Top 10 English short stories with moral motivational stories in english

Top 10 English short stories with moral  motivational stories in english

​​1. The Parrot 

An Old Man was very lonely because his wife had died. He missed her very much, especially their meal-time talk and laughter.

One day, the Old Man decided to buy a Parrot. He thought a Parrot would be the best pet to have, because it could actually talk to him.

The next morning, the Old Man visited the Pet Shop. The shop owner showed him several Parrots. One called for a coach, another asked for a drink and one just made noises! Only one Parrot sat quietly.

The Old Man wondered why it was silent. The Parrot replied, “I think more!” The Old Man thought happily, Ah!  What a wise bird!’ Then, he bought the silent Parrot.

Now every day, the Old Man tried to teach his new pet to talk, sing or make a new sound. Sadly, the Parrot refused to learn anything new It would only repeat, “I think more!”

The disappointed Old Man angrily said, “Oh Parrot, you are a fool! Alas, I am a bigger fool than you, because I believed that you were wise, simply because you pretended to think more!”

Do not be fooled by those who pretend to be wise.

2.The Hodge and the Crow

A Crow built her nest in a forest. It was on a high branch of a sturdy tree. One morning, she laid five eggs in it. She sat over her newly laid eggs to hatch them.

One day, when the weather was sunny, the Crow was thinking about her soon-to-be-hatched chicks.

Suddenly, a strong wind swept across the forest.

The branch, on which the Crow was sitting, shookwildly. She got scared and thought that the wind might break the branch on which she had built her nest. So, the Crow carefully carried her nest to a lower branch. Now the Crow was happy as her eggs were safe.

By evening, the weather calmed down.

In that neighbourhood, lived a Hodge. He had been watching the Crow’s eggs for many days. He often thought about climbing the tree, but knew that the nest was too high for him.

Then, to his surprise, he saw the Crow’s nest on a low branch. When the Crow left the nest, the greedy Hodge quickly climbed the tree. He carried the eggs away and ate them. The Crow lost her babies by being too careful!

Being too careful can also be be dangerous.

​​3.The Clever Wife 

There lived a Woman whose Husband had a bad habit. The man would drink a lot every day. This caused him to lose his normal senses for most of the time.

The Woman tried many times to help him get out of this habit. But all her efforts went in vain!

Every night, someone else would have to bring him back home. One such night when he was brought home, the Woman had him carried to a grave in the neighbourhood. She thought she could teach him a good lesson by frightening him and then he would stop his bad habit.

Then she dressed herself in a dark-coloured dress. She wore a mask upon her face. She waited for him to wake up.

When the Woman saw her Husband returning to his senses, she moved towards him with a serious face. Then, she gave him some food to eat and spoke loudly, “Get up and eat, it is my job to bring food for the dead.”

The Husband was very scared. He ran home at once. From that day onwards, he gave up his bad habit.

We must leave our bad habits.

4.The Rope Dancer

 Rope dancing is lovely to watch, but very hard to Hearn! A young Boy was learning this art from an old, wise Teacher.

The Teacher told the Boy to carry a long heavy pole while he learnt to dance on the rope. It would keep him steady on the rope. Otherwise, he could fall and hurt himself.

The Boy was smart and quickly learnt the art of rope dancing.

One day, the Boy complained to his Teacher, “Oh, dancing would be much easier if I did not have to carry the long, heavy pole.”

The Teacher replied, “No Son, it will help you balance better.”

However, the Boy threw the pole away and started dancing on the rope.

The Teacher watched worriedly as the Boy slipped and fell to the ground! He ran to the Boy. “Oh, you silly child! This is what happens when you disobey me.”

The Boy got up and dusted himself. He realized his mistake. He was grateful that he had not broken his neck while falling.

The Teacher said, “If you listen to me, you will never fall again.” The Boy happily agreed.

Always follow the good advice given by teachers and elders.

5.The Proud Lady and the Caterpillar

  A young Lady had a wonderful garden. She took great care of it. One day, she was walking in her beautiful garden and admiring the colourful flowers. She saw the trees laden with juicy fruits and clapped her hands with joy.

Suddenly, the Lady saw a Caterpillar on her dress. She was horrified.

The Lady shook him off her dress, saying angrily, “Go away, you ugly Caterpillar!    You eat all the leaves, flowers and fruits and ruin my lovely garden. I work so hard to keep my garden beautiful. You spoil it by being here.”

The Caterpillar looked at her and said calmly, “Proud Lady, I am ugly to look at now Soon, I shall turn into a beautiful Butterfly. The lovely silk of your dress has come from insects like me, so, do not insult me.”

“You will be jealous of me, when I become a Butterfly! Since, then I shall be more colourful and beautiful than you.”

The Caterpillar continued, “We are greatly puzzled by you. Your beauty is temporary. Without your clothes, you look like a Caterpillar. Only when you dress up in colourful clothes do you become a Butterfly!”

True beauty does not lie in clothes!

​​6. The Mice who Travelled

A Mouse, tired of living in constant fear, said to her neighbour, “I read about a place called Indies where Mice are safer. The people there believe that the soul of a Mouse has been in the body of a great person. After the Mouse dies, it will re-enter the body of another great person. That’s why Mice are treated affectionately there. Even hospitals are built for them. Let us go to this country and live happily.”

The neighbour replied, “Don’t Cats enter these hospitals? If they do, then the Mice would be dying, quickly and in great numbers.”

“Fear not,” said the first Mouse. “The Cats have their houses and hospitals far away from ours.”

The Mice then crept into a ship, which was set to sail. After a long journey, they reached Indies.

There, the Mice entered a house, expecting a warm welcome. However, the Indian Mice fought with the newly arrived Mice. Instead of being eaten up by Cats, they were killed by their own kind.

Be wise and stay away from danger.

​​7. The Elephant and the Animals

The animals in Happy Valley were sad. They were all troubled that some creatures were unkind to the others. The strong, kind Elephant was their leader, so the animals ran to him and told him all.

The Elephant wanted to know which animals were bad. So, he called the animals for a meeting and told them to stop their bad habits. Being lazy, cruel, selfish or jealous would spoil the happiness of the whole forest.

All the gentle animals like the Dog, Camel, Sheep, Dove, Ant and Bee, listened carefully to the Elephant’s words. They nodded in agreement. However, animals like the Tiger, Wolf, Snake, Wasp, Hornet, Fly, Grasshopper and Ape became very angry with the Elephant’s words. These animals were cruel and mean to the weaker animals. They grumbled and murmured loudly.

The Elephant trumpeted for silence.

Then he continued, “I gave my advice to everyone here, but only some of you were happy to hear me!” He explained that those who agreed with his advice were the good animals, but the ones who were angry with his words were the real troublemakers!

Good advice hurts those who do wrong things.

​​8. The Dogs

One morning, a Hunter was following an animal. He tied his Dogs in pairs, so that they would hunt in an orderly way, and not pull in different directions.

Jowler and Vixen were tied together as a couple. They were both young and new to hunting. The two Dogs were good friends and always played together. They took each other’s sides in a quarrel. The other Dogs thought that they would be good partners.

However, they acted strangely when tied together. They both liked to go in opposite directions and walk in a different manner. Both of them would pull the other in different directions and soon this would end in a quarrel. Jowler, the male, treated Vixen, the female, badly.

He did not take care to lead Vixen properly or kindly.

An old Dog watching the two Dogs fight with each other, scolded them, “Silly Puppies, why are you always fighting with each other? Why don’t you ask what the other wants? Then you can both be at peace! I realized this when I was in the similar situation as you.”

Joint agreement is necessary for a good partnership.

9. The Spaniel and the Mastiff

One day, a good-natured Spaniel and a grumpy Mastiff were travelling on the same road.

The Spaniel, although an entire stranger to the Mastiff, very politely approached him and asked, “May I please walk with you on this journey?”

The Mastiff replied, “I have no problem, you may walk along with me.”

Both the dogs started walking together, chatting with each other.

Mastiffs are huge and by nature protective, but very ferocious dogs. Soon the two reached the next village. The Mastiff began to show his nasty nature. He growled at everyone he met, without any reason. He started leaping and snapping at them.

The annoyed villagers ran out with great sticks. They wanted to protect their own dogs. Then, they struck both the dogs mercilessly. The poor Spaniel was also not spared. He got badly beaten just for being found in the company of the nasty Mastiff.

The Spaniel said, “Alas, I was never beaten in this manner before. Now, I know that quick friendships with strangers can be bad. One’s good or bad fortune depends upon the type of friends one makes!”

Avoid bad company, as it brings ruin.

10. The Ass and the Gardener

Once, an Ass had an accident and lost his tail. He was very saddened by this loss. He cried the whole day and missed his tail. He thought, ‘I miss having my tail. I think I should go out and search for it!’

The Ass went all around the meadow searching for his tail. He was weeping, when he entered a garden. He crushed the plants under his feet as he was lost in his own thoughts. The Gardener saw the Ass and became alert. He thought, ‘This Ass has come to my garden to spoil my plants and eat my vegetables. I will have to save my garden from him!’

The Gardener went inside his cottage and brought a pair of scissors. When he saw the Ass walking over his vegetables and plants, he got angry. He shouted at the Ass, but the Ass did not listen to him.

The Gardener ran towards the Ass and cut off both his ears. The Ass was shocked and cried in pain. Now, besides his tail, he also cried out for the loss of his ears!

We should not lose our senses in difficult times, for we may then face more losses.

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