7 Must-Read Moral Stories in English

Moral Stories:

Moral stories are stories that convey a lesson or teach a moral value. These stories can be fictional or non-fictional and are often used to teach children about honesty, kindness, and perseverance. The stories may involve characters who make decisions that demonstrate these values or characters who learn important lessons about the consequences of their actions. Moral stories can be found in various forms such as books, fables, parables, myths, and legends. They serve as a means to convey important messages and can teach children and adults alike how to live a better life and treat others with respect.

The Bee and the Dove:

One day a bee fell into a river. Its wings got wet. It could not fly. A dove saw that the life of the bee was in danger. She plucked a leaf and dropped it near the bee. The bee got on the leaf. When its wings dried up it flew away.

A few days later a hunter turned up there. He had his gun in his hands. He saw the same dove perching on the branch of a tree. The hunter aimed at the dove. When he was ready to press the trigger, down came the very bee flying hastily. It stung the finger of the hunter. The aim was missed. The dove flew away at the sound of the fire. The bee repaid the good done to it.

Moral- Kindness never goes unrewarded.

The Two Beggars:

Once upon a time, there lived two beggars. One of them was lame in both legs and the other was blind in both eyes. The former could not walk nor could he beg from door to door. The latter would not see his way. Both of them starved and went without food.

One day they made an agreement. The blind beggar agreed to carry the lame on his shoulders and the lame agreed to show way to his companion. Now they begged from door to door and they never went without food in the times to come.

Moral- Mutual help and cooperation lead to prosperity and affluence.

The Wolf and the Lamb:

Once a wolf was drinking water at a stream. Close down him a lamb was also drinking water. The wolf saw the lamb and very much wished to eat it. But for his evil design, he needed some pretexts or excuses.

At once the wolf thought of excuses and said to the lamb, “Why are you making the water muddy? Don’t you see that I am drinking it?”

The lamb humbly said, “Sir, the water is flowing from you to me but not from me to you. How can I make your water muddy?” The wolf angrily said, “Why did you call me names last year?”

The lamb became more humble and said, “Excuse me, sir, I was not even born then.” “Then it must be your brother, father, or mother. You must suffer for them.” So saying the wolf pounced upon the lamb and devoured it.

Moral- Any excuse rational or irrational is enough to serve the evil design of an evil-doer.

The Vain Stag:

One day a stag felt thirsty. He went to a pool to quench his thirst. While he was drinking water, he saw his own reflection down into the water. The horns looked very pretty. He praised them highly. But his legs looked ugly. He hated and cursed them.

Just then a hunter with his hounds turned up there. He let loose his hounds. The hounds rushed at the stag but the ugly legs of the stag carried him out of the danger. The stag then saw a group of trees and rushed towards it to hide himself from the hounds. It was a thick grove and the horns of the stag got entangled into the branches of trees. The stag could not loosen his horns.

Meanwhile, the hounds got on the stag. They tore him to pieces. While dying the stag said, “My ugly legs did their best to get me out of the danger, but my pretty horns have become the cause of my death.”

Moral: All that glitters is not gold.

The Farmer and His Lazy and Quarrelsome Sons:

An aged farmer had three sons. They were lazy and always quarreled with one another. They always remained idle doing nothing at all. The father saw it and was much pained.

One day the father hit upon a novel plan to set his sons on the right lines of action and mutual help. A bundle of sticks was brought and placed before his sons.

Now the father asked each of his sons to break the bundle with all their might and main. Each son did his best but in vain. Every one of them accepted his inability to break the bundle.

The father then asked the youngest son to unite the bundle and break the sticks one by one. The son acted to the command of the father and broke all the sticks in the twinkling of an eye and that too without any difficulty.

At this the father addressed, “Look here, my sons, so long the sticks were tied in a bundle, those were united and even the best of your efforts could not break them. But when the bundle was united and union among the sticks was lost and the youngest of your brother broke all the sticks easily.” The sons understood their father and left off their quarrels forever.

Moral- United we stand and divide we fall.

Two Friends and the Bear:

Two friends lived in a village. One day they set out on a journey. Their way led through a forest that teemed with bears. They promised to help each other in danger of their lives.

They had not gone far in the forest when a bear came towards them. At once one of the friends who was not true to his word ran to the nearest tree. He climbed up the tree in no time and hid himself amid the thick branches.

The other fellow was fat and had a bulky body. He could not run for life. But he lay down on the earth and held his breath pretending that he was dead. The bear came up to him and sniffed him all over, but taking him for dead, the beast went away.

When the bear got out of sight, the friend on the tree climbed down. He came to the fat friend and asked him what the bear had said in his ears. The fat fellow said that the beast had advised him not to trust a selfish friend.

Moral: A friend in need is a friend indeed.

The Hare and the Tortoise:

A hare and a tortoise lived close to each other. They became fast friends. The hare often made fun of the slow movement of the tortoise.

One day the hare challenged the tortoise to run a race with him. A pole was fixed as a goal at a yonder distance. The hare shouted “One, two, three,” and the race started in right earnest. The hare was a fast runner. It made an expression of its legs and was far ahead of the tortoise in no time.

The tortoise plodded its way at its usual slow speed. The hare after a few minutes turned round to see its rival in the race. It did not find any trace of the tortoise. As it was a hot day and the hare was a bit perspired, it lay down under the shade of a tree to take a little rest. Its tiredness and fatigue soon lulled the hare to fast sleep.

The tortoise went on and on its way. It saw the hare asleep on the wayside but it did not wake the hare up. The tortoise passed on slowly but silently. It reached the winning post and waited for the hare.

The hare woke up after some time. It ran hard towards the goal but was too much ashamed to see the slow tortoise sitting there. The fast hare lost the race to the slow tortoise.

Moral: Slow and steady wins the race.


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