Top 10 Short Stories

Short stories are a great way to escape into another world for a short period of time. They can be funny, sad, scary, or thought-provoking. There are so many great short stories out there, it can be hard to know where to start. We are mentioning the top 10 short stories in this blog.

Remember, storytelling is an art form that transcends time and culture. So, let the power of these best short stories ignite your imagination and inspire you to explore more moral stories beyond this list. Happy reading!

1) The Farmers’ Story

Once upon a time, three neighbors in a village were having difficulties with their crops. All the neighbors had one field, yet the harvests on their fields were pervaded with bugs and shrinking. They’d come up with new ways to help their crops every day.

The first one used a scarecrow in his field, the second used pesticides and the third one constructed a fence around his field—all of which were unsuccessful.

One day, the head of the village called the three farmers. He gave them each a stick and requested that they break it. It was easy for the farmers to break. At that point, he then provided them with a heap of three sticks and, once more, requested that they break it.

The farmers struggled this time to break the sticks. “Together, you are stronger and work better than you do it alone,” the village leader declared.

The farmers understood the village leader’s words. They pooled their assets and disposed of the vermin from their fields.

Moral: Unity is strength.

2)The Needle Tree

Two brothers lived close to a forest. The elder one was extremely hateful toward the more youthful sibling – he would complete all the food and wear all the new garments of his more youthful sibling.

One day, the elder brother decided to find firewood in the forest and sell it at the market. He came across a magical tree as he went around, cutting down tree after tree.

“Oh, kind sir, please do not cut my branches,” the tree pleaded. “Golden apples will be yours if you spare me.”

Despite his agreement, he was dissatisfied with the tree’s supply of apples. He threatened the tree to cut off its entire trunk if it didn’t give him more apples because he was overcome by avarice.

Instead, the magical tree poured hundreds of tiny needles onto the elder brother. As the sun set, the elder brother lay on the ground, wailing in pain.

The younger brother looked for his elder brother because he was worried. He discovered him with hundreds of needles covering his body and lying in pain near the tree. He rushed to his brother and carefully and lovingly removed each needle.

The elder brother apologized for his bad treatment and promised to get better after he finished. The elder brother’s heart had changed, so the tree gave them all the golden apples they needed.

Moral: Being kind and gracious will always be rewarded.

3) The Greedy Fox

One day, while searching for food, a fox became extremely hungry. He looked everywhere, but he couldn’t find anything he could eat.

He finally came across a wall erected by farmers as his stomach growled. He saw the largest and juiciest grapes he had ever seen at the wall’s top. The fox could tell that they were ready to be eaten by their deep purple color.

To arrive at the grapes, the fox needed to hop up high. He opened his mouth to catch the grapes as he jumped, but he missed. The fox tried once more, but it failed again.

He tried again, but he kept failing.

The fox finally decided that it was time to give up and return home. He murmured, “I’m sure the grapes were sour anyway,” as he left.

Moral: Never shun what you can’t have; nothing comes easy.

4) The Beautiful Rose

Once there was a rose who was so proud of her beautiful appearance in a distant desert. Her main grumbling was becoming close to a revolting cactus.

Consistently, the lovely rose would affront and ridicule the desert flora on his looks, all while the cactus stayed calm. Her appearance also influenced the rose to listen to the other plants around her, trying to make sense.

One searing summer, the desert became dry, and no water was left for the plants. The rose began to wither quickly. Her gorgeous petals became dry and lost their vibrant color.

Shifting focus over to the prickly plant, she saw a sparrow plunge his mouth into the desert flora to hydrate. The rose asked the cactus for some water, despite her shame.

The generous cactus readily agreed and supported them as friends through the difficult summer.

Moral: Never base your judgment on someone’s appearance.

5) The Elephant and Her Companions

Once upon a time, a single elephant entered an odd forest. The elephant wanted to make friends because it was new to her.

She said, “Hello, monkey!” as she approached the animal. “Would you consider becoming my friend?

“You are too much big to swing like me, so I can’t be your friend,” the monkey declared. After that, the elephant asked a rabbit the same question.

“No, You are too big to fit in my burrow, so I can’t be your friend,” the rabbit declared. The elephant also asked the same question to the frog in the pond.

The frog replied, “I can’t be your friend because you are too heavy to jump as high as me.”

Because she was unable to make friends, the elephant was extremely depressed. Then, one day, when she saw all of the animals running deeper into the forest, she inquired of a bear about the commotion.

“The lion is on the loose; they are running from him to save themselves,” the bear declared. “Please don’t hurt these innocent people,” the elephant begged the lion as it approached. “Please disregard them.”

The elephant was asked to step aside after the lion scoffed. The elephant then became enraged and violently pushed the lion, injuring him.

The other animals slowly emerged and began to celebrate the lion’s defeat. “You are just the right size to be our friend!” they exclaimed as they approached the elephant.

Moral: An individual’s size doesn’t decide their value.

6) The Poor Slave and A Lion

There was once a slave whose master treated him badly. He got sick of it one day and fled into the forest to get away.

He came across a lion who could not walk due to the thorn in its paw. The slave summoned his courage and removed the thorn from the lion’s paw despite his fear.

The slave was unharmed as the lion fled into the forest after breaking free of the thorn. He was eventually rescued from the forest along with some animals by his master.

The slave was then ordered to be thrown into the lion’s den by the master. He recognized the lion as the one he had helped in the forest when he first saw it.

The slave was unharmed in escaping the den, and he set all the other animals free.

Moral: Your good deeds will always have a way of repaying you. Be kind to others and do good deeds; the world will be kind to you.

7) Two Buddies

Two buddies were walking through the desert. They got into a fight on the way, and one of them hit the other in the face.

The person who was hit was upset, but he wrote in the sand instead of saying anything.

“Today, my best friend punched me in the face.”

They went on until they reached an oasis, where they decided to take a bath. The person who had been slapped had been stuck in the water and started drowning, but his friend saved him. After he recovered from his near-drowning, he wrote on a stone.

“Today, my best friend saved my life.”

The friend who had slapped and saved his closest friend asked, “Why did you write on a stone this time and in the sand when I hurt you?”

The other person responded, “We should scribble it in the sand and let the winds of forgiveness sweep it away when someone wrongs us. When somebody does anything decent for us, in any case, we should write it in stone so that no wind can wipe it away.”

Moral: Do not value the things in your life. Nevertheless, cherish the people in your life.

8) The Old Penny Pincher

An old penny pincher resided in a house with a nursery. In the garden, the thief concealed his gold coins in a pit beneath some stones.

The fool went to the stones every day before going to bed to hide the gold and count the coins. He did this daily but never spent any of the gold he had saved.

One day, a thief who was familiar with the old man’s routine waited for him to return to his house. After it was dull, the criminal went to the hiding spot and took the gold.

The old miser began to weep loudly when he discovered that his treasure had vanished the following day.

His neighbor inquired about the incident after hearing the poor man’s screams. The neighbor inquired, “Why didn’t you save the money inside the house?” after learning what had transpired. “It would’ve been more straightforward to get to the cash when you needed to purchase something!”

“Buy?”, The miser said, “I never bought anything with the gold. I never intended to use it.

Hearing this, the neighbor tossed a stone into the pit and said, “On the off chance that is the situation, save the stone. It has no value other than the gold you have lost.”

Moral: A possession is just as valuable for its intended purpose.

9) Bad Habits

A wealthy businessman was concerned about the bad habits of his son. He sought advice from an experienced senior. The elderly man took the man’s son for a stroll after meeting him.

The old man showed the boy a small sapling and asked him to take it out as they entered the woods. The kid did as such effortlessly, and they strolled on.

The boy was then asked to remove a small plant by the elderly man. With minimal effort, the boy accomplished that task too.

As they walked along, the boy obliged the old man’s request to extract the bush. The child had to work hard to get out of the next small tree. After the old man showed him a tree, he was asked to take out a larger tree.

Even after attempting to remove it in various ways multiple times, the child was unsuccessful. “So is the case with habits, good or bad,” the old man says with a smile as he looks at the boy.

Moral: Bad habits are difficult to break once they become ingrained in our system. Getting rid of them early is the best.

10) Birbal and The Farmer

A farmer seeking a water source for his farm purchased a well from his neighbor. However, the neighbor was clever when he refused to let the farmer use the well’s water.

He responded, “I sold the well to you, not the water,” when asked “why,” and then left. The helpless farmer had no idea what to do. So, searching for a solution, he went to Birbal, a clever man who was one of Emperor Akbari’s nine courtiers.

The emperor called the farmer and his neighbor and inquired about the man’s refusal to let the farmer use the well for water. “I sold the well, not the water,” the cunning man stated again. “Therefore, he cannot drink my water.”

Birbal’s response was, “All that sounds fine to me. However, you should not keep your water in this well if you have sold it and it is yours. Eliminate the water or go through it all right away. If not, the well owner will have ownership of the water.”

The man apologized and left after realizing he had been duped and learning his lesson.

Moral: Bamboozling won’t make you anything. If you do cheat, you’ll pay for it soon enough.

Conclusion

The top 10 short stories mentioned above have an incredible range of emotions. We encourage you to check out these short stories and share this blog with your friends, family members etc.

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