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10 Inspiring And Meaningful Short English Stories For Kids

10 Inspiring And Meaningful Short English Stories For Kids

30 Apr 2022 | 10 min Read

Sudeshna Chakravarti

Author | 799 Articles

Did you know that there are several benefits of reading to your kids? In fact, there’s nothing more that stimulates their imagination than books. Besides boosting their creative thinking, it can also enhance their language and listening skills. There are many interesting English stories for kids that you can introduce your little one to. Most of them carry meaningful morals that help instill good values in your child and also teach them some essential life lessons.

In this post, we bring you a collection of some great moral stories that you can read out to your kids every day. Read on to know what they are.

English Stories For Kids With Morals

The Boy Who Cried Wolf

There once lived a young mischievous shepherd boy, who was bored of watching his flock of sheep on the hill. To entertain himself, one day he started shouting, “Wolf, wolf, help! My sheep are being chased by the wolf.”

Hearing this, the villagers rushed to save the boy and his flock of sheep but found that he was joking to pass his time. After a while, he did the same thing and pretended that his sheep were being chased by a wolf for the second time. The villagers warned the boy and left angrily.

However, soon a real wolf came and chased the boy’s flock of sheep, killing many. This time when the boy screamed for help, no one turned to help him. Everyone believed that the boy was acting naughty again, and ignored his plead.

Moral: Lying can break people’s trust. No one trusts a liar, even when they are speaking the truth.

The Brahmin’s Dream

There once lived a poor Brahmin in a village who used to beg for a living. One day he received a pot full of flour, and happily took it home. He hung the pot near his bed and lied down gazing at the flour pot, and then dozed off.

He started dreaming of different scenarios and what he could do with the pot of flour. He dreamt that he would sell it at the highest bid during a famine, buy goats and cows with the money, use them as resources, become rich, and have a big house, and when the King would hear about the Brahmin’s riches, he would marry him off to his daughter.

The Brahmin also dreamed about having children, and how he would beat them if they did not behave properly. He started beating the air with his hands, and suddenly he struck the pot, which fell on the ground, and broke.

The Brahmin woke up and realised that all this time he was just dreaming. There was no big house or garden, just a broken pot, with flour spilled all over the floor.

Moral: Avoid building castles in thin air.

The Golden Egg

Long ago, a farmer had a goose that laid a golden egg regularly. The egg provided sufficient money to the farmer and his wife to fulfill their daily needs. The farmer and his wife lead a happy life for a long time.

But one day an evil thought crossed the farmer’s mind. He wondered, “Why should I settle for just one golden egg at a time? Why can’t I have all of them at once and make a lot of money?”

His foolish wife agreed with him on this, and they decided to cut the goose’s stomach to retrieve the golden eggs. But as soon as they opened the bird’s stomach, the bird died, and the farmer and his wife found nothing but guts and blood. The farmer, after realising his foolish mistake, cried over his lost resource.

The famous English idiom “kill not the goose that lays a golden egg” was also derived from this story.

Moral: You should think before you act.

The Honest Woodcutter

A woodcutter resided in a small village near a river bank. He used to cut the trees near the river bank and sell the wood in the village for a living. One day while he was working, the woodcutter accidentally dropped his axe into the river.

The woodcutter started searching for his axe in the water, but couldn’t see it anywhere. Dismayed, he sat down on the river bank and started crying. He prayed to God sincerely as it was his sole source of livelihood.

Seeing him upset, the God of the river rose and approached the woodcutter. The woodcutter narrated his story, and touched, the God went back into the river to find his axe. The river God came back with a gold axe and asked, ”Is this yours?” But the woodcutter refused. He then came back with a silver axe and the woodcutter refused again.

The third time, the God rose with an ordinary axe in his hand, and the woodcutter happily took his axe back and thanked him. The river God was impressed with his honesty, and gave him all three axes.

Hearing this story, an evil friend of the woodcutter went to the river bank the next day, and pretended that his axe had fallen into the river. The river God once again rose to help, and returned with a golden axe. This time, the greedy man took the axe. Disappointed at his dishonesty, the river God took all the axes from the man and warned him. The man got scared and ran back to his village.

Moral: Honesty is always the best policy.

The Golden Touch

Once upon a time, there was a King named Midas, who was granted a wish by Dionysus, the God of wine for a good deed. After putting a lot of thought, Midas said he wished to turn everything he touches into gold.

Despite Dionysus’ efforts to prevent it, Midas pleaded for it to be granted, and hence, it was bestowed. Excited about his new powers, Midas started to touch all kinds of things, turning each item into gold.

Soon, Midas became hungry, and as he picked up a piece of food, he couldn’t eat it, as it turned to gold. Seeing his dismay, Midas’ daughter tried to comfort him, and as soon as she touched him, the girl turned into gold. Midas then realised that the golden touch is no blessing.

Moral: Greed will always lead to your downfall.

The Cows And The Tiger

Long ago, four cows lived in a forest, near a meadow. They were close friends and did everything together. They even grazed together, because of which no lions or tigers were able to kill them for food.

But none day, the four friends fought, and each cow went in a different direction. A tiger noticed this and decided that it was the perfect opportunity to kill them. Hence, the tiger hid in the bushes, and surprised the cows, killing them all, one by one.

Moral: Unity is your biggest strength.

The Tortoise And The Bird

One day, a tortoise was resting under a tree, on which a bird had built its nest. The tortoise mocked the bird’s house and said, “What a shabby home you have. It has no roof, looks crude, and is made of broken twigs. My house, which is my shell, is better than your pathetic nest.”

To this, the bird calmingly replied, “Yes, it is shabby and is open to the elements of nature, but I built it, and I like it.”

The tortoise got back with, “I guess it is like any other nest, but it is not better than mine. You must be jealous!”

On the contrary, replied the bird, “My home has space for my family and friends, but your shell cannot accommodate anybody else. You may have a better house, but I have a better home.”

Moral: It’s better to have a crowded hut than a lonely mansion.

Bedtime English Stories For Kids

Three Little Pigs

As the name suggests, this kid’s story is about three little pigs. Each of the pigs builds a house for themselves with different materials. The first one builds a house with straws, the second pig builds a house with sticks, and the third one builds a house with bricks, even though it takes him the longest to complete.

One day a bad wolf arrives and plots to blow on the houses of the pigs so that he can eat them. The wolf is successful in destroying the houses of the first pigs by blowing at them, but he is unable to destroy the third pig’s house. The third pig remains safe and lives happily ever after.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

This story is about a caterpillar who wanders around searching for food. Every day he eats something new but is still hungry all the time. From apples to strawberries, plums, oranges, cake, cheese, cupcakes, and watermelon, the caterpillar eats everything, but his hunger is only satisfied when he eats a fresh green leaf.

The story is a great way of teaching children that junk food cannot fulfill nutritional requirements and hunger, and it’s always best to stick to healthy food choices.

Peace At Last

It is nighttime, and Mr. Bear, Mrs. Bear, and their little one Baby Bear are all tired and sleepy. They go to their bed and fall asleep. Soon Mrs. Bear starts snoring. This keeps Mr. Bear awake who goes off to Baby Bear’s room. But seeing Mr. Bear, Baby Bear turns into a playful mood and starts making airplane noises.

Mr. Bear says, “Oh, no!” and goes off to the kitchen, the living room, the garden, and the car, but finds no luck at sleeping peacefully anywhere. By the time he comes back to the house and finds some peace in his bedroom, it’s already morning.

Conclusion

These English stories for kids are fun to read and also teach valuable life lessons. Each story teaches different morals and instills good values in your little one. So if your kid loves to read, you should definitely consider introducing them to these short stories, and also explaining to them the meaning behind them.