People who are busy in society must need two most important things, one is knowledge, and the other morality. If knowledge is the magic weapon to enter society and contribute to society, then morality is the identity card based on society. Without morality, one cannot survive in society. The following are short stories in English with moral compiled by the editor of the mydeepthoughts for you, I hope it will help you!
Short Stories in English With Moral For Kids
The Other Side of The Portrait – (Short stories in English with morals)
One day, Krishnadevaraya displayed his portrait in the court. All the courtiers appreciated the painting and the artist. Surprisingly, Tenali Rama remained silent. The Emperor was surprised at this. “Rama, don’t you have anything to say?” “My lord, I don’t find anything great about this painting. In fact, it is incomplete. It shows only one side of your face. The artist doesn’t deserve any credit!” remarked Rama. “Rama, you don’t know how to judge a good painting. A painting need not be complete.
One has to imagine a lot to judge the merit of a painting. It’s very easy to criticize. Tell me, can you draw anything like this? I doubt whether you can even hold the brush, leave alone paint any object. Well, you draw something and bring it to me. “Rama was not seen in the court for some days.
One day, he entered with two bodyguards holding a painting. Everyone was confused to see only the rear portion of a horse in the painting. “What is this Rama? I can see only the tail of a horse,” commented the emperor. “My lord, its body is outside the canvas. Didn’t you say, one has to imagine a lot to judge the merit of a good painting?” said Rama with a smirk. Krishnadevaraya laughed loudly. “Rama, none can outwit you,” said the Emperor, as he reached for a purse to reward Rama.
The Buffalo’s Mind – (Short stories in English with morals)
Once upon a time, there was an old man who owned a buffalo. One day, he took his buffalo to the nearby garden for grazing. As he sat there watching his buffalo graze the grass, he suddenly noticed some soldiers running towards them from a distance.
The old man realized that the soldiers belonged to an enemy group. The old and helpless man feared that the soldiers might take away his buffalo. Shivering with fear, he got up from his place and ran to the buffalo. Addressing the buffalo he said, “Oh my buffalo! Run away from here. I can see the enemies coming to this side. If you do not escape, they might beat you up and drag you away”.
The buffalo did not budge from its place even after hearing its master. Annoyed by the buffalo’s behaviour, the old man again said, “You fool! Why don’t you run away? They are going to torture you if they catch you”.
The buffalo then turned to its master and replied, “Master! Why should I run away? I have no fear for those soldiers you and your enemy is one and the same for me. If they catch me, what would they do except making me toil hard? Are you not doing the same to me now? So, what difference does it make if I am with you or them? My life would be the same anywhere”. The astonished old man had no other choice but to keep his mouth shut after he heard what his buffalo said.
Moral English Short Story : As long as the treatment is the same, there will be no difference whoever the master is”.
The Dog and the Eagle – (Short stories in English with morals)
Once upon a time, there was a dog and an eagle who were friends. While the eagle lived in a nest along with her children on a banyan tree, the dog lived with her children in a bush under the same tree. Both the families were very friendly with each other and spent most of the time together.
After a few days, the dog went to the nearby village in search of food, leaving her puppies at home. Meanwhile, the eagle felt extremely hungry. Though she looked here and there, she could not find any food to eat.
The eagle then immediately flew down the tree, killed the puppies, and ate the meat. Extremely satisfied with the food she ate, the eagle again flew back to her nest. Not even once did the evil eagle feel guilty about killing her best friend’s children.
After a while, the dog returned from the village and was shocked to see her dead children. The dog wept uncontrollably for having lost her children and also understood that it was the eagle’s deed. Even after her family was shattered, the dog neither thought of taking revenge nor did she get annoyed with the eagle.
“Even if I want to avenge my children’s death, how can I do so? The eagle is a strong bird that flies high in the sky and I am just a helpless land animal” thought the dog. Out of helplessness, the dog only cursed her bad lunch and spent her days in grief.
But whenever the dog remembered her children, she always cursed the eagle in her heart and hoped that the eagle would learn her lesson one day.
Several days passed by. The eagle and the dog were no more friends. One day, the farmers in a nearby field decided to have a feast. They killed a goat, lit a fire, and started to cook the meat. The eagle which was resting in her nest happened to notice what the farmers were doing.
When she saw the meat that was being cooked, her mouth watered. “I should somehow get some piece of the meat”. Thought the eagle and flew in that direction.
It circled high in the sky for a while and waited for a chance to grab the meat. When no one was observing, she swiftly flew down, grabbed a hot piece of meat, and flew away from there.
As the eagle was flying towards her nest, a strong wind blew in those surroundings due to which the fire lit by the farmers flared up high. Many tiny fire splinters from the fire flew in the direction of the eagle’s nest and fell on it.
What more? In a split second, the eagle’s nest that was made of straw caught fire and turned into the ashes of the eagle’s children, which were down the tree.
The dog, which was watching all that had happened, collected the dead children of the eagle and placed them under the tree.
When the eagle returned to her nest and saw her dead children under the tree, her grief knew no bounds. Mad with grief she circled around her children, just like the dog did in the past.
Moral English short story: God Almighty always has a way to punish a person who does evil to others.
Read Also “10 Iconic Persons Success Stories For Motivation“
The Lucky Fox – (Short stories in English with morals)
One day, a tiger and a jackal went into the forest in search of food. Both the animals were roaming in the same place with the hope that they might come across some animal to kill. As they were roaming so, a deer happened to pass that way.
The tiger and also the jackal noticed the deer exactly at the same moment. Both pounced on it at the same time and finally managed to kill the deer. But alas! The tiger claimed that the deer belonged to him and the jackal too claimed that the deer was his.
Within seconds, they resorted to a fierce battle over the ownership of the dead deer and continued attacking one another for a long time.
Exhausted, injured, and hungry, both the animals slowly lost their strength and fell down with the deer in between them.
After a little while, a fox happened to pass that away. He noticed the dead deer in between the fainted tiger and jackal. He immediately tiptoed towards them and quietly pulled out the deer from the two animals and started running away with it.
Soon after the fox did so, the tiger and the jackal came back to consciousness and saw the escaping fox, with no strength left to chase the fox, they fell back to the ground again and thought, “Alas! Only if we were a little wise and resolved the matter without fighting, the fox would not have been able to take away our prey. Now neither we have the strength nor do we have food to eat”.
Moral English Short Story: A foolish fight between two always benefits the third.
The Clever Cock – (Short stories in English with morals)
One day a hungry fox was roaming in the forest in search of food. As he looked around, he finally found a cock at a distance. “I should somehow kill this cock and satisfy my hunger,” thought the fox, walking forward. He greeted the cock with a smile and said, “My dear friend! Yesterday, there was great news from heaven above. Have you heard it?”
Even before the cock could answer, the fox again said, “You know! It was an order from heaven that all the animals should be friends and live in harmony. So, let us be friends from now!” Now, the intelligent cock was well aware of the cunning intentions of the fox. “Yes, dear friend! Even I heard the news,” said the cock, engaging the fox in a conversation, while he thought of an escape plan.
Finally, an idea flashed in his mind. Turning to the fox, the cock said, “Friend! I can see some of your friends coming this way. Let us wait for them too, and then we shall live together peacefully and happily”. On hearing his words, the fox casually asked, “I do not have any friends in this area but anyway, whom have you seen? Please tell me”.
“Oh! I can see some hunter dogs and their friends coming swiftly towards us.” Replied the cock coolly. “If they find me here, I am sure the dogs would tear me into pieces,” thought the fox shivering with fear. “Friend, what happened? Why are you shivering?” asked the cock, trying to hide his smile. “I guess the hunter dogs might not have heard yesterday’s news.” Replied the fox and ran away from there utterly scared for his life.
Moral English Short Story: Tit for Tat
Self – Help – (Short stories in English with morals)
Once upon a time, there was a sparrow that lived in a wheat field with her children. One day, a farmer, the owner of the field came there to check the growth of the crop. Extremely elated to see his ripe field, almost ready for harvest, he thought, “Well! It is time to cut the crop. I shall call my friends and relatives to help me in harvesting.
The young sparrows heard the farmer’s words and at once knew that their nest would soon be destroyed. Frightened to the core, they waited for their mother to return in the evening. As soon as the mother sparrow came home, they circled her and said, “Mother! There is bad news for us. The owner of this field is going to harvest this field with the help of his friends and relatives, tomorrow”.
The mother sparrow smiled and said, “Have no fears, my children! The time to leave this nest has not come yet. The farmer is thinking of seeking help from others, which will not come. Remember, One who depends on others for his work can never finish it”. As anticipated by the mother sparrow, though the farmer waited for his people to come, none had turned up.
A few days after, the farmer again visited the field and found that the field was overflowing with ripe crops. “I sought the help of my relatives and friends but none of them came.
Since the field is full, I shall get some laborers and harvest the crop before it is destroyed, instead of relying on others. Said the farmer to himself, which the young sparrows overheard. The young ones again waited for their mother’s return and narrated the day’s incidents to their mother. This time, the mother sparrow did not advise her kids to relax instead, she said, “Kids, it’s time to leave this nest. The farmer really intends to harvest his crop on his own”. Saying so, the mother sparrow took her children and flew away to another place.
Moral English Short Story: Self–help is the best help.
Friendship with an Enemy – (Short stories in English with morals)
In a dense forest in the Southern part of India, there was a huge banyan tree. The trunk of the tree had a huge cavity, in which a cat used to live. Just nearby, a rat dug a hole in the ground and lived there. The cat and the rat always fought and tried to create trouble for one another. One night, a hunter visited the tree and spread a net under it. Unaware of the net, the next morning, the cat jumped from the tree and straight away landed in the net. He tried and tried to come out of the trap but could not succeed.
Fearing that the hunter would come at any moment, the cat started crying for help. Meanwhile, the rat came out and saw the trapped cat. He was amused at the scene and started laughing at the cat. The cat pleaded, “Oh rat! Please break this net with your teeth and save me”. You are my natural enemy. How did you expect that I would save you?” replied the rat. Moreover, he stayed there before the cat started making fun of him.
Meanwhile, a crow flew to the tree and spotted the rat. His intentions were to grab the rat and have him for a meal. As the rat noticed the crow, he immediately went near the cat and started acting as if he was breaking open the net. After waiting for a long time for the rat to move away from the net, the crow lost its patience and flew away from there.
When the crow went away, the rat again started dancing in front of the cat. Confused by the rat’s behavior, the cat asked, “Oh rat! I thought you were breaking open my net. But you were only acting. Why did you do so?” The rat smiled at him and replied, “Dear cat! There was a crow that was waiting to attack me. But since it is scared of you, it won’t attempt to come near me as long as I am with you. That is why I was near the net till it flew away”.
As the rat finished talking, they saw the hunter heading towards the tree. The cat once again pleaded with the rat to save him from the hunter. Now, the rat pitied the cat’s situation. In a split second, he broke open the net with his sharp teeth and asked the cat to escape.
Before the hunter reached the tree, the cat and the rat jumped back into their respective homes. Disappointed to see his broken net, the hunter went away from there cursing his bad luck. After a while, the cat came out of the tree, called out to the rat, and said, “Oh friend! Please come to my house, I want to treat you for saving my life”.
The rat laughed aloud and replied, “Oh Cat! I made you a friend for some time in order to protect myself from the crow. As a token of gratitude, I broke open the net and saved your life. But that does not mean that we are friends”. The cat was astonished by the rat’s intelligence and went back to his house.
Monkey Tricks – (Short stories in English with morals)
Once upon a time, a trader undertook the work of re-modeling a deserted temple that was there on the outskirts of a forest. He employed a few carpenters to carry on the work. The carpenters worked there cutting and sawing wooden logs from morning till noon and went for lunch in the noon.
Just beside the temple was a mango groove. Several monkeys lived in that groove and jumped from one tree to another. One day, when the carpenters were working there, the monkeys reached that place and played there on the top of the trees. There was a young monkey in that group who was extremely intrigued by the carpenter’s work.
The monkey stopped playing and watched the carpenter’s work with great interest. After a little while, the money went to its mother and said, “Mother! I too want to work like a carpenter. Can I go and see the wooden logs”? The mother warned her child against it and said, “My dear boy! One should not meddle with unknown things. Do not go there and put yourself in danger”.
In spite of his mother’s warning, the young money continued to watch the carpenters and secretly wished to go near the logs. Meanwhile, the carpenters stopped their work and left for lunch. One among those carpenters was sawing a huge wooden log since morning and could not finish it by lunchtime. As he had to break for lunch, he picked up a wedge and put it in the log to prevent it from closing and left the place.
As soon as the carpenters were gone, the young monkey came down and started playing with the wooden logs. Finally, it reached the log with the wedge and sat on it. They placed on of his legs in the split part of the log and started to pull the wedge with his hand.
Initially, he could not succeed but out of curiosity, he continued to pull it. Soon, the wedge was loosened and finally, it came off the log. Before the monkey could realize what happened, the log closed and the monkey’s leg got crushed in between the two halves of the huge log. Unable to bear the pain, the monkey died instantaneously.
The Lion and the Mouse – (Short stories in English with morals)
Once when a Lion was asleep a little Mouse began running up and down upon him; this soon wakened the Lion, who placed his huge paw upon him, and opened his big jaws to swallow him.
The little Mouse Said “Pardon, O King, forgive me this time, I shall never forget it: who knows but what I may be able to do you a turn some of these days?”
The Lion was so tickled at the idea of the Mouse being able to help him, that he lifted up his paw and let him go.
Sometime after the Lion was caught in a trap, and the hunters who desired to carry him alive to the King, tied him to a tree while they went in search of a wagon to carry him on.
Just then the little Mouse happened to pass by, and seeing the sad plight in which the Lion was, went up to him and soon gnawed away the ropes that bound the King of the Beasts.
“Was I not right?” said the little Mouse.
Moral English Short Story: Little friends may prove great friends.
The Wolf and The Herdsman – (Short stories in English with morals)
There was once a little Kid whose growing horns made him think he was a grown-up Billy Goat and able to take care of himself. So one evening when the flock started home from the pasture and his mother called, the Kid paid no heed and kept right on nibbling the tender grass. A little later when he lifted his head, the flock was gone.
He was all alone. The sun was sinking. Long shadows came creeping over the ground. A chilly little wind came creeping with them making scary noises in the grass. The Kid shivered as he thought of the terrible Wolf. Then he started wildly over the field, bleating for his mother. But not halfway, near a clump of trees, there was the Wolf!
The Kid knew there was little hope for him.
“Please, Mr. Wolf,” he said trembling, “I know you are going to eat me. But first please pipe me a tune, for I want to dance and be merry as long as I can.”
The Wolf liked the idea of a little music before eating, so he struck up a merry tune and the Kid leaped and frisked gaily.
Meanwhile, the flock was moving slowly homeward. In the still evening air, Wolf’s piping carried far. The Shepherd Dogs pricked up their ears. They recognized the song the Wolf sings before a feast, and in a moment they were racing back to the pasture. The Wolf’s song ended suddenly, and as he ran, with the Dogs at his heels, he called himself a fool for turning piper to please a Kid, when he should have stuck to his butcher’s trade
Moral English Short Story: Do not let anything turn you from your purpose.
Read also “You Need to Forget What You Have Lost“
The Monkey and The Crocodile – (Short stories in English with morals)
Once upon a time, a clever monkey lived in a tree that bore juicy, red rose apples. He was very happy. One fine day, a crocodile swam up to that tree and told the monkey that he had traveled a long distance and was in search of food as he was very hungry. The kind monkey offered him a few rose apples. The crocodile enjoyed them very much and asked the monkey whether he could come again for some more fruit. The generous monkey happily agreed.
The crocodile returned the next day. And the next. And the next one after that. Soon the two became very good friends. They discussed their lives, their friends, and their family as all friends do. The crocodile told the monkey that he had a wife and that they lived on the other side of the river. So the kind monkey offered him some extra rose apples to take home to his wife. The crocodile’s wife loved the rose apples and made her husband promise to get her some every day.
Meanwhile, the friendship between the monkey and the crocodile deepened as they spent more and more time together. The crocodile’s wife started getting jealous. She wanted to put an end to this friendship. So she pretended that she could not believe that her husband could be friends with a monkey. Her husband tried to convince her that he and the monkey shared a true friendship. The crocodile’s wife thought to herself that if the monkey lived on a diet of rose monkeys, his flesh would be very sweet. So she asked the crocodile to invite the monkey to their house.
The crocodile was not happy about this. He tried to make the excuse that it would be difficult to get the monkey across the river. But his wife was determined to eat the monkey’s flesh. So she thought of a plan. One day, she pretended to be very ill and told the crocodile that the doctor said that she would only recover if she ate a monkey’s heart. If her husband wanted to save her life, he must bring her to his friend’s heart.
The crocodile was aghast. He was in a dilemma. On the one hand, he loved his friend. On the other, he could not possibly let his wife die. The crocodile’s wife threatened him saying that if he did not get her the monkey’s heart, she would surely die.
So the crocodile went to the rose apple tree and invited the monkey to come home to meet his wife. He told the monkey that he could ride across the river on the crocodile’s back. The monkey happily agreed. As they reached the middle of the river, the crocodile began to sink. The frightened monkey asked him why he was doing that.
The crocodile explained that he would have to kill the monkey to save his wife’s life. The clever monkey told him that he would gladly give up his heart to save the life of the crocodile’s wife, but he had left his heart behind in the rose apple tree. He asked the crocodile to make haste and turn back so that the monkey could go get his heart from the apple tree.
The silly crocodile quickly swam back to the rose apple tree. The monkey scampered up the tree to safety. He told the crocodile to tell his wicked wife that she had married the biggest fool in the world.
Moral English Short Story: Don’t underestimate yourself. There are bigger fools in this world.
The Brahmin & The Tiger – (Short stories in English with morals)
One day, Chitranga narrated a story of a tiger and a greedy Brahmin to his friends. Long ago in a dense forest, lived a tiger, which loved to eat human flesh.
One day as he sat on the bank of a lake, the tiger saw a Brahmin passing by. The tiger’s mouth watered as he saw the Brahmin. Immediately, he thought of a plan and got into the water. “Help! Help!” the tiger started to shout, acting as if he was drowning in the lake. Scared to see the tiger, the Brahmin immediately attempted to run away from there.
But the tiger called him out and said, “Oh Brahmin! Please save me. I won’t hurt you. Instead, I will gift you this golden bracelet if you save my life”. Now, the Brahmin was excited to see that bracelet but was still doubtful about the intentions of the tiger. As the tiger continued to plead with him and promised to gift him the bracelet, the Brahmin’s greed increased.
“One cannot earn money without taking risks”. Thought the Brahmin looking at the golden bracelet that shined in the tiger’s hand. Caught by the greed of the golden bracelet, the Brahmin trusted the tiger and slowly went into the lake. He caught the tiger by himself and pulled him out of the lake.
After they came out, the Brahmin extended his hand and said, “Now that you are safe, please give me the bracelet as promised”. The tiger cleverly said, “Oh good man! Please take bath in the lake before you accept his bracelet”. Without a second thought, the foolish Brahmin immediately got into the lake and before he could realize it, the tiger plunged into the lake at once and killed him and ate him too.
Thus, the Brahmin’s greed became a reason for his untimely death.
Moral English Short Story: Avarice is the root of all evils
Akbar & Bettle Leaves – (Short stories in English with morals)
The Mughal Emperor Akbar was very fond of eating pan (betel leaf). His immense liking for the betel leaf was a well-known fact, not only to Birbal but also to all the courtiers. One day, while in the court, Akbar looked at his courtiers and questioned, “Of all the leaves, which leaf is the best?”
Though everyone knew Akbar likes the betel leaf, none answered because they were not sure what to answer, if the emperor asked them why and how the betel leaf was superior to other leaves.
On hearing Birbal’s argument, Emperor Akbar realized that it was impossible to alter the laws of creation, however mighty one might be. He thanked Birbal for enlightening him and also for breaking his false pride.
When Emperor Akbar turned to Birbal for an answer, Birbal rose from his seat and said, “Oh Lord! Betel leaf is far more superior to any other leaves.” As anticipated, Emperor Akbar asked, “Why it is superior and what makes it so significant?”
Birbal replied, “Lord! There are many excellent qualities to mention, in a betel leaf. It helps in the digestion of the food, which is why the pan is chewed after having food.
Secondly, when a pan is offered to enemies, it indicates the desire for friendship and peace. Thus, by offering it, even foes can be turned into friends. Not only this lord! Betel leaf is significant because of another reason too”.
“And what is it?” asked the Emperor. Birbal smiled and replied, “Betel leaf is the greatest leaf in the world because daily it reaches as high as your majesty’s lips, something for which no other leaf had been fortunate enough. The fact that you chew it every day, makes it far more superior to others”
Emperor Akbar was amused on hearing Birbal’s witty reply and appreciated him for his intelligence.
A Clean Solution – (Short stories in English with morals)
One day, Tenali Rama was on his way to his landlord’s house to collect some money from him. He happened to step on a cow-dung heap on the road. He rushed to the nearest pond to wash his foot. The landlord stopped him.
“Rama! That’s my pond. You can’t wash your dirty foot in my pond, nor can you enter my house with your dirty foot. If you want money, better cut off your dirty foot and then come in!”
Rama understood that the landlord was actually evading oblige him. He went home quietly. Rama had many flowers in his garden. He had dug a deep pit beside the plants and filled it up with cow dung and dry leaves. One day, the landlord was walking along the road, when he noticed Rama’s garden. On seeing him, Rama asked him to come in so that he could look at the flowers from close quarters.
The landlord came in. While admiring the flowers, he did not notice the manure pit. He fell into it neck deep. Rama immediately went in and came out with a sword. “Sir! You can’t wash the muck on your body in my pond, nor can you enter your house like this. If you allow me, I would cut off your head, so that you would go home leaving your dirty body here”. The landlord realized his mistake and begged Rama to forgive him and allow him to wash.
Excessive Eating – (Short stories in English with morals)
One day, on the way to the court, Birbal saw a man selling Green Berries. He bought some berries from him, ate a few, and took the remaining to the Emperor. Emperor Akbar welcomed Birbal and asked him what he had in his hands.
Showing the berries to the Emperor, Birbal said, “Your Majesty! I bought these delicious fruits on my way to the court. I am sure you too would like them if you have.” Emperor Akbar then invited the queen also to have a few fruits along with him.
Soon, the berries were placed on a big plate on a table and the three of them started eating. As they ate, Emperor Akbar planned to play mischief with the queen. Without her knowledge, he started placing the seeds of the berries he ate, along with the seeds eaten by the queen. The emperor intended to make fun of the queen and prove that she was an excessive eater. Birbal observed the tricks of the Emperor but behaved as if he saw nothing.
After they finished eating, Emperor Akbar turned to Birbal and said, “Birbal! Just have a look at the pile of seeds before the queen. She has eaten more fruits than the two of us”. Having noticed the pile before her, the astonished queen blushed with shame.
On seeing that there were only a few seeds beside the Emperor and many in front of the queen. Birbal replied, “My Lore! Pardon me but I find you to be an excessive eater than the queen because, Her Majesty, at least put aside the seeds after eating the fruit but you seem to have eaten away the seeds too. Now it’s up to you to decide who had eaten excessively”.
On hearing Birbal’s sarcastic and clever remark, the Emperor was left with no option except to blush before the queen.
I hope these short moral stories in English will help you to motivate
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