Short moral stories for kids in English

SELF IMPORTANCE ALWAYS LETS YOU DOWN

It was summer time and sun was very hot. A bull was sitting in the cool shade of a tree and chewing cud with his eyes half-shut.  All of a sudden a goat came there and looked out for a place to sit under the shade. Silently, it sat on one of the horns of the bull and kept sitting there till it had taken full rest.

Now, before leaving the goat wanted to show it's shrewdness. It wanted to show the bull that it has used it's horn as a seat without letting him know about it.(Short moral stories for kids in English) 

So, the goat asked the bull, "Would you mind, if I go now?"      The bull replied, "I hardly care when a tiny creature like you comes and goes away after resting on my body. If you would have thanked me for using my horn, it must have raised your importance in my eyes."      The goat felt very small and went away.

SAY THE TRUTH BUT DON'T HURT ANYONE'S FEELINGS

Jupiter, the chief of gods, was getting married. He decided to celebrate the event by hosting a reception. He invited all the animals living on land and in water to attend the banquet.

All the animals came to attend the feast but the tortoise didn't come. Jupiter was surprised at his absence.(Short moral stories for kids in English) 

After few days, Jupiter came across the tortoise and asked him, "Why didn't you attend the banquet held in honour of my marriage? Were you all right?"    The tortoise retorted, "I am a stay-at-home type of an animal and never care to attend petty affairs. Why should I trouble myself when there is no place like home?"    Though, the tortoise said something very true, but the way he said it was very hurting. Jupiter felt pinched and cursed the tortoise, "Now, you will always carry your home on your back and never be able to unload it."    Till today, every tortoise carries his home with him.

ROD WORKS WHEN LOVE FAILS

Once upon a time there was a fisherman who was a very good flutist as well. When he played on his flute, animals gathered round him to hear the sweet notes of his flute.

One day the fisherman thought to try his flute on the fish too. He was sure that the notes of his flute will attract the fish and they will come to him jumping out of the eater. So, he went fishing taking his flute with him. He sat on a rock lying on the bank and began to play sweet tunes. He kept playing the flute for a long time but not even a single fish came out.

The fisherman felt highly disappointed. He threw his flute on one side and cast his net into the water. Soon he was able to catch a great number of fish. He put them on the shore and they began to leap about for want of water.

The angered fisherman said, "You rascals! You didn't come out when I fluted so sweetly. Now you will dance when I shall play on my pipe. After all, you have no other choice."

RESULT OF NEGLIGENCE

One day, a villager while going to the city on his horse, saw that one of the horseshoes had loosened up, but he didn't pay attention towards it and kept riding. After covering some distance, the horseshoe came off but still he didn't stop.

Suddenly, he got surrounded by dacoits and had no other alternative but to hand over all his belongings to them.

If he had repaired the horseshoe, he could have escaped from there.

RESULT OF MISDEED

Once there was an old lady who had a parrot. The parrot used to tell her the time. Every morning, the parrot would wake up the old lady and then the old lady would wake up her servant.(Short moral stories for kids in English) 

The servant was very angry at the parrot. Because of him, he had to wake up early in the morning. Getting an opportunity, he killed the parrot.

Now the old lady had no sense of time. She would often wake up the servant at midnight. The servant repented his sin.

REALISATION OF MISTAKE

A deer was very upset with his wife as she always fought with him. One day, the doe left her abode and went to a nearby jungle and started staying with another deer.

Once, when they both were resting in a cave, they heard the roar of a lion. The doe said to the deer, "What shall we do now? This lion will kill us both."    The deer replied, "I am going my way. You take care of yourself." The doe was taken aback at this. She recalled how her husband saved her many times from crisis.

She fled from the back of the cave and soon reached her deer. The deer felt very happy to see his wife back.

The doe realized her mistake and promised to behave.(Short moral stories for kids in English) 

PRIDE HAS A FALL

It was high autumn. An olive tree and a fig tree stood near each other. The fig tree had lost all his leaves and became quite bare. Seeing his neighbour, the olive tree puffed up with pride.

The olive tree taunted the fig tree, “How unlucky you are! You lose your leaves every autumn to be bare. But I flourish all the year round.”    The fig tree argued, “Friend! It’s my destiny to be bare and yours to be evergreen. But there is nothing to feel small or proud about it. It is out of control of both of us.”    Few days later, there occurred a snow-fall. The snow settled on the leaves of the olive tree and gave way under its heavy weight. But as for the fig tree, the snow fell to the ground through its bare branches and it survived the snow-storm.

POVERTY WITHOUT CARE IS BETTER THAN RICHES FULL OF ANXIETY

A fir-tree stood on a hill-side. Several shrubs had grown around it. It always looked down upon these plants saying that they were of no use to anyone. He was very proud of his tall and impressive personality as compared to their stunted growth and prickly structure.

One day, the tree filled with pride said to a bramble, "You poor fellows! All of you are worthless and moreover you prick those who pass by you."      The bramble had no words to reply. Seeing this the tree put on an air of victory on it's face.(Short moral stories for kids) 

The bramble thought for a while and retorted, "You are absolutely right. But you live in an ever-present danger of the axe and the saw while we have no such fear at all. Even men pass by with caution lest they should be prickled."      From this story we conclude that- better be poor but care-free.s

POSITION HAS ITS VALUE

Once upon a time a goat was grazing near her master's cottage. All of a sudden, she saw green grass growing on the roof of the cottage. Deciding to enjoy it, she leaped onto the roof and started browsing the green shoots of the grass.(Short moral stories in English) 

Just then a wolf came there and seeing the goat, his mouth started watering. But he was unable to get to the roof of the cottage. So, he turned to go away to look for some other prey.

The goat saw the wolf licking his chops. So, she laughed in her sleeves and looked at him with jeering eyes. The wolf being helpless had to tolerate this mockery.

While walking away, the wolf looked up and said, "Young lady! Its not you who is mocking at me but it is the height at which you are standing. Your high position has given you your value."(Short moral stories for kids in English) 

PEACE OF MIND

One cold morning, a poor shepherd was grazing his cattle in a pasture. He neither had enough clothes to wear nor even a pair of shoes.(Short moral stories ) 

Suddenly, a man came there on a horse, a famous dacoit. He dismounted, went to the shepherd and said, "Come and work with me. I will give you clothes and shoes. You will not have to worry even for your food."    At this the shepherd replied, "I am content being a shepherd. At least I have peace of mind which you don't have."     Hearing this, the dacoit got stunned and immediately went to the police station and surrendered.

ONLY OTHERS CAN TELL YOUR WORTH

Once upon a time, Mercury, the god of skill, was tickled by a strange idea. He became anxious to know how human beings estimated his worth in comparison to other gods.

So, he disguised himself as a man and came to the earth. Roaming about, he came to the house of a sculptor where he saw idols of various gods, including his own.

Then he approached the sculptor and asked, "What price would you charge for the idol of Juno, the goddess of marriage?"  The sculptor replied, "two dollars".(Short moral stories for kids in English) 

Again, Mercury asked, "What for the idol of Jupiter, the chief of gods?"    "Five dollars", replied the sculptor.(short) 

"And how much for Mercury?" asked the god.(moral) 

"Oh that. I shall give that free if you buy the other two", pat came the reply.(stories) 

Mercury was cut to the quick and disappeared.

ONE IN-HAND IS WORTH TWO IN-BUSH

One day a fisherman went for fishing to a river as usual. He casted his net into the river and sat waiting for the fish to get into it.

After some time, he drew up the net and saw a tiny fish in it. He took the fish out and put it into his basket. He was about to cast his net again into the river when the tiny fish begged him, "Sir, please put me back into the river otherwise I shall die. I am very small and of little use for you and if you put me back in water then, after a few days, I shall grow big and then, you can catch me again and I shall be more useful to you then."    The fisherman said, "Oh no! Once I have caught you, how can I let you go like this because later I may never catch you again. I am not that foolish."    So, the fisherman was wise enough and didn't give up the certain for something uncertain.

ONE GOOD TURN DESERVES ANOTHER

Once a swarm of bees had put up their hive in a tree that stood on the bank of a river. They remained busy collecting honey all the day. One day a bee felt thirsty and went to the river. As it tried to drink water, the water carried it away. So, it was about to drown.(Short moral stories for kids) 

Fortunately, a dove was sitting on the branch of a tree.

She saw the bee in trouble and immediately went for it's rescue. She plucked a broad leaf from the tree, flew to the bee and dropped the leaf near it. The bee mounted the leaf, dried it's wings and flew away to safety.

After few days, the dove was caught in a big danger. She was sitting on the branch of a tree when an archer aimed at it. She thought of flying away but a hawk was hovering above her head. She could see her death nearby.

Luckily, the bee came there. Seeing the dove in danger, it stung him. The arrow went off but missed it's aim and hit the hawk instead and killed it. Thus, the dove was saved from death.

NOBODY BELIEVES A LIAR

Once a mischievous boy lived in a village that stood in the feet of a hill. One day he thought of having fun at the cost of his fellow-villagers.

Standing on a high rock, he shouted at the top of his voice, "Lion! Lion! Come, save me."    The villagers heard the shout and ran to help him. But when they reached there, they could see no lion and the boy was perfectly all right. The boy laughed at the villagers saying, "No Lion ; I did it only for fun."    The villagers got highly annoyed and came back with an air of anger.

Few days later the boy repeated the whole act. Again the villagers went to his rescue but were duped again. Now they decided not to be fooled by him anymore.(Short moral stories for kids in English) 

Unfortunately, one day, the lion really came there. Now the boy shouted – "Lion! Lion! as loud as he could". But nobody came to help him out.

The lion attacked the boy. The boy struggled hard to save himself but within few minutes, the beast killed him.

So, once a liar, always a liar.(Short moral stories for kids in English) 

NO USE REPENTING WHEN IT'S TOO LATE

Once a farmer procured honey from a honey-comb after smoking away all the bees of the comb. He put the honey in a pot and left for his house. Unluckily, he stumbled against a stone on the way. As a result, the pot of honey fell down and broke. All the honey spilt on the ground.

Being a sticky fluid, honey doesn't leave the spot where it spills. So, finding it difficult to recover the honey, the farmer went away cursing himself.(Short moral stories for kids in English) 

Just then a swarm of flies came there. Getting the flavour of honey, they descended upon it. They never thought that the honey would catch them fatally. Having had their fill, they tried to fly away but their feet and wings got stuck into honey.

The flies cried, "How foolish we are! For a little pleasure we have to die an untimely death." It was too late now.

NEVER TRUST THE WELL WISHES OF FOES

Once there was a wicked cat that loved to eat chickens. Everyday, she used to find a chicken from somewhere or the other and ate them up.

One day she came to know that a hen was ill. She went to her and asked about her welfare. She also asked if she could help her in any way.

The hen replied, "The best help you can offer me is to stay away from my family and convey this message to your race too."

NEVER TELL A LIE

On his deathbed, a father advised his son to always speak truth. The son promised that he would never tell a lie.(Short moral stories for kids in English) 

One day, while going to the city through a forest, he got surrounded by some robbers. One of them asked, "What do you have?"    The boy answered, "I have fifty rupees."    They searched him but couldn't find anything. When they were about to go, the boy called out, "I am not telling a lie. See this fifty rupee note which I had hidden in my shirt."    The leader of the robbers felt pleased at the truthfulness of the boy, gave him hundred rupees as reward and went away.

NEVER HEED  ADVICE OF YOUR ENEMY

Once a wolf saw a lamb at a distance and decided to eat it up. So, he moved light-footedly towards it.(short stories) 

But as the wolf moved, the poor animal saw him and ran for its life. The wolf chased it but couldn't catch it. The lamb entered a temple and felt quite safe there.

The wolf felt very disappointed and called out to the lamb. Putting on a loving look, he said, "Its unsafe for you to stay inside the temple. The priest will catch you and sacrifice you before the gods."    Staying inside, the lamb replied, "Thanks a lot for your advice, Mr. Wolf. I would prefer to stay inside and be sacrificed on the altar rather than coming out and satisfy your appetite."    The wolf had no words to say and went away glum and grumpy.

NEVER GIFT A THING USELESS TO YOU

Once upon a time, a wolf while rambling in a forest reached a field of oats belonging to a farmer.(Short moral stories for kids in English) 

But the fact is that wolves don't eat oats. The wolf was about to move away when he saw a horse coming towards him. He decided to wait for him and extend a hand of friendship towards him.(Short moral stories for kids) 

When the horse came, the wolf said to him, "Hello! Mr. Horse! How are you? See this fine field of oats; I have left it untouched for you. I shall enjoy seeing you munching the ripen grains.(Short moral stories for kids in English) 

" The horse smiled and said, "Mr. Wolf! Had you been able to eat the oats, you would not have thought of troubling your eyes at all. Rather you would have engaged in filling your appetite." The wolf felt highly ashamed and went away.

NEVER FIGHT OVER TRIFLES

It was high summer. A traveller hired a donkey and set out on a journey. The owner of the donkey was following behind to drive the beast. At mid-day, they decided to take rest for some time but couldn't find any shady place around. So, the traveler decided to rest in the shade of the donkey. But the owner didn't let him do so as he himself wanted to sit in its shadow.

The trveller said, "How can you refuse me the shadow? I have paid you money after all."    "But you have paid for the ride, not for resting in his shadow", retorted the owner.

So, an argument followed between the two. When the donkey saw that the owner and the hirer were busy fighting, he took to his heels and was soon out of sight.

NEVER BE UNGRATEFUL

It was high summer. The sun was extremely hot. Two travelers were going along a dusty road that had no trees along its sides. Looking for some shelter from the hot sun, they saw a tree with big leaves and branches spread like an umbrella.

They placed their belongings on the ground and sat in the cool thick shade of the tree. After taking some rest, one traveler said to the other, "What a useless tree it is! It bears no fruits at all."    Hearing this, the tree felt pinched and burst out, "You ungrateful soul! On one hand, you are taking shelter in my cool shade from the burning heat of the sun and on the other hand, you are calling me useless. Get up and leave the place immediately to be scorched again."(Short moral stories for kids in English) 

NEVER BE DOUBLE FACED

Once a rabbit was wandering in a forest when a dog saw it from a distance and made for it at the top of his speed. The rabbit, seeing the dog approaching it, took to it's heels to save itself from being killed. As the dog was getting nearer and nearer the rabbit could not run anymore and hid under a bush.

In no time, the dog reached there and stood beside the bush. By now, the rabbit had taken good rest. So, it left the bush and ran to it's burrow as fast as it could.

The dog, again chased it and overtook it just before it could enter it's burrow. He licked the rabbit and at times bit it too. The rabbit could not understand why the dog was doing like that.(Short moral stories for kids in English) 

So, it asked the dog, "Are you a friend or an enemy? If, a friend, then why do you bite me but if, an enemy, why do you caress me? Please, be single-faced."

NAUGHTINESS IS HARMFUL

A man used to move from village to village with his acrobatic team of a goat, a monkey and a snake to entertain people.

Once, while crossing a river, he balanced the snake basket on his head, sat the monkey on his shoulder and guided the goat with his hand. The level of the water was low but there flowed a strong current.(Short moral stories for kids in English) 

Midway, the naughty monkey opened the snake basket. The snake within the darkness of the basket sprung up with its head high. The hissing and the fury frightened the monkey and it fell into the water.

The current started dragging the monkey away. A split-second effort to save the monkey threw the charmer off balance and the snake basket fell into the stream.(Short moral stories for kids) 

To catch hold of the basket, he lost his grip on the goat. Within few seconds, the current carried away all three of his companions.

MERE LOOKS ARE NOT ENOUGH

Once a peacock was dancing in a forest fanning his feathers out. No doubt, he looked very beautiful and felt proud of his feathers. Suddenly, a crane came there. He wished the peacock and they started talking. While talking, the peacock looked at the feathers of the crane with hatred.(Short moral stories in English) 

The crane asked the peacock, "Why are you looking at me like this?"    The peacock replied, "I am looking at your dull feathers, they have no lustre and beauty. See mine, how attractive they are! Nature has done so much injustice to you- such a strong bird and so dull feathers. Ts really a pity."    dhgjk  The crane replied, "Nature has always been fair with every creature. Though, you have beautiful feathers while mine are dull, but I can fly high in the clouds and you can't do that at all."    The peacock felt ashamed and begged the crane's pardon.

LOSS DUE TO NEGLIGENCE

Once there was a woman who had a kitchen garden. She used to take good care of her garden. She even taught her daughter, how to tend a garden.(Short moral stories for kids in English) 

One day, while walking in the garden, the woman some eggs of insects on the leaves of plants. She asked her daughter to destroy the eggs with insecticides. But the daughter simply ignored her words.

Unfortunately, the mother fell ill. When she got well and went to her garden, she was shocked to see that the insects had damaged the whole garden.(Short moral stories) 

The daughter realized her mistake. The mother made her understand that one should never neglect duty.

LOOK BEFORE YOU LEAP

Once a fox was roaming around in the dark. Unfortunately, he fell into a well. He tried his level best to come out but all in vain. So, he had no other alternative but to remain there till the next morning.(Short moral stories for kids in English) 

The next day, a goat came that way. She peeped into the well and saw the fox there. The goat asked "what are you doing there, Mr. Fox?"    The sly fox replied, "I came here to drink water. It is the best I have ever tasted. Come and see for yourself."    Without thinking even for a while, the goat jumped into the well, quenched her thirst and looked for a way to get out. But just like the fox, she also found herself helpless to come out.(Short moral stories for kids) 

Then the fox said, "I have an idea. You stand on your hind legs. I'll climb on your head and get out. Then I shall help you come out too."    The goat was innocent enough to understand the shrewdness of the fox and did as the fox said and help him get out of the well.

While walking away, the fox said, "Had you been intelligent enough, you would never have got in without seeing how to get out."    That's why we say, "Look before you leap".