Moral stories for kids in english

Everyone loves the first day of school, right? New year, new classes, new friends. It's a day full of potential and hope, before all the dreary depressions of reality show up to ruin all the fun.I like the first day of school for a different reason, though. You see, I have a sort of power. When I look at people, I can...sense a sort of aura around them. A colored outline based on how long that person has to live. Most everyone I meet around my age is surrounded by a solid green hue, which means they have plenty of time left.A fair amount of them have a yellow-orangish tinge to their auras, which tends to mean a car crash or some other tragedy. Anything that takes people "before their time" as they say.The real fun is when the auras venture into the red end of the spectrum, though. Every now and again I'll see someone who's basically a walking stoplight. Those are the ones who get murdered or kill themselves. It's such a rush to see them and know their time is ...

I hate it when my brother Charlie has to go away. My parents constantly try to explain to me how sick he is. That I am lucky for having a brain where all the chemicals flow properly to their destinations like undammed rivers. When I complain about how bored I am without a little brother to play with, they try to make me feel bad by pointing out that his boredom likely far surpasses mine, considering his confine to a dark room in an institution. I always beg for them to give him one last chance. Of course, they did at first. Charlie has been back home several times, each shorter in duration than the last. Every time without fail, it all starts again. The neighbourhood cats with gouged out eyes showing up in his toy chest, my dad's razors found dropped on the baby slide in the park across the street, mom's vitamins replaced by bits of dishwasher tablets. My parents are hesitant now, using "last chances" sparingly. They say his disorder makes him charming, makes it easy ...

He awoke to the huge, insect like creatures looming over his bed and screamed his lungs out. They hastily left the room and he stayed up all night, shaking and wondering if it had been a dream.The next morning, there was a tap on the door. Gathering his courage, he opened it to see one of them gently place a plate filled with fried breakfast on the floor, then retreat to a safe distance. Bewildered, he accepted the gift. The creatures chittered excitedly.This happened every day for weeks. At first he was worried they were fattening him up, but after a particularly greasy breakfast left him clutching his chest from heartburn, they were replaced with fresh fruit. As well as cooking, they poured hot steamy baths for him and even tucked him in when he went to bed. It was bizarre.One night, he awoke to gunshots and screaming. He raced downstairs to find a decapitated burglar being devoured by the insects. He was sickened, but disposed of the remains as best he could. He knew they had just b...

We bought an old house, my boyfriend and I. He's in charge of the "new" construction – converting the kitchen in to the master bedroom for instance, while I'm on wallpaper removal duty. The previous owner papered EVERY wall and CEILING! Removing it is brutal, but oddly satisfying. The best feeling is getting a long peel, similar to your skin when you're peeling from a sunburn. I don't know about you but I kinda make a game of peeling, on the hunt for the longest piece before it rips.Under a corner section of paper in every room is a person’s name and a date. Curiosity got the best of me one night when I Googled one of the names and discovered the person was actually a missing person, the missing date matching the date under the wallpaper! The next day, I made a list of all the names and dates. Sure enough each name was for a missing person with dates to match. We notified the police who naturally sent out the crime scene team. I overhead one tech say "yup...

On a hot day, a lion in the forest started feeling hungry. He was starting to hunt for his food when he found a hare roaming around alone. Instead of catching the hare, the lion let it go – “A small hare such as this can’t satisfy my hunger”, he said and scoffed. Then, a beautiful deer passed by and he decided to take his chances – he ran and ran behind the deer but since he was weak because of the hunger, he struggled to keep up with the deer’s speed. Tired and defeated, the lion went back to look for the hare to fill up his stomach for the time being, but it was gone. The lion was sad and remained hungry for a long time. Moral of the Story Greed is never a good thing.

Once upon a time, a lone elephant made her way into a strange forest. It was new to her, and she was looking to make friends. She approached a monkey and said, “Hello, monkey! Would you like to be my friend?” The monkey said, “You are too big to swing like me, so I can’t be your friend.” The elephant then went to a rabbit and asked the same question. The rabbit said, “You are too big to fit in my burrow, so I can’t be your friend.” The elephant also went to the frog in the pond and asked the same question. The frog replied, “You are too heavy to jump as high as me, so I can’t be your friend.” The elephant was really sad because she couldn’t make friends. Then, one day, she saw all the animals running deeper into the forest, and she asked a bear what the fuss was about. The bear said, “The lion is on the loose – they are running from him to save themselves.” The elephant went up to the lion and said, “Please don’t hurt these innocent people. Please leave them alone.” The lion scoffed an...

There was once a woodcutter, working hard in the forest, getting wood to sell for some food. As he was cutting a tree, his axe accidentally fell into the river. The river was deep and was flowing really fast – he lost his axe and could not find it again. He sat at the bank of the river and wept. While he wept, the God of the river arose and asked him what happened. The woodcutter told him the story. The God of the river offered to help him by looking for his axe. He disappeared into the river and retrieved a golden axe, but the woodcutter said it was not his. He disappeared again and came back with a silver axe, but the woodcutter said that was not his either. The God disappeared into the water again and came back with an iron axe – the woodcutter smiled and said it was his. The God was impressed with the woodcutter’s honesty and gifted him both the golden and silver axes. Moral of the Story Honesty is the best policy.

Once upon a time, there lived a mouse and a frog, who were the best of friends. Every morning, the frog would hop out of the pond to visit the mouse, who lived inside the hole of the tree. He would spend time with the mouse and go back home. One day, the frog realised that he was making too much of an effort to visit the mouse while the mouse never came to meet him at the pond. This made him angry, and he decided to make things right by forcefully taking him to his house. When the mouse wasn’t looking, the frog tied a string to the mouse’s tail and tied the other end to his own leg, and hopped away. The mouse started getting dragged with him. Then, the frog jumped into the pond to swim. However, when he looked back, he saw that the mouse had started to drown and was struggling to breathe! The frog quickly untied the string from his tail and took him to the shore. Seeing the mouse with his eyes barely open made the frog very sad, and he immediately regretted pulling him into the pond. M...

On a hot summer day, a fox wandered across the jungle in order to get some food. He was very hungry and desperately in search of food. He searched everywhere, but couldn’t find anything that he could eat. His stomach was rumbling and his search continued. Soon he reached a vineyard which was laden with juicy grapes. The fox looked around to check if he was safe from the hunters. No one was around, so he decided to steal some grapes. He jumped high and high, but he couldn’t reach the grapes. The grapes were too high but he refused to give up. The fox jumped high in the air to catch the grapes in his mouth, but he missed. He tried once more but missed again. He tried a few more times, but couldn’t reach. It was getting dark and the fox was getting angry. His legs hurt, so he gave up in the end. Walking away, he said, “I’m sure the grapes were sour anyway.” Moral of the Story We pretend to hate something when we can’t have it.

Nasir, a small boy, found a crystal ball behind the banyan tree of his garden. The tree told him that it would grant him a wish. He was very happy and he thought hard, but unfortunately, he could not come up with anything he wanted. So, he kept the crystal ball in his bag and waited until he could decide on his wish. Days went by without him making a wish but his best friend saw him looking at the crystal ball. He stole it from Nasir and showed it to everyone in the village. They all asked for palaces and riches and lots of gold, but could not make more than one wish. In the end, everyone was angry because no one could have everything they wanted. They became very unhappy and decided to ask Nasir for help. Nasir wished that everything would go back to how it was once – before the villagers had tried to satisfy their greed. The palaces and gold vanished and the villagers once again became happy and content. Moral of the Story Money and wealth do not always bring happiness.

On a hot scorching day of summer, an ant was walking around in search of water. After walking around for some time, she saw a river and was delighted to see it. She climbed up on a small rock to drink the water, but she slipped and fell into the river. She was drowning but a dove who was sitting on a nearby tree helped her. Seeing the ant in trouble, the dove quickly dropped a leaf into the water. The ant moved towards the leaf and climbed up on it. The dove then carefully pulled the leaf out and placed it on the land. This way, the ant’s life was saved and she was forever indebted to the dove. The ant and the dove became the best of friends and days passed happily. However, one day, a hunter arrived at the forest. He saw the beautiful dove sitting on the tree and aimed his gun at the dove. The ant, who was saved the dove saw this and bit on the heel of the hunter. He shouted from the pain and dropped the gun. The dove was alarmed by the voice of the hunter and realised what could have...

A boy named Raj was upset because he had done poorly in his English test. He was sitting in his room when his grandmother came and comforted him. His grandmother sat beside him and gave him a pencil. Raj looked at his grandma puzzled, and said he didn’t deserve a pencil after his performance in the test. His grandma explained, “You can learn many things from this pencil because it is just like you. It experiences a painful sharpening, just the way you have experienced the pain of not doing well on your test. However, it will help you be a better student. Just as all the good that comes from the pencil is from within itself, you will also find the strength to overcome this hurdle. And finally, just as this pencil will make its mark on any surface, you too shall leave your mark on anything you choose to.” Raj was immediately consoled and promised himself that he would do better. Moral of the Story We all have the strength to be who we wish to be.

This is a story that explains how adversity is met differently by different people. There was a girl named Asha who lived with her mother and father in a village. One day, her father assigned her a simple task. He took three vessels filled with boiling water. He placed an egg in one vessel, a potato in the second vessel, and some tea leaves in the third vessel. He asked Asha to keep an eye on the vessels for about ten to fifteen minutes while the three ingredients in three separate vessels boiled. After the said time, he asked Asha to peel the potato and egg, and strain the tea leaves. Asha was left puzzled – she understood her father was trying to explain her something, but she didn’t know what it was. Her father explained, “All three items were put in the same circumstances. See how they’ve responded differently.” He said that the potato turned soft, the egg turned hard, and the tea leaves changed the colour and taste of the water. He further said, “We are all like one of these items...

One day, a selfish fox invited a stork for dinner. Stork was very happy with the invitation – she reached the fox’s home on time and knocked at the door with her long beak. The fox took her to the dinner table and served some soup in shallow bowls for both of them. As the bowl was too shallow for the stork, she couldn’t have soup at all. But, the fox licked up his soup quickly. The stork was angry and upset, but she didn’t show her anger and behaved politely. To teach a lesson to the fox, she then invited him for dinner the next day. She too served soup, but this time the soup was served in two tall narrow vases. The stork devoured the soup from her vase, but the fox couldn’t drink any of it because of his narrow neck. The fox realised his mistake and went home famished. Moral of the Story A selfish act backfires sooner or later!

One day, king Akbar asked a question in his court that left everyone in the courtroom puzzled. As they all tried to figure out the answer, Birbal walked in and asked what the matter was. They repeated the question to him. The question was, “How many crows are there in the city?” Birbal immediately smiled and went up to Akbar. He announced the answer; he said there were twenty-one thousand, five hundred and twenty-three crows in the city. When asked how he knew the answer, Birbal replied, “Ask your men to count the number of crows. If there are more, then the relatives of the crows must be visiting them from nearby cities. If there are fewer, then the crows from our city must be visiting their relatives who live outside the city.” Pleased with the answer, Akbar presented Birbal with a ruby and pearl chain. Moral of the Story Having an explanation for your answer is just as important as having an answer.

A lion was once sleeping in the jungle when a mouse started running up and down his body just for fun. This disturbed the lion’s sleep, and he woke up quite angry. He was about to eat the mouse when the mouse desperately requested the lion to set him free. “I promise you, I will be of great help to you someday if you save me.” The lion laughed at the mouse’s confidence and let him go. 0:00 / 0:00 Skip in 5 One day, a few hunters came into the forest and took the lion with them. They tied him up against a tree. The lion was struggling to get out and started to whimper. Soon, the mouse walked past and noticed the lion in trouble. Quickly, he ran and gnawed on the ropes to set the lion free. Both of them sped off into the jungle. Moral of the Story A small act of kindness can go a long way.

A wolf had gotten seriously hurt during a fight with a bear. He wasn’t able to move, and so, could not satisfy his thirst or hunger. One day, a sheep passed by his hiding place, and so the wolf decided to call out to him. “Please fetch me some water,” said the wolf. “That might give me some strength to get some solid food.” “Solid food!” the sheep said. “I suppose that means me. If I brought you something to drink, it would merely be to wash me down. Don’t speak to me about fetching a drink.” The moral A person’s ulterior motives are easy to spot if someone is paying attention.

Once, there was a young boy. This boy had problems controlling his anger. When he got angry, he would say the first thing that came to mind, even if it affected people. One day, his father gifted him a hammer and a bundle of nails, then said, “Whenever you get mad, hammer a nail into the backyard fence.” In the first days, the boy used up half of the nails. Over the next weeks, he used up fewer nails, until his temper was under control. Then, his father asked the young boy to remove a nail for each day he didn’t lose his temper. On the day when the boy removed his last nail, his father told him, “You have done good, boy. But, can you see the holes in the wall? The fence is never going to be the same. Likewise, when you say mean things in anger, you’ll leave a scar.” The moral Anger is like a knife — one of the most dangerous weapons. When you use it, the wounds will heal, but the scars remain.

Once, there was a man who visited foreign lands. When he returned, all he could talk about was the wonderful adventures he had and the great deeds he had done. One of the feats he told was about a leap he made in a city called Rhodes. “The leap was so great,” the man said. “No other man can make such a leap. Many persons in Rhodes saw me and can prove I am telling the truth.” “No need for witnesses,” said one who was listening. “Suppose that this city is Rhodes, now show how far you can jump.” The moral It’s the deeds that count, not the boasting words.

A mother dog and her pups lived on a farm. On the farm, there was a well. The mother dog always told her pups never to go near or play around it. One day, one of the pups was overcome by curiosity and wondered why they weren’t allowed to go near the well. So, he decided he wanted to explore it. He went down to the well and climbed up the wall to peek inside. In the well, he saw his reflection in the water but thought it was another dog. The little pup got angry when his reflection was imitating him, so he decided to fight it. The little pup jumped into the well, only to find there was no dog. He began to bark and bark until the farmer came to rescue him. The pup had learned his lesson and never went back to the well again. The moral Always listen to what elders say and don’t defy them.

There once was an old miser who lived in a house with a garden. The old miser used to hide all his gold coins under stones in his garden. Every night, before he went to bed, the miser went out into his garden to count his coins. He continued the same routine every day, but he never spent a single, golden coin. One day, a thief saw the old miser hiding his coins. Once the old miser went back into his house, the thief went to the hiding place and took all the gold. The following day, as the old man came out to count his coins, he found it was gone and started wailing loudly. His neighbor heard the cries and came running, asking what had happened. Upon learning what had occurred, the neighbor asked, “Why didn’t you just save the money inside your house where it would’ve been safe?” The neighbor continued, “Having it inside the house would make it easier to access when you need to buy something.” “Buy something?” answered the miser, “I was never going to spend my gold.” When hearing this, ...

One day, two friends were walking through the forest. They knew the forest was a dangerous place and that anything could happen. So, they promised to remain close to each other in case of any danger. All of a sudden, a big bear was approaching them. One of the friends quickly climbed a nearby tree, leaving the other friend behind. The other friend did not know how to climb, and instead, followed common sense. He laid down on the ground and remained there, breathless, pretending to be dead. The bear approached the friend lying on the ground. The animal started to smell his ear before slowly wandering off again because bears never touch those who are dead. Soon, the friend who hid in the tree came down. He asked his friend, “My dear friend, what secret did the bear whisper to you?” The friend replied, “The bear simply advised me never to believe a false friend.” The moral A true friend will always support and stand by you in any situation.

Once upon a time, there was an old man who lived in a village with his three sons. Although his three sons were hard workers, they quarreled all the time. The old man tried to unite them but failed. Months passed by, and the old man became sick. He asked his sons to remain united, but they failed to listen to him. At that moment, the old man decided to teach them a lesson — to forget their differences and come together in unity. The old man summoned his sons, then proceeded to tell them, “I will provide you with a bundle of sticks. Separate each stick, and then break each into two. The one who finishes first will be rewarded more than the others.” And so, the sons agreed. The old man provided them with a bundle of ten sticks each, and then asked the sons to break each stick into pieces. The sons broke the sticks within minutes, then proceeded to quarrel among themselves again. The old man said, “My dear sons, the game is not yet over. I will now give you another bundle of sticks. Only ...

One bright autumn day, a family of ants was busy working in the warm sunshine. They were drying out the grain they had stored up during the summer when a starving grasshopper came up. With his fiddle under his arm, the grasshopper humbly begged for a bite to eat. “What!” cried the ants, “Haven’t you stored any food away for the winter? What in the world were you doing all summer?” “I didn’t have time to store any food before winter,” the grasshopper whined. “I was too busy making music that the summer flew by.” The ants simply shrugged their shoulders and said, “Making music, were you? Very well, now dance!” The ants then turned their backs on the grasshopper and returned to work. The moral There’s a time for work and a time for play.

There once was a poor boy who spent his days going door-to-door selling newspapers to pay for school. One day, as he was walking his route, he started feeling low and weak. The poor boy was starving, so he decided to ask for food when he came to the next door. The poor boy asked for food but was denied every time, until he reached the door of a girl. He asked for a glass of water, but seeing his poor state, the girl came back with a glass of milk. The boy asked how much he owed her for the milk, but she refused payment. Years later, the girl, who was now a grown woman, fell sick. She went from doctor to doctor, but no one was able to cure her. Finally, she went to the best doctor in town. The doctor spent months treating her until she was finally cured. Despite her happiness, she was afraid she couldn’t afford to pay the bill. But, when the hospital handed her the bill, it read, ‘Paid in full, with a glass of milk.’ The moral No good deed goes unrewarded.

Once, there were two brothers who lived at the forest’s edge. The oldest brother was always unkind to his younger brother. The older brother took all the food and snatched all the good clothes. The oldest brother used to go into the forest in search of firewood to sell in the market. As he walked through the forest, he chopped off the branches of every tree, until he came upon a magical tree. The tree stopped him before he chopped its branches and said, ‘Oh, kind sir, please spare my branches. If you spare me, I will provide you with golden apples.’ The oldest brother agreed but was feeling disappointed with how many apples the tree gave him. Overcome by greed, the brother threatened to cut the entire tree if it didn’t provide him with more apples. But, instead of giving more apples, the tree showered him with hundreds of tiny needles. The brother fell to the ground, crying in pain as the sun began to set. Soon, the younger brother became worried and went to search for his older brothe...

One day, a farmer was looking for a water source for his farm, when he bought a well from his neighbor. The neighbor, however, was cunning. The next day, as the farmer came to draw water from his well, the neighbor refused to let him take any water. When the farmer asked why, the neighbor replied, “I sold you the well, not the water,” and walked away. Distraught, the farmer went to the emperor to ask for justice. He explained what had happened. The emperor called on Birbal, one of his nine, and wisest, courtiers. Birbal proceeded to question the neighbor, “Why don’t you let the farmer take water from the well? You did sell the well to the farmer?” The neighbor replied, “Birbal, I did sell the well to the farmer but not the water within it. He has no right to draw water from the well.” Birbal said, “Look, since you sold the well, you have no right to keep the water in the farmer’s well. Either you pay rent to the farmer, or take it out immediately.” Realizing that his scheme had failed,...

Once upon a time, a farmer had a goose that laid one golden egg every day. The egg provided enough money for the farmer and his wife to support their daily needs. The farmer and his wife continued to be happy for a long time. But, one day, the farmer thought to himself, “Why should we take just one egg a day? Why can’t we take them all at once and make a lot of money?” The farmer told his wife his idea, and she foolishly agreed. Then, the next day, as the goose laid its golden egg, the farmer was quick with a sharp knife. He killed the goose and cut its stomach open, in the hopes of finding all its golden eggs. But, as he opened the stomach, the only thing he found was guts and blood. The farmer quickly realized his foolish mistake and proceeded to cry over his lost resource. As the days went on, the farmer and his wife became poorer and poorer. How jinxed and how foolish they were. The moral Never act before you think.

There was an old owl who lived in an oak tree. Every day, he observed incidents that occurred around him. Yesterday, he watched as a young boy helped an old man carry a heavy basket. Today, he saw a young girl shouting at her mother. The more he saw, the less he spoke. As the days went on, he spoke less but heard more. The old owl heard people talking and telling stories. He heard a woman saying an elephant jumped over a fence. He heard a man saying that he had never made a mistake. The old owl had seen and heard what happened to people. There were some who became better, some who became worse. But the old owl in the tree had become wiser, each and every day. The moral Be more observant. Talk less and listen more. This will make us wise.

One day, Molly the milkmaid had filled her pails with milk. Her job was to milk the cows, and then bring the milk to the market to sell. Molly loved to think about what to spend her money on. As she filled the pails with milk and went to market, she again thought of all the things she wanted to buy. As she walked along the road, she thought of buying a cake and a basket full of fresh strawberries. A little further down the road, she spotted a chicken. She thought, “With the money I get from today, I’m going to buy a chicken of my own. That chicken will lay eggs, then I will be able to sell milk and eggs and get more money!” She continued, “With more money, I will be able to buy a fancy dress and make all the other milkmaids jealous.” Out of excitement, Molly started skipping, forgetting about the milk in her pails. Soon, the milk started spilling over the edges, covering Molly. Drenched, Molly said to herself, “Oh no! I will never have enough money to buy a chicken now.” She went home ...

Once upon a time, in a desert far away, there was a rose who was so proud of her beautiful looks. Her only complaint was growing next to an ugly cactus. Every day, the beautiful rose would insult and mock the cactus on his looks, all while the cactus remained quiet. All the other plants nearby tried to make the rose see sense, but she was too swayed by her own looks. One scorching summer, the desert became dry, and there was no water left for the plants. The rose quickly began to wilt. Her beautiful petals dried up, losing their lush color. Looking to the cactus, she saw a sparrow dip his beak into the cactus to drink some water. Though ashamed, the rose asked the cactus if she could have some water. The kind cactus readily agreed, helping them both through the tough summer, as friends. The moral Never judge anyone by the way they look.

One day, a fox became very hungry as he went to search for some food. He searched high and low, but couldn’t find something that he could eat. Finally, as his stomach rumbled, he stumbled upon a farmer’s wall. At the top of the wall, he saw the biggest, juiciest grapes he’d ever seen. They had a rich, purple color, telling the fox they were ready to be eaten. To reach the grapes, the fox had to jump high in the air. As he jumped, he opened his mouth to catch the grapes, but he missed. The fox tried again but missed yet again. He tried a few more times but kept failing. Finally, the fox decided it was time to give up and go home. While he walked away, he muttered, “I’m sure the grapes were sour anyway.” The moral Never despise what we can’t have; nothing comes easy.

There once was a king named Midas who did a good deed for a Satyr. And he was then granted a wish by Dionysus, the god of wine. For his wish, Midas asked that whatever he touched would turn to gold. Despite Dionysus’ efforts to prevent it, Midas pleaded that this was a fantastic wish, and so, it was bestowed. Excited about his newly-earned powers, Midas started touching all kinds of things, turning each item into pure gold. But soon, Midas became hungry. As he picked up a piece of food, he found he couldn’t eat it. It had turned to gold in his hand. Hungry, Midas groaned, “I’ll starve! Perhaps this was not such an excellent wish after all!” Seeing his dismay, Midas’ beloved daughter threw her arms around him to comfort him, and she, too, turned to gold. “The golden touch is no blessing,” Midas cried. The moral Greed will always lead to downfall.