a leaf in its beak and dropped the leaf into the water for the ant. The ant climbed onto the leaf and floated safely to the edge of the stream. "Thank you, dear dove," said the ant. "You saved my life."Just then, the two animals saw a hunter nearby. The hunter was holding a net high in the air. Seeing that the hunter was about to capture the dove, the ant acted quickly. She bit the hunter hard on his leg. "Ow!" he cried, and he dropped the net on the ground.The dove flew away, and the ant walked away smiling. The ant felt good about helping the dove. Those who are kind to others will be treated kindly in turn. The HeronThe heron, a proud, long-legged bird, walked to the river near his nest. It was nearly time for breakfast. He eyed the water. Today was his lucky day. There were so many fish swimming there! He would have his pick of food.First, a school of little minnows swam by."Oh, a minnow just won't do," said the heron. "It's much too small."Next, a perch swam past the heron."No!" he said. "A fish of that size isn't fit for a bird like me."It got later, and the sun climbed higher in the sky. Soon most of the fish moved into deeper water. After a while, there were no more fish where the heron stood. By now he was very hungry. He could wait no longer to eat, but all he could find was a tiny snail. If you are too hard to please, you might end up with little or nothing. Sometimes what you don't expect to enjoy can make you the happiest. The Ugly DucklingA mother duck sat on her nest. One by one, her eggs began to hatch. Out came fluffy little yellow ducklings. The last egg to hatch was the biggest one of all. The duckling from this egg looked nothing like the rest. She was large, with dull gray feathers.As the ducklings grew older, the other animals on the farm teased the gray duckling. They called her "the ugly duckling." Sad and lonely, she swam by herself and stayed away from the other animals.That spring, the gray duckling spied a group of beautiful white swans swimming in the pond. She watched them and longed to join them, but she feared that they, too, would make fun of her. As she looked at herself in the water, though, she noticed her dull gray feathers were gone. Instead, she had white feathers and a long neck. The gray duckling wasn't a duckling at all. She was a lovely swan. She happily joined the other swans, lonely no longer. If you make fun of people, it will only hurt you in the end. Don't feel bad if you are different, because you are beautiful in your own way.