Short stories teach you how to be a human

Every day a story about a lesson in being human will help us nurture good character and kindness for our children in the future. Below are some good short stories that teach us how to be human.

1. Meaningful short story

A cyclist, no matter how hard he pedals, can only go about 10 km in an hour at most.

Car drivers only need to lightly press the accelerator to go 100 km per hour.

People traveling by plane, just need to sit and enjoy delicious food to travel 1,000 km an hour.

Lesson : People are still the same people, the same effort but using different means will lead to different results.

2. Short stories teach you how to be a human 

At a party, Mark Twain sat across from a woman. He politely complimented her: "You are beautiful!"

The woman said smugly: "Unfortunately, I cannot praise you like that!"

Mark Twain replied gently: "It's okay, you can lie like me."

The woman bowed her head in shame.

Lesson : When you throw down a stone, the first one to fall will always be you.

3. Lessons on being human

Wild boars and horses eat grass together. Wild boars are usually very naughty, if they step on the grass they will dirty the drinking water.

The horse was very angry and wanted to teach the pig a lesson. The horse went to the hunter for guidance. The hunter said that if he wanted him to help the horse, the horse had to wear a bridle so he could ride it. Eager for revenge, the horse immediately agreed to the hunter's request.

The hunter rode his horse to kill the wild boar, and then he rode his horse home and tied it to a manger. The horse had taken revenge on the wild boar but had lost its original freedom.

Lesson : If you cannot be tolerant of others, you will bring unhappiness upon yourself.

4. Life lessons

A family had three sons. The family was always noisy with endless quarrels between their parents. Their mother was often beaten by her father.

The eldest son thought: "My mother is so pitiful! I will have to treat my wife well in the future."

The second son thought: "Marriage is meaningless, I will never get married again!".

The third son thought: "So a husband can beat his wife like that."

Lesson : Even when living in the same environment, different ways of thinking will make a huge difference in lifestyle.

5. Meaningful story

A mouse fell into a jar of rice, this accident made it extremely happy.

After confirming that there was no danger, it began its life of eating and sleeping in a jar of rice.

Before long, the jar of rice was almost at the bottom. But the temptation of the rice was so great that the mouse decided to stay in the jar.

After eating all the rice, the mouse realized that escaping was now impossible. Everything seemed hopeless and helpless.

Lesson : Our life may seem quite smooth, but in fact it is full of dangers.

6. Short story about giving

The first day the white rabbit went fishing, and caught nothing all day. The next day, the rabbit went fishing again. The result was the same.

On the third day, when the rabbit just arrived at the lake, a fish jumped up and shouted: "If you dare to use carrots as bait again, I will kill you!"

Lesson : What you give is what you "want" to give, not what the other person wants to receive. If you keep living in your own world, not putting yourself in the other person's perspective, your contribution, no matter how much, will be in vain.

7. A story about seizing opportunities

That year, while he was sitting in a coffee shop waiting for his friend, a girl came up and asked: "Are you the person that Aunt Huong introduced to come on a blind date?"

He raised his head to look at her. She was exactly the type of person he liked. He wondered why he didn't take a chance. Thinking so, he quickly nodded: "Yes, that's right, you sit down."

On the wedding day, he confessed that he didn't have to go on a blind date.

The wife smiled and said, "Me too, just looking for an excuse to talk to you."

Lesson : When the opportunity comes, you must seize it, do not hesitate.

8. 

On a high-speed train, an old man accidentally dropped one of his newly bought shoes. The people around him felt sorry for him, but unexpectedly, he immediately threw the other shoe out the window. This action of his surprised everyone.

The old man immediately explained: "No matter how expensive these shoes are, they are no longer useful to me. If someone finds them, they might still be able to wear them!"

Lesson : The pain is destined to never heal, it's better to let go early.

9.

Everyone is publicly voting for the class beauty. A girl with an average appearance named Mai said: "If I am voted, in a few years, the sisters here can proudly tell their husbands: 'When I was in college, I was even more beautiful than the class beauty!'"

As a result, she got all the votes.

Lesson : To convince others to support you, it is not necessary to prove that you are superior to others. Make others feel that because of you, they can become better.

10.

A poor man asked the Buddha: "Buddha, why am I so poor?"

Buddha replied: "It is because you have not learned how to give."

Poor man: "I have nothing, what can I give?"

Buddha said: "Even if a person has nothing, he can still give the following seven things to others:

One is a smile, always smiling to solve everything. Two is to say words of praise and comfort to others. Three is to open your heart and treat everyone kindly. Four is to look at others with kind eyes. Five is to help others with practical actions. Six is to be humble and give in to others. Seven is to have a tolerant heart."

Lesson : Don't calculate too much, learn to love and give more. Maybe you will reap unexpected wealth and happiness.

11.

A young man asked the Taoist priest: "Master, some people call me a genius, and some people call me a fool. What do you think of me?"

"How do you see yourself?" The Taoist asked back, the young man was stunned.

The Taoist continued: "Rice is still rice, but in the eyes of a baker, a pound of rice is flour, in the eyes of a wine merchant, it is wine. But for a beggar, it is a life-saving meal." After hearing this, the young man became enlightened.

Lesson : Only we can decide how we look. Others will perceive and treat you the way you perceive and treat yourself.

12.

Shrimp was very impressed when he saw the beautiful red color on the crab's body.

The crab told the shrimp that it often came ashore to sunbathe. Whenever the sunlight shone on it, its body would glow a beautiful red.

Hearing this, the shrimp was very happy. It jumped onto the shore to learn how to sunbathe, but ended up dying from the sun.

Lesson : Never imitate others blindly.

13. The Cracked Cup

Every day a man carried water from a stream to his home in two earthenware cups hung on either end of a pole. One of the cups had a small crack, while the other was perfect.

Every time he carried water back, the cracked cup could only hold half the amount of water, while the intact cup was always full.

The cracked cup felt ashamed of its own defect. It said sadly to the man:

– ' I apologize for not being able to complete the task. Because of this crack, you only received half the results of your efforts .'

The man smiled and replied:

– ' Do you see the flower row on the side of the road that I pass by every day? It's all thanks to you. Knowing that you were cracked, I planted flower seeds on your side. Every day you watered them, and for months now I've been able to pick fresh flowers to decorate the dining table. Without you, my house wouldn't have those colors .'

Lessons learned:

Each of us has strengths and weaknesses. Being human is not about being perfect, but about accepting yourself, using your weaknesses to create something good, and living a life that is useful to others.

Jessica Tanner

Update 06 August 2025