An outline gives you the main events of a story in the right order. Your job is to turn these events into a full story in your own words. Here are 10 short stories written from outlines for Class 4 students, in simple and easy English. Read them, and then practise with the outlines at the end!
How to Complete the Story With Given Outline?
1. Read the full outline carefully. Find out who is in the story and what happens first, next and last.
2. Give your story a title. Keep it short, like “The Honest Woodcutter”.
3. Start the story well. Begin with “Once upon a time” or “Long ago” and tell where the story happens.
4. Turn each part of the outline into one or two sentences. Follow the same order and do not skip any part. Add a little talking between the characters.
5. Write in the past tense and end with a moral. The moral is the lesson of the story, in one line.
The Honest Woodcutter Story from Outline
Outline: A poor woodcutter cuts wood near a river – his axe falls into the water – he sits and cries – a river fairy comes out – brings a golden axe – he says it is not his – brings a silver axe – he says no again – brings his iron axe – he takes it happily – fairy gives him all three axes as a reward
The Honest Woodcutter
Ramu was a poor woodcutter. Every day, he cut wood in the forest and sold it in the market. One day, he was cutting a tree near a river. Suddenly, his axe slipped from his hand and fell into the water.
Ramu sat down and started crying. “That was my only axe. How will I earn money now?”
Just then, a fairy came out of the river. She brought out a golden axe. “Is this yours?” she asked. “No, it is not mine,” said Ramu. Then she brought out a silver axe. “No, that is not mine either,” he said.
At last, she brought out his old iron axe. “Yes! That is mine,” said Ramu happily. The fairy was pleased with his honesty. She gave him all three axes as a reward.
Moral: Honesty is the best policy.
The Goose with Golden Eggs Story from Outline
Outline: A farmer and his wife have a goose – the goose lays a golden egg every day – they sell the eggs and become rich – they become greedy – want all the eggs at once – cut open the goose – find no eggs inside – lose the goose too
The Goose with Golden Eggs
A farmer and his wife lived in a small village. They had a goose. One morning, they found a shiny golden egg in its nest! The next day, there was another one. The goose laid one golden egg every day.
The farmer sold the eggs in the market. Soon, they became rich. They built a big house and bought nice clothes.
But slowly, they became greedy. “One egg a day is too little,” said the wife. “The goose must have many golden eggs inside. Let us take them all at once,” said the farmer.
So they cut open the goose. But there were no eggs inside. Now they had no goose and no more golden eggs. They were very sad.
Moral: Greed can make you lose everything.
Two Cats and the Monkey Story from Outline
Outline: Two cats find a roti – they fight over it – a monkey offers to divide it – breaks it into two unequal pieces – eats from the bigger piece to make them equal – keeps doing this again and again – eats the whole roti – the cats get nothing
Two Cats and the Monkey
Two cats were friends. One day, they found a roti. Both of them wanted it. “I saw it first!” said one cat. “No, I saw it first!” said the other. They started to fight.
A monkey was sitting on a tree nearby. He came down and said, “Do not fight. I will divide it for you.” The cats agreed.
The monkey broke the roti into two pieces. One piece was bigger. “Oh! This one is bigger,” he said and took a bite from it. Now the other piece was bigger. So he took a bite from that one too.
He did this again and again. Soon, the whole roti was gone! The monkey jumped back onto the tree. The two cats looked at each other sadly. They got nothing.
Moral: Fighting brings loss, so learn to share.
The Fox and the Stork Story from Outline
Outline: A fox invites a stork for dinner – serves soup in a flat plate – stork cannot drink with her long beak – fox drinks it all – stork invites the fox to dinner – serves soup in a tall jar with a narrow neck – fox cannot drink – stork drinks happily – fox learns a lesson
The Fox and the Stork
A fox and a stork were friends. One day, the fox invited the stork to dinner. He made some tasty soup and served it in flat plates.
The stork had a long, thin beak. She could not drink the soup from the flat plate. The fox laughed and drank up all the soup himself. The stork went home hungry.
The next day, the stork invited the fox to dinner. She served the soup in tall jars with narrow necks. The stork put her long beak into the jar and enjoyed the soup. But the fox could not get his mouth inside. He could only lick the outside of the jar.
The fox went home hungry. He understood his mistake.
Moral: Treat others the way you want them to treat you.
Town Mouse and Country Mouse Story from Outline
Outline: A country mouse invites his cousin from the town – serves simple food – town mouse does not like it – takes the country mouse to town – big house with lots of tasty food – they start eating – a cat comes – they run and hide – country mouse gets scared – goes back to his peaceful village
Town Mouse and Country Mouse
A little mouse lived in a village. One day, his cousin from the town came to visit him. The country mouse gave him simple food like grains and nuts.
The town mouse did not like it. “This food is so plain. Come with me to the town,” he said.
The next day, they went to the town. The town mouse lived in a big house. There was so much tasty food, like cake, cheese and sweets. The two mice started eating happily.
Suddenly, a big cat came in. “Run!” shouted the town mouse. They ran and hid in a small hole. The country mouse was shaking with fear.
“I am going back home,” he said. “Simple food in peace is better than tasty food in fear.”
Moral: A simple life in peace is better than a rich life full of fear.
The Lion and the Clever Rabbit Story from Outline
Outline: A cruel lion hunts many animals – animals decide to send one animal each day – it is the rabbit’s turn – rabbit goes late – tells the lion about another lion – lion wants to see him – rabbit takes him to a well – lion sees his own reflection – jumps into the well – animals are free
The Lion and the Clever Rabbit
A cruel lion lived in a forest. He hunted many animals every day. All the animals were scared. So they decided to send one animal to the lion each day.
One day, it was a little rabbit’s turn. The rabbit was very clever. He walked slowly and reached the lion very late. “Why are you so late?” roared the lion.
“Sir, another lion stopped me on the way. He says he is the king of this forest,” said the rabbit.
The lion got very angry. “Show him to me!” he said. The rabbit took him to a deep well. The lion looked in and saw his own reflection. He thought it was the other lion. He roared and jumped into the well. He never came out.
All the animals were free and happy.
Moral: A clever mind can beat great strength.
The Monkey and the Crocodile Story from Outline
Outline: A monkey lives on a jamun tree near a river – makes friends with a crocodile – gives him jamuns every day – crocodile’s wife wants the monkey’s heart – crocodile invites the monkey home – carries him on his back – tells the truth in the middle of the river – monkey says his heart is on the tree – crocodile takes him back – monkey climbs the tree and is safe
The Monkey and the Crocodile
A monkey lived on a jamun tree near a river. One day, a crocodile came to the tree. The monkey gave him some sweet jamuns. Soon, they became good friends.
The crocodile took some jamuns home for his wife. She said, “If the fruits are so sweet, the monkey’s heart must be sweeter. Bring me his heart!”
The next day, the crocodile said, “Friend, my wife wants to meet you. Come home with me.” The monkey sat on his back. In the middle of the river, the crocodile told him the truth.
The monkey was scared, but he stayed calm. “Oh! I left my heart on the tree. Let us go back and get it,” he said. The foolish crocodile took him back. The monkey jumped onto the tree and was safe.
Moral: Stay calm and think quickly in danger.
The Elephant and the Tailor Story from Outline
Outline: An elephant goes to the river every day – stops at a tailor’s shop – tailor gives him a banana daily – one day the tailor is in a bad mood – pricks the elephant’s trunk with a needle – elephant goes to the river – fills his trunk with muddy water – comes back – sprays the water on the tailor’s clothes – tailor learns a lesson
The Elephant and the Tailor
An elephant lived in a village. Every day, he went to the river for a bath. On the way, he stopped at a tailor’s shop. The kind tailor always gave him a banana.
One day, the tailor was in a bad mood. When the elephant put his trunk inside the shop, the tailor did not give him a banana. Instead, he pricked the trunk with a needle.
The elephant was hurt, but he said nothing. He went to the river and had his bath. Then he filled his trunk with muddy water.
On his way back, he stopped at the tailor’s shop again. He sprayed all the muddy water inside. All the new clothes became dirty! The tailor felt sorry. He learnt a good lesson.
Moral: Be kind to others, and they will be kind to you.
The Wolf and the Crane Story from Outline
Outline: A wolf eats his food too fast – a bone gets stuck in his throat – asks animals for help – promises a reward – a crane agrees to help – puts her long neck into the wolf’s mouth – takes out the bone – asks for her reward – wolf says staying alive is her reward – crane flies away
The Wolf and the Crane
One day, a wolf was eating his food very fast. Suddenly, a small bone got stuck in his throat. It hurt a lot. He could not eat or drink.
The wolf went to the other animals for help. “Please take out this bone. I will give you a big reward,” he said. But all the animals were afraid of him.
At last, a crane agreed to help. She had a long neck and a long beak. She put her head inside the wolf’s mouth and carefully pulled out the bone.
“Now, please give me my reward,” said the crane. The wolf laughed. “You put your head in my mouth, and I did not eat you. That is your reward!”
The crane felt sad and flew away.
Moral: Do not expect a reward for helping a bad person.
The Donkey and the Salt Story from Outline
Outline: A merchant has a donkey – donkey carries bags of salt – crosses a river – slips and falls into the water – salt melts – load becomes light – donkey falls on purpose the next day – merchant understands the trick – loads cotton next time – donkey falls again – cotton soaks up water – load becomes very heavy – donkey learns a lesson
The Donkey and the Salt
A merchant had a donkey. Every day, the donkey carried bags of salt to the market. On the way, they had to cross a small river.
One day, the donkey slipped and fell into the river. Much of the salt melted in the water. When he stood up, his load was very light. “How nice!” he thought.
The next day, the donkey fell into the river on purpose. Again, his load became light. The merchant understood the donkey’s trick.
So the next day, the merchant filled the bags with cotton. The donkey fell into the river again. But this time, the cotton soaked up the water. The bags became very heavy! The donkey could hardly walk.
From that day, the donkey never played the trick again.
Moral: Tricks do not always work.
Practice: Write Your Own Story
Now it is your turn! Use these outlines to write your own stories. Give each story a title and a moral.
1. A girl finds a wallet on the way to school – it has money and an address inside – she tells her father – they go to the address – return the wallet – the owner is very happy – praises her honesty
2. A baby elephant is sad – other animals say he is too big to play with them – a tiger comes to the forest – animals are scared – the baby elephant scares the tiger away – animals thank him – they all play together
3. A proud peacock laughs at a crow’s black feathers – hunters come to the forest – the peacock cannot fly high with its heavy feathers – the crow flies away safely – the peacock learns a lesson
4. A boy plants a seed in a pot – waters it every day – nothing grows for many days – he does not give up – one morning, a small green plant comes out – he is very happy
5. A hungry rabbit finds two carrots – eats one – thinks of his friend the goat – leaves the other carrot at the goat’s house – the goat gives it to the horse – the horse gives it back to the rabbit – all the friends share and smile.
