Tischbein executed many studies of animals in Northern Germany just as he had done previously in Italy. From these studies, the artist wrote an animal tale titled “Story of Geese”, which was the continuation of the tale “Reineke the Fox”. He decided on this title of “Geese” because in the second tale the sly fox protagonist loses a bet with the stupid fowls and must concede the victory to them.

            Concerning this painting there is another important fact to keep in mind: in Tischbein's biography there is a chapter titled “Memory of Billwerder near Hamburg.”. It was precisely in Billwerder where he happened to hear the story about a storks' nest threatened by fire which inspired him to paint a picture of it. “This moving story inspired my painting of The Storks' Nest.” (J. W. Tischbein, La mia vita, edited by Carl G.W. Schiller, Braunschweig 1861, Vol. III, p. 224).

            So it is plausible that this drawing was carried out on just this occasion. Another version of the drawing was sold at auction in 2003 (Drawings by J.H.W Tischbein, Christie’s New York, Wednesday - January 22,  2003, lot 104 VII).