Short Story on Honesty is the Best Policy in English for Kids

Adults and children both love the honesty stories. However, short stories and fairytales take monumental precedence when we particularly talk about children. Children get room to improve their imagination skills with stories. Therefore, parents and teachers should go the extra mile to ensure that kids have ample opportunity to read books other than their curriculum.

In this article, we will go through some short stories on honesty in simple and crisp language for a better understanding of kids. The story revolves around an honest and hardworking woodcutter who, one day, comes face to face with a major life hurdle. Keep reading to find out what happens to him and whether he gets rewarded or punished for being honest.

Origin of the Story

This is one of the most popular honesty stories of a woodcutter, taken from one of Aesop’s Fables, numbered 173 in the Perry Index. Aesop’s Fables or Aesopica is a collection of fables (succinct fictional stories that have animals, trees, and other non-living things as protagonists) written by Aesop – a slave and a storyteller believed to have lived in ancient Greece between 620 and 564 BCE. Aesop’s Fables have seeped into modern times through various sources.

The original title of the moral stories about honesty was The Honest Woodcutter. It centres on the moral value of ‘honesty is the best policy’ and explains it in an interesting way. We can find other tellings of the story with local divers throughout the world, in countries like Nigeria, Thailand, Tibet, and Japan. Still, the main plot line everywhere is the same as in the Aesopic version.

Summary of the Honesty Story

The short story revolves around a poor and destitute woodcutter named Ram. He lived in a small hut on the outskirts of a village. Ram would go to a nearby forest every day to cut trees, which he would send to sell to a wealthy merchant and earn his livelihood. Despite having no money, Ram was an honest man.

One day, while Ram was chopping wood near a river, the axe slipped out of his land and fell into a river. As the river was quite deep and his axe was his means of earning money, Ram became anxious. How would he bring food to the table without an axe, as woodcutting was the only skill he knew? He prayed to God for help, and suddenly, a miracle happened.

Ram’s prayers were so sincere that God appeared before him. When He asked Ram about the issue, the latter explained the entire episode to God. The Almighty then said that He would help Ram. God then slipped His hands into the river water, and plunged out a silver axe. Seeing the shiny silver thing, Ram replied that this was not his axe as his axe was made out of iron.

Then, God continued searching in the water when he found a golden axe and showed it to Ram. Even after seeing the glistening golden tool, Ram was not tempted, said it was not his axe, and refused to accept it. Finally, God searched again and pulled out an iron axe, seeing which Ram was delighted. Ram said the iron axe belonged to him and accepted it with elation. Seeing Ram’s honesty, God was impressed.

Then, do you know what happened? God was so moved by Ram’s integrity that he rewarded Ram with the golden and silver axes as a token of appreciation for being a good and honest man in this conniving world. Ram was overwhelmed by God’s gesture and accepted His gift with a whole heart. Thereafter, Ram was not a poor man. He continued to live a content, peaceful and happy life as a woodcutter. So, there we have it, the honesty story summary.

God Showing Ram the Golden Axe

Moral of the Story

We can learn a lot from the moral stories about honesty. Ram’s dignity, integrity, and truthful persona tell us that we should strive to be good people in our lives. He never accepted what was not his and only took what genuinely belonged to him. Thus, Ram’s story exemplifies the proverbs, ‘as you sow, so you reap’ and ‘honesty is the best policy.’ Therefore, when we are honest to others and ourselves, the Universe will shower kindness and gratitude on us in ways incomprehensible to us.

Note to Parents

Different moral stories about honesty are important for children so that they can learn invaluable life lessons and become good human beings in the future. The story revolves around an honest and hardworking woodcutter who, one day, comes face to face with a major life hurdle. Therefore, parents should provide children with the right storybooks and encourage them to develop the habit of reading, and learn moral lessons.