When imparting the vital value of the story lessons to your children, short moral stories for kids in English are the best way to go. They have this really beautiful way of imparting invaluable lessons that make them all the more relatable and endearing.
We have all grown up listening to short stories with the value of the Story lessons, and it’s time our children heard them, too.
Here are some of the best short stories with moral lessons for kids. Each short story with the moral lesson presented below has enlightened children.
After all, a story becomes a great story, when it’s a story with a moral lesson
1. The Hare and the Tortoise
The story revolves around a boastful hare and a slow tortoise who engage in a race. One day, the tortoise accepts the hare’s challenge to race, much to the hare’s amusement.
The race begins, and the hare quickly takes a significant lead. Overconfident hare decides to take a nap, believing he has plenty of time to win. Meanwhile, the tortoise continues at his steady pace, slowly but surely making his way toward the finish line.
When the hare wakes up, he realises the tortoise is close to winning. Despite his fast sprint, the hare arrives too late, and the tortoise crosses the finish line first.
Moral of the Story: Overconfidence can ruin you.
2. The Dog and the Bone
The story is about a stray dog who got a bone. The dog goes to a river to enjoy it. He saw his own reflection in the water and thought it was another dog with a bone. Then the dog tried to take the bone from his reflection, but ended up dropping his own bone into the river.
Moral of the Story: Envy will make you lose what you already have.
3. The Boy Who Cried Wolf
This is the story of the shepherd boy in a village. He cried out “Wolf! Wolf!” as a joke to get attention from the villagers. The villagers rush to help him. They get angry upon seeing no wolf. The boy laughed at them but he got scolded in return. The boy continued this once more and the entire thing repeated once again.
Third time, to the boy’s surprise, a wolf appears. This time the villagers did not help even after the boy shouted for help. Later the villagers found out about the incident and saw the boy crying who lost his sheeps. Later an old man confronted him and said that people will not believe a liar even when he tells the truth.
Moral of the Story: Nobody believes a liar, even when he speaks the truth.
4. The Golden Touch
Midas, a character from Greek mythology and Roman folklore, ruled over Phrygia and was famous for his greed and lack of wisdom. After showing kindness to Silenus, Midas was granted a wish by Dionysus. The king wished that everything he touched would turn into gold.
At first, he was thrilled with his new power, but soon he faced the consequences when even his food transformed into gold, leaving him on the brink of starvation. This experience made him realise the errors of his ways.
Moral of the Story: Greed will always lead to your downfall.
5. The Thirsty Crow
Once a crow was travelling for a very long time and felt thirsty. The crow found a pitcher with water inside, but it couldn’t reach it. The bird tried to tip it over, but failed. So, it started dropping pebbles one by one until the water rose to the top and it could finally drink.
Moral of the Story: Where there’s a will, there’s a way.
6. Lazy John
The story revolves around a boy named John. He is very lazy. He spends a sunny day lying under an apple tree, wishing for the apples to fall into his lap without making any effort to get them. As time passes, he grows hungry and frustrated when the apples remain on the branches.
John’s little sister suggests that he shake the tree to make the apples fall. This simple idea sparks a change in John, who realises the importance of taking action. He gets up, shakes the tree, and successfully catches the apples as they fall.
Moral of the Story: Laziness will get you nowhere.
7. The Fox and the Grapes
This is the story of a Fox that saw the ripe grapes and wanted them. But they were out of reach. Instead of admitting defeat, the Fox kept trying to get the grapes, only to fail each time. In the end, the Fox realised that the grapes were not worth the effort and walked away feeling scornfully calling them ‘sour grapes’.
Moral of the Story: Do not hate what you can’t have.
8. The Rose and the Cactus
There was once a rose that took great pride in her stunning appearance. The only thing that bothered her was that she grew next to an unattractive cactus. Almost every day, the rose would make fun of the cactus’s looks. But the cactus remained silent. Other plants, flowers, and trees nearby tried to intervene and stop the rose from bullying the cactus. But she was proud of her own beauty.
As spring faded and summer came, the rain stopped falling for a long time. The once vibrant rose began to lose her colour and started to fade. One day, she noticed a sparrow pecking at the cactus to drink some water. Feeling embarrassed, the rose hesitated to ask the cactus for help, but eventually, she did. The generous cactus agreed, and the sparrows came to water the rose.
Moral of the Story: Never ridicule anyone based on their looks.
9. The Ant and the Grasshopper
On a sunny day in late autumn, a group of Ants was busy in the warm sunlight, drying the grains they had collected over the summer. Suddenly, a hungry Grasshopper, carrying his fiddle, approached them and politely asked for some food.
Ants get shocked upon hearing that the grasshopper was busy playing the music and it did not have time to gather food.
The Ants then told the grasshopper to dance this time, in a witty way, and continued their tasks.
Moral of the Story: Always be prepared for the future
10. The Ugly Duckling
A long time ago, a large and ugly duckling was born into a family of perfectly charming ducks. He was so different that his mother even wondered if he might be a turkey. Even though everyone thought he was big and unattractive, his mother always praised his amazing swimming abilities. On their first visit to the pond, the mother duck attempted to teach her ducklings how to swim.
The other ducks quickly noticed how odd-looking the big duckling was, but his mother stood up for him. Other animals teased him for his unusual white feathers while all the other ducklings were adorable and yellow. The ugly duckling ran away from there and roamed for a long time. Eventually, he came across a group of swans who revealed to him that he wasn’t a duck at all, but a stunning swan, just like them.
Moral of the Story: Never judge others on their appearance.
11. The Milkmaid and Her Pail
The Milkmaid had just finished milking the cows and was on her way back from the field with the shiny milk pail on her head. She was lost in thoughts about her future plans as she strolled along.
She thought that the milk would give her a good amount of butter to churn. She will sell that and use the money to buy a bunch of eggs for hatching. When May day arrives, she could sell the chickens hatched from eggs and buy a beautiful new dress from the money earned.
Lost in her thoughts, she arrogantly tossed her head, causing the milk pail to tumble to the ground. The milk spilled out, taking with it the butter, eggs, chicks, new dress, and all the milkmaid’s pride.
Moral of the Story: Don’t count your chickens till they’re hatched.
12. The Wise Old Owl
There was an old owl who lived in an oak tree and she saw many things happening around her every day.
One time, the owl saw a boy helping an old man carry a heavy basket.
Another time, the owl saw a little girl yelling at her mother. The old owl saw a lot of things every day, but she never said anything about what she saw.
As time went on, the owl started to talk less and less, but this made her hear better. Now the owl could hear what people were saying as they walked by the trees.
One day, she heard a woman telling someone else that she saw an elephant jumping over her fence. Another day, the owl heard a young man bragging to someone else that he was perfect and never made mistakes in his life.
Every day, the old owl spoke less and listened more. Slowly, she became wiser and was known as the wise owl.
Moral of the Story: Speaking less and listening more makes you wiser.
13. The Elephant and the Ants
Once upon a time, in a jungle, there was a proud elephant that thought no one could hurt him. So, he used to bully all the other animals in the jungle. One day the elephant saw a family of ants and sprayed water on them. The elephant threatened to walk over his whole family, when a small ant questioned his actions.
Later that night, the ant sneaked into the elephant’s trunk and started biting him. The elephant screamed in pain and begged to stop. The ant came out of his trunk once the elephant agreed to not bully anyone else again.
Moral of the Story: Treat others with kindness.
14. The Three Little Pigs
Three little pigs are sent out by their mother to start their own lives. Each pig decides to build a house. The first pig makes a house out of straw, the second pig chooses sticks for his house, and the third pig builds a strong house with bricks.
One day, a big bad wolf sees the pigs and runs after them to their houses. He tries to get inside and eat them, so they refuse, saying, “Not by the hair on my chinny chin chin.” The wolf gets angry and threatens, “Then I’ll huff, and I’ll puff, and I’ll blow your house down!” He easily destroys the straw and stick houses, but the brick house is too strong for him to blow down.
Then, the wolf tries to sneak down the chimney but falls into a big pot of hot water. He jumps out and runs away, never to be seen again, and the three pigs are safe.
Moral of the Story: Hard work always pays off.
15. The Golden Egg
In a small village, there lived a man who was very poor and struggled to live. One day, someone gifted him a hen that had a special ability to lay eggs made of gold. When the man found out, he thought the hen must be full of golden eggs and would lay one every day.
His greed took over, and he ended up killing the hen, hoping to find all the golden eggs inside. But to his shock, there was nothing inside the hen. The poor man felt terrible about his actions and could never forgive himself for being so greedy.
Moral of the Story: Greed destroys one’s fortune.
16. Elephant and Friends
Once upon a time, there was a lonely elephant who roamed a forest, looking for friends. He tried to befriend a monkey, a rabbit, a frog, and a fox, but they all said no because he was so large.
The following day, a tiger began to chase the animals, causing them to panic. The elephant went up to the tiger and asked him to stop bothering his friends, but the tiger wouldn’t listen. The elephant then kicked the tiger, making him run away. Seeing the elephant’s bravery, all the animals realised that he was just the right size to be their friend.
Moral of the Story: Friends come in all shapes and sizes.
17. The Fox and the Stork
Once there lived a fox and a stork. The fox asked the stork to have dinner together. The fox gave the stork soup in a bowl, which the fox could easily drink, but the stork couldn’t because of its beak. Later one day the stork invited the fox to eat, serving food in a narrow-necked container. The stork could eat from it easily, but the fox couldn’t.
Moral of the Story: Selfishness comes back.
18. The Monkey and the Crocodile
Once there lived a crocodile in a river and befriended a monkey living in a tree by the river. The monkey shares fruits with the crocodile, who takes some home for his wife. Unfortunately, the crocodile’s wife is greedy and wants the monkey’s heart. She convinces the crocodile to bring the monkey home, but the crocodile decides to stay loyal to his friend and tells him about this. The monkey then escapes by making an excuse and ends the friendship with the crocodile.
Moral of the Story: Choose your friends wisely.
19. A Glass of Milk
The story revolves around a boy who worked various jobs to support his education. One day, feeling extremely hungry, he approached a house and asked a girl for a glass of water. Instead, she offered him a glass of milk, which he gratefully accepted. This act of kindness left a lasting impression on him.
Years later, the girl fell ill and was treated by a doctor successfully. The girl was shocked to know that her medical bills were paid already. A note on the bill revealed that it had been paid long ago with the glass of milk she had given to the boy.
Moral of the Story: No good deed goes unrewarded.
20. The Bear and Two Friends
Once in a forest, two friends were walking. Suddenly, a bear attacked two friends. One friend climbed up a tree and did not offer help to his friend. Then the other friend laid on the round without any motion. The bear sniffed and left, thinking that he was dead.
When asked what the bear whispered to him, he said ‘Never trust a false friend’.
Moral of the Story: A true friend will always stand by you.
21. The foolish thief
Once a wealthy man attended Akbar’s court to get help from Birbal. He is suspicious of his servants stealing things from him.
Birbal thought of a plan. He told all the merchant’s servants that the stick would grow three inches by tomorrow if they were the thief and handed the sticks over to them.
The next day, Birbal observed that one of the servants cut the stick shorter by three inches thinking it would grow. Birbal understood this and announced the servant with the short stick as the thief.
Moral of the Story: The truth will always come out.
22. The Stork and The Crab
The tale revolves around an old Stork who deceives the fish in a pond by pretending to rescue them from humans who are drying it up. Instead of leading them to safety, he takes them to a large black rock and eats them.
However, a clever Crab sees through the Stork’s trickery and seeks revenge by pinching the Stork’s neck with his sharp claws. The Crab reveals the Stork’s lies to the other pond creatures.
Moral of the Story: Too much greed will only cause you harm.
23. The Miser and his Gold
Once there lived a miser who was not willing to spend his gold coins, so he kept them hidden in a pit in his garden, covered with stones. Each day, he would visit the pit and enjoy looking at his wealth. This was his daily habit.
One day, a thief noticed his routine and sneaked into the pit to steal the coins. The next day, the miser found the pit empty.
He yelled so loudly that a neighbour came over. The miser explained everything to him. The neighbour suggested that he could keep the money at home.
The miser sadly replied that he never intended to spend them. The neighbour then remarked that he might as well have placed a stone in the pit to look at every day, since the unused gold was just as worthless.
Moral of the Story: Possessions are only as useful as what they are used for.
24. The Puppy and The Well
Once there lived a mother dog along with her pups. The mother dog warned pups to not go near the well. One of the pups curiously went, climbed the wall and peeked inside the well.
Seeing its own reflection, the pup thought there was another pup inside the well. The pup was furious upon seeing the actions repeated by its reflection. So, to confront, the pup jumped in the well, only to realise that it was a reflection. Later a farmer passing by the well helped the pup.
Moral of the Story: Always listen to your elders.
25. The Blue Jackal
In the tale, the jackal cleverly avoided danger and gained power. He jumped into a blue dye tub, fooling the dogs into thinking he was another animal, which saved him. Later, he deceived everyone by claiming he was sent by God to become the jungle king.
However, he revealed his true self when he howled like a wolf, causing the animals to turn against him.
Moral of the Story: Never pretend to be something you’re not.
26. The Mouse and the Lion
Once upon a time in the jungle, a little mouse accidentally disturbed a sleeping lion. The lion was about to kill her, but the mouse begged for her life and promised to repay the favour. The lion found this amusing.
One day, the lion got caught in a hunter’s net. The mouse saw this and quickly chewed through the net and freed the lion. The lion was grateful and learned the importance of kindness and unity from this incident.
Moral of the Story: A friend in need is a friend indeed.
27. The hidden treasure
This is the story of an old farmer who was worried about his four grown sons who did not work. When he became ill and was near death, he wanted to teach them a lesson. He told them he had hidden treasure on the farm, and only the best son would find it.
The sons began to dig but found nothing. A stranger suggested they plant seeds, and after talking it over, they agreed. When the plants grew, they sold the crops for a good profit. The sons understood that their father wanted them to learn the value of hard work to achieve success in life.
Moral of the Story: No pain, no gain.
28. The Slave and the Lion
Once, a slave had a cruel master. One fine day, he ran away into the forest because he couldn’t take it anymore. In the forest, he helped a lion by removing a thorn from its paw. Later, his master found him and threw him into a lion’s den. The lion turned out to be the same one he had helped, so the slave escaped death.
Moral of the Story: Good deeds will always come back to you.
29. The Old Man in the Village
In a village, there was an old man who was always gloomy and complained a lot, making everyone unhappy. But when he turned eighty, he suddenly became happy and started smiling.
He shared that after spending eighty years chasing happiness without success, he decided to stop chasing it and simply enjoy life, which made him truly happy.
Moral of the Story: Seek fun, not happiness.
30. The Wise Old Man
In a tiny village, there was a wise old man famous for his advice. A curious young boy wanted to test the old man’s smarts, so he came up with a clever plan using a little bird he would keep hidden in his hands. The boy planned to ask the old man to guess what he was holding and then trick him by asking if the bird was alive or dead. If the old man said it is alive, the boy would end the bird’s life; if he said it is dead, the boy would let it go free, proving the old man wrong.
The boy caught a sparrow and went to see the old man, who quickly recognized it as a bird because of the feathers on the boy’s clothes. When the old man was asked if the bird was alive or dead, he wisely said that it all depended on the boy’s choice, pointing out that the bird’s fate was in the boy’s hands. This answer really drove home the idea of personal responsibility and the importance of making choices.
Moral of the Story: We have control over our actions and the outcomes they produce.
Reasons to Start Reading Short Story
- Short stories are extremely well-written : Short story writers, like poets, have a limited amount of space to completely develop their plot, characters, theme, and so on. Every word, every sentence, and every event must be more deliberate than similar parts in a narrative. If you want to see examples of great writing, look no further than the short story.
- Short stories are short: A large novel can often be intimidating for readers. A short narrative can be read in one sitting or read several times, which is an excellent reading method. Multiple readings enable more insight and analysis. Unless you truly love a novel, you are unlikely to read it again. This is not the case with short stories!
- Short stories teach literary devices: Symbolism? Allegory? Theme? Metaphor? Short moral stories for kids? Yep. Short stories have them all.
- Short stories enable comparisons: Because short stories take up little time to read, readers can choose numerous short stories to compare and contrast, which is another excellent reading approach!
- Short stories offer historical, social, and literary context Short stories are as powerful as novels in giving historical and social context. To truly understand a society, listen to its stories. Pairing short stories with a moral lesson in a historical context is a fantastic idea. Often, this method helps pupils remember historical context better.
Conclusion
Each story offers valuable lessons and entertainment, making it a valuable resource for children’s literature.
At EuroKids we showcase a variety of engaging and educational tales that are sure to captivate young readers. Our aim is to incorporate moral values that shape the thoughts of growing children.
