51 Best Short Moral Stories in English for Kids and Students

One of the oldest ways to teach values has been through stories. In this case, we present 51 short moral English stories that are interesting and at the same time full of life-changing lessons. 

These tales are simple to read, child-friendly, and have moral lessons that are used to build character. These classical stories are full of wisdom, whether you are a parent trying to read to your child before sleep or a student trying to get inspired.

Teach Values and Ethics - They make kids and students learn about honesty, kindness, respect, sharing and hard work.

Why Read Short Moral Stories?

Easy to Memorize- Short stories are easy, therefore even young children can comprehend them and remember them.

Develop Good habits - Reading moral stories regularly will form character and promote good conduct.

Enhance Imagination and Creativity Stories - are a way to visualise things in the mind, which assist kids in thinking imaginatively.

Boost Language Skills - Reading enhances vocabulary, sentence construction and comprehension of the English language.

Fun to learn with stories - Kids are entertained with fun stories at the same time learning life lessons.

Increase Decision-Making - Tales demonstrate the costs and benefits of good and bad behaviors, which assist kids to make more appropriate choices.

In summary: Short moral tales are an entertaining method of learning life lessons and get better at reading and thinking.

51 Short Moral Stories in English with Lessons

This is a small selection of short moral stories in the English language that are easy to understand, interesting and worthwhile.

1. The Lion and the Mouse

Moral: Kindness never goes waste.

One day a great lion was lying asleep in the jungle. Before him a little mouse ran over his body. The lion got up angrily and caught the mouse in his paws.

The frightened mouse said, O king! Release me, someday I can help you. The lion laughed at it but released the mouse. 

Several days afterwards, hunters caught the lion in a thick net. The lion roared for help.

 The mouse, hearing his cry, quickly flew to the place, and started working the ropes with his sharp teeth. Soon, the lion was free.

The lion knew that even a small mouse could be of great help.

2. The Thirsty Crow

Moral:  Where will is, way is.

One hot summer day a thirsty crow flew round seeking the water. Long he had struggled, but at length he caught sight of a pot under a tree.

But as he peered in, he saw there was little water in the bottom. He attempted to touch it, but it was not possible.

He was despairing, but it struck him: he had an idea. The crow took up little stones and put them into the pot one at a time. 

Slowly the water crept up and up. Finally the crow was able to drink and quell his thirst. It was his wit and his will that spared his life.

3. The Boy Who Cried Wolf

Moral: Never tell lies.

This was a shepherd boy who took care of sheep close to his village. Being bored, he made a trick.

He shouted, “Wolf! Wolf!” The villagers ran in to his rescue, but no wolf was in sight. The boy laughed at them.

He did this a few times until nobody believed him. One day, a real wolf came and attacked his sheep.The boy shouted to come to his rescue, but nobody came.

The wolf had killed a great number of sheep and the boy was crying. He knew that nobody can believe a liar, even when he is telling the truth.

4. The Ant and the Grasshopper

Moral: Work today, rest tomorrow.

During summer an ant had a tedious job gathering grains so that it would be able to use them in winter.

All day long it would bring food to his nest. A grasshopper was playing close at hand and singing. Why work so hard? he said to the ant and laughed at him.

Enjoy life!” But the ant neglected him, and went on with the work.

By the coming of winter the grasshopper found no food, he shivered in the cold. But the ant had plenty of food stored, and led a comfortable life.

The grasshopper was sorry that he was a lazy guy and understood how to work hard.

5. The Hare and the Tortoise

Moral: Slow and steady wins the race.

A hare constantly bragged of his speed. Soon fed up with his pomp, a tortoise dared him to run a race.

The hare laughed but agreed. The race was started, and the hare ran so swiftly that he soon left the tortoise far behind him.

The hare became over-confident and slept under a tree. In the meantime the tortoise was plodding on.

When the hare awoke, the tortoise had already made it to the finish line. The tortoise emerged the victor, and the hare learnt an important lesson regarding arrogance and tolerance.

6. The Farmer and His Sons

Moral: Unity is strength.

The farmer had three sons and they were fighting one another all the time. The farmer became concerned about the future.

One day he summoned them and brought them a bundle of sticks. He asked them to break it.

They both made efforts, one son after another; yet none was able to snap up that bundle.

Then the farmer unknifed the sticks and handed them out one after another. This time they broke them easily.

The farmer said, When you are all together, then nobody can do you any damage. But fight ye shall be feeble. The sons knew the strength of solidarity.

7. The Honest Woodcutter

Moral: Honesty is the best policy.

At one time a poor woodcutter was sawing wood close by a river, when his axe slipped and dropped into the water.

He sat sadly on the bank. Then a fairy suddenly came up and inquired why he was so sad. The woodcutter explained.

The fairy jumped into the river and produced a golden axe. Woodcutter said it was not his. Then she took out a silver axe, to which he again demurred.

At last she brought his old iron axe and he gladly took it. The fairy was impressed with his honesty, and gave him all three axes.

8. The Fox and the Grapes

Moral: It’s easy to hate what you cannot have.

One summer day a hungry fox was roaming out in search of food. He happened to find a vineyard of ripe grapes.

And he jumped up and opened his mouth. but, however he made himself, he could not reach the grapes.

The fox was too tired and frustrated and at last resigned.

He stamped his feet in a grumbling tone, as he walked away saying, those grapes are likely sour anyway. 

The fox had faked like he had nothing to do with them and concealed his failure with reasons.

9. The Ant and the Dove

Moral: One good turn deserves another.

On a hot day one ant was filling its stomach with water in a river when it fell and began to drown.

The ant was seen by a dove on a tree beside it. The dove flew rapidly and pecked a leaf and dropped it into the water. The ant got on to the leaf, and was spared.

A hunter fired at the same dove a few days afterwards.

The ant noticed this, and bit the hunter on the foot.

The hunter failed in his attempt and the dove ran. The little ant rewarded the kindness of the dove.

10. The Golden Goose

Moral: Greed leads to loss.

In olden times, a farmer possessed a goose that produced one golden egg a day.

The eggs were sold by the farmer and his wife and they got rich.

However, before long, avarice came into their hearts. They believed that the goose must have gold in it.

They have chosen to slaughter the goose and get all the gold in one place in their greed.

 But upon opening it they discovered nothing. The precious goose and their daily fortune had been lost.

Story 11: The Honest Farmer

Moral: The honesty is always rewarded.

There was a time when there was a poor farmer who was working hard on his land.

One day he discovered the bag of gold coins when plowing the field. Rather than retaining it, he proceeded to the village head and surrendered it.

The head commended the honesty of the farmer and had to give the coins to its owner who was a prosperous trader.

The honesty of the farmer impressed the merchant to such a degree that he gave him part of his fortune.

Since then the life of the farmer changed yet he never forgot his humility.

Story 12: The Greedy Lion

Moral: Greed leads to loss.

A very greedy lion dwelt in a jungle. One day he spotted two bunnies playing and he decided to catch them.

He sprang down to seize them in his hand, and they both fled. He later came across a deer and once again tried to run after the deer without remembering the rabbits.

In the end, he caught none. The starving lion repentantly saw that he had been too much greedy and that he could have consumed the rabbit had he not been content with one rabbit.

Story 13: The Kind Stranger

Moral: The heart knows what kindness is.

A boy was once lost in a forest. He was frightened and weeping with all his heart. As a by-passer he heard and came to his assistance.

The man took him food, comforted him and brought him safely to his village. The parents of this boy were thankful enough to pay the man gold.

But the stranger said that he should not be rewarded, but that he should do the good thing by its own sake.

The boy grew up to recall this lesson and never left other people in need without assisting them.

Story 14: The Foolish Goat

Moral: Anger and stupidity are only self-destructive.

One goat was drinking water by the side of a riverbank. then it caught a glimpse of itself in the water.

It then thought that it was another goat and began to fight with the reflection. Goat struck his head many times in rage till it dropped into the water.

Fortunately, it was rescued by a farmer who came by. The goat was aware that it was stupid to fight with its own image.

Story 15: The Selfless Tree

Moral: To love is to give without receiving.

One village had a large mango-tree. A small boy would play underneath it daily.

As he became older he requested the tree to give him fruit, shade, and even wood.

The tree sacrificed everything and did not demand anything.

At last, as the boy became old, there was only the stump of the tree.

The old man sat down upon it and recalled the manner in which the tree had always been there to him.

Story 16: The Golden Egg

Moral: Avarice kills all.

One hen had a laying capacity of one golden egg in a day which belonged to a farmer. But the farmer grew greedy.

He believed that he would get all the eggs at one time by killing the hen.

So he killed it only to discover nothing in it. The farmer had no hen, and had no golden eggs.

Story 17: The Clever Rabbit

Moral: Strength is no match to brains.

There was a vicious lion that killed animals daily in the jungle. The animals got fed up with his habits and they decided to take one animal to visit him daily. 

One day it was the turn of a cunning rabbit. The bunny arrived late and informed the lion that there was another lion that wanted to take his position.

The lion was angered, and demanded of the rabbit that he should take him to the rival. The rabbit led him to a well.

The lion realized his reflection in it and leaped in never to be seen again.

Story 18: The Boy Who Cried Wolf

Moral: No-one trusts a lie-teller, though he may be telling the truth.

One shepherd boy would deceive people in the village by screaming, Wolf! Wolf!” when there was none.

The rustic folk ran up to offer assistance, but there he laughed. In a few days a wolf appeared. The boy screamed and no one came.

His sheep were attacked by the wolf and the boy realized his mistake.

Story 19: The Ant and the Grasshopper

Moral: Planning and hard work would always work.

One summer a grasshopper sang and danced as an ant was diligently gathering food.

In winter the grasshopper had nothing to eat and the ant had plenty of it. 

The ant told the hungry grasshopper that he could not feed him because he was lazy.

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Story 20: The Wise Old Man

Moral: Use the time wisely, not thinking about the same issues.

Villagers usually quarreled over trifles. To an elderly sage they sought consultation. The man replied to them all by telling them the same joke.

The first time, everybody laughed. then he told the joke again, and there were less laughers. No one laughed at it once more, having repeated it again.

The old man grinned and remarked, try not to laugh at the same joke over and over again is to cry at the same problem over and over again.

Story 21: The Ungrateful Mouse

Moral: Appreciation builds a real friendship.

On one occasion, a mouse was trapped by one of the hunters in a net. One of the kind pigeons spotted him in trouble, and soon began pecking at the ropes until it got the mouse out.

Someday the mouse said it would come to his rescue. The pigeon later was caught in another net.

The mouse came in a hurry and sliced the ropes and set him free. Since that time, the two have been best friends.

Story 22: The Proud Peacock

Moral: Be contented with your possessions.

One peacock had even told god that his voice was ugly in comparison with other birds. God reminded him of his beautiful feathers, of which no bird had.

The peacock understood that he had his own gifts to offer and he no longer compared oneself with others.

Story 23: The Two Friends and the Bear

Moral: Friend in need is a friend.

One of the friends was driving the other on a road in the forest. One of the friends soon up the tree, and left the other one behind.

The second was lying down, and acting dead. The bear smelled him out and departed.

Once the threat was over, the man in the tree inquired of the bear what he said.

The friend responded, saying he had heard him say never to travel with unselfish friends.

Story 24: The Honest Woodcutter

Moral: Be honest and it will pay off.

The axe of a poor woodcutter had dropped in a river. He cried helplessly. But suddenly an axe, a golden axe was given him by a goddess.

The woodcutter declined and it wasn’t his, he said. Then she gave him a silver axe, but he declined again.

At last he was put to his own axe, which he gladly took. She was pleased with his honesty, and gave him all three axes.

Story 25: The Dog and His Shadow

Moral: Don’t be greedy.

A dog had discovered a bone, and took it home. Along the path he happened to see his reflection in the river, and thought it was another dog with a larger bone.

He opened his mouth and lost his own bone in the water, to snatch it.

Story 26: The Merchant and His Donkey

Moral: Tricks may backfire.

One of the merchants possessed a donkey that was used to carry heavy loads.

One day the donkey fell into a river, and he discovered that it felt the weight of the salt was less when wet. 

The following day the donkey fell on purpose with the hope of being relieved. Instead, the trader saw it as cotton and loaded it with cotton.

However, this time around when the donkey fell, the cotton got wet and got even heavier.

Story 27: The Two Pots

Moral: Do not keep with the powerful in case you are powerless.

Two clay and metal pots sailed down the river. The clay pot was afraid of breaking on bumping into the metallic one.

The pot made of metal was too proud to say that nothing would hurt it. The clay pot suddenly broke when it hit the more powerful one.

Story 28: The Fox and the Crow

Moral: Don’t trust flatterers.

One crow was on a tree and had a piece of cheese. It went after a fox, and in order to please him he praised the crow and said she had a good voice.

To demonstrate her singing, the crow cawed, and dropped the cheese. The fox soon seized it and made off.

Story 29: The Old Woman and Her Cat

Moral: Loyalty is precious.

One of the aged women had a favourite cat. She never failed to give it food. One day a thief broke into her house.

The cat gave a meow, and woke the woman, who raised an alarm. The neighbors ran in and the burglar was apprehended.

The woman embraced her cat and was thankful that it was loyal.

Story 30: The Farmer and the Snake

Moral: Do not be careful to assist the ungrateful.

One farmer discovered a snake in the froth. Piteously he put it in his coat. When the snake got hot it stung him.

The farmer understood, before it was time to die, that good will to the evil usually brings harm to the good.

Story 31: The Farmer’s Sons

Moral: Unity is strength.

There was an elderly farmer who had four sons who were continuously quarrelling. He sent them a bundle of sticks before he died and told them to break it.

No one was able to separate the bundle and once separated, the sticks were easily broken.

 The farmer said that when they are united they are strong, and when divided, they are weak. The sons comprehended and had a harmonious life.

Story 32: The Wise Judge

Moral: True love is selfless.

Two females boasted that they were the mother of a baby. They went to a wise judge.

The judge was ordered to cut the baby in half where each one would get a half.

One woman burst into tears and said the baby must live, even to the other woman. Her compassion made the judge pronounce her the real mother.

Story 33: The Sparrow and the Elephant

Moral: Together makes the weak a strong.

One of the sparrows made her nest on a tree. One day an elephant came and destroyed it killing her chicks.

The sparrow was heartbroken. She enlisted the assistance of a woodpecker, a bee and a frog.

The two of them played tricks on the elephant and sent it down into a deep hole. Her size notwithstanding, the teamwork of the sparrow brought justice.

Story 34: The Miser and His Gold

Moral: As idle hands make idle wealth.

One miser had buried all his gold in a hole. He sat next it each day and counted it to himself.

One day all the gold was stolen by a thief. Making a fuss, the miser was told by a neighbour that the gold had never been used by him at all, and therefore, he had lost no more than stones.

Story 35: The Turtle and the Ducks

Moral: The reply is breaking a silence.

One of the turtles wanted to go a long long way and she requested two ducks to assist her.

So they put a stick between their beaks and bade the turtle to hang on, and not to talk.

As the people were flying, they laughed at the sight and the turtle opened his mouth to respond. He fell and died.

Story 36: The Kind King

Moral: N nicety will never pass unappreciated.

Once, a king masqueraded as an ordinary man to find out what his people were like.

He encountered one of the poor farmers who gave him his meager meal.

The king then came out and rewarded the farmer with land and wealth because of his goodness.

Story 37: The Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing

Moral: Fraud is fatal.

One of the wolves masqueraded as a sheep in order to enter a flock. The shepherd had one night confused him with a real sheep and had chained him up with other sheep.

The shepherd killed the wolf in the morning believing that it was one of the sheep.

Story 38: The Fisherman and the Little Fish

Moral: A bird in hand beats two in the bush.

One of the fishermen caught a small fish. The fish insisted that it be released, as it was too small and would do better when it got bigger.

The fisherman said there was nothing like a bit of profit to-day, and retained the fish.

Story 39: The Talking Cave

Moral: Wit is knowledge.

One day a lion found a cave in which a jackal resided. The jackal was waiting to be caught by the lion.

The sharp jackal, seeing no answer to the cave, fancied he had a scrape, and fled. The lion remained hungry, and deceived by the cunning of the jackal.

Story 40: The Generous Neighbor

Moral: Generosity encourages others to be good.

Two neighbours lived next to each other. One was self-seeking, the other mindless.

When there was famine, the kind neighbor took food each day to the family of the selfish one.

When the kind man was later on ailing, the selfish neighbor discovered his mistake and began to help others also.

Story 41: The Proud Hare and the Tortoise

Moral: Rome was not built in one day.

A hare mocked a tortoise on the grounds that he was slow. In order to demonstrate this, the tortoise dared him to a race.

The hare was fast away, but paused half-way to take a breath, and was sure he would win.

The tortoise continued to move at a slow and steady pace beating the finish line first. The hare rose too late, and lost.

Story 42: The Farmer and the Golden Wheat

Moral: Doing good to others is good to us as well.

One of the farmers was industrious and used to share his wheat seeds with other neighbors.

The people made fun of him because he was giving out his best seeds. He said that poor seeds planted by neighbors would be blown by the wind to his farm with weak pollen.

 Sacrificing self to benefit others enhanced the harvest of everyone.

Story 43: The Magic Pitcher

Moral: Greed is a robber of the possessions we possess.

One of the poor men had discovered a magic pitcher, which increased whatever was put into it twice.

He became rich overnight. But the desire to get money had him put the pitcher itself into another pitcher to multiply.

Suddenly, both vanished. He lost everything.

Story 44: The Two Travelers

Moral: Gluttony kills all.

A heavy bag of coins was discovered on the road by two travellers. One desired to share evenly whereas the other had plans on how to steal everything.

At one time they stopped to have a meal, and the one who was greedy poisoned that of the other man.

But until then he was killed in fear by the honest man. Eventually they all died and the coins were abandoned.

Story 45: The Crow and the Pitcher

Moral: Problems can be solved by being patient and putting in effort.

one crow, which was thirsty, discovered a pitcher with small water. It was unable to reach, and dropped pebbles one at a time.

The water slowly crept up and the crow quenched his thirst.

Story 46: The Brave Little Girl

Moral: The little mighty may be courageous.

At one time, a girl had witnessed her village burning down. Everybody was panicking but she bravely brought water via small buckets and everyone followed her.

Soon, the fire was controlled. She was very brave and the villagers praised her courage as there is no age limit to courage.

Story 47: The Elephant and the Tailor

Moral: You are the reap you sow.

Each day an elephant paid visits to a tailor that gave him bananas to eat. One day the tailor became angry and used a needle to prick the elephant.

Later the elephant came back with muddy water in his trunk and sprayed it on the tailor. The tailor understood his error and he was pardoning.

Story 48: The Kind Deer

Moral: Good friends will never leave one another.

One of the deer was trapped in the net of a hunter. He was freed by a mouse which chewed through the ropes.

Afterwards, the hunter trapped the mouse. The hunter was distracted by the deer and the mouse was able to escape. Their friendship saved both.

Story 49: The Wise Old Owl

Moral: Listening will make us wiser.

There was an old owl on a tree and he observed it all. He listened and spoke less and was wiser daily.

Other animals used to seek his advice and he advised them in a wise manner.

Story 50: The Broken Pot

Moral: The imperfections can be our disguised blessings.

There were two pots, a perfect and a cracked, which belonged to a poor water carrier. The broken pot would always spurt water out in embarrassment.

But the carrier said it had nothing to fret about--due to the water being leaked out, flowers grew in the way.

The jugged pot understood that it had its mission.

Story 51: The Starfish Story

Moral: Good deeds are able to transform the world.

One of the boys was throwing fish stars back to the sea to rescue them. Some man replied, there are thousands, thou can make no difference.

The boy selected another and told him that he had made a difference with this one.

The man was moved and started to offer assistance as well.

Most Popular Moral Values Taught Through Stories

The stories help children to learn some of the strongest values of:

• Courtesy - Tell the truth (e.g., The Honest Woodcutter).
• Kindness - Doing the right thing even when no one is expectant of it (e.g., The Ant and the Dove).
• Teamwork - Teamwork works better (e.g., The Sparrow and the Elephant).
• Patience - Things are good in their own time (e.g. The Thirsty Crow).
• Courage - Braveness to confront adversities (e.g. The Brave Little Girl).

Short Moral Stories for Kids vs Students

For Kids:

The learning process becomes enjoyable and easy with simple bedtime moral stories such as The Thirsty Crow or The Lion and the Mouse.

For Students:

Other stories such as The Farmer Sons or The Wise Judge are more profound and they teach us to be honest, courageous, to work hard and make decisions.

The two groups also have a different advantage: kids get joy and elementary education, and students get to think about deeper values that define their future.

FAQs on Short Moral Stories in English

Q1. Which is the best short moral story with kids?

Ans: The Lion and the Mouse is one of the superior ones, and the lesson it imparts is that goodwill never go to waste.

Q2. What are the most popular short stories in English in schools?

Ans: Classroom favorites are the Hare and the Tortoise, The Honest Woodcutter and The Boy Who Cried Wolf.

Q3. What are the ways that parents can make use of moral stories to build character?

Ans: Through the daily reading of these stories at bed time and talking with the children about the moral.

Q4. What are 10 line moral stories in English?

Ans: Tales such as The Ant and the Grasshopper or The Honest Woodcutter can be narrated in 10 lines only.

Q5. Can moral stories be of use to students as well?

Ans: Yes, they advocate honesty, accountability and discipline in learning and living.

Q6. Are short moral stories to be employed as bedtime stories?

Ans: Absolutely! They take children to bed with positive minds.

Q7. So where do I get 10-line short moral stories in the English language?

Ans: There are a lot of versions of classic stories online and in children books which are simplified.

Conclusion

These are short moral stories in English, which are perennial and useful to all generations. As the parent, teacher or the student, these stories will be an inspiration to you with valuable lessons.

Read them everyday like bedtime stories or in the classrooms to instill honesty, goodness, courage and patience in the young minds.