
short stories for kids
Fun stories for 8-12 year olds
This is a children’s story with a moral lesson about loyalty to those who are kind to us. In a big ocean, there lived three mandarin fish. One was yellow, another was orange, and the third was blue. The fish lived happily and freely near an island in the middle of the sea that looked like paradise. A fisherman’s family lived on the island’s shores.
One day, a small boat with a fisherman on it came out from the island. The three beautiful, colorful fish were playing when they suddenly found themselves surrounded by the fishing net. The little fish realized they were trapped in the net and would soon be cooked by the fisherman. The mandarin fish cried out for help and begged all the sea creatures to save them.
A huge shark named the King of the Sea swam by the net and saw three kinds of fish inside: orange, yellow, and blue. His mouth watered, and he decided to eat them. But he felt a pang of guilt when he saw them trapped.
The orange fish said to the King of the Sea: “I know you are mean and a killer, but you are a sea creature just like us, and you would not want humans to harm us.”
The blue fish added: “Yes! If you pull the net, you will save us, and you might even get the fisherman. He is big and much tastier than us!”
The King of the Sea thought for a moment about what the beautiful fish were saying, and he was too embarrassed to eat them while they were begging for his help. Then, the yellow fish spoke: “Yes, humans have soft, delicious meat, while our bodies are full of bones!”
The King of the Sea was convinced by what the mandarin fish said, and he thought of a plan to catch the fisherman. He swam close to the net and whispered in a low voice: “You must start pulling the net and shaking it with all your might!”
The orange fish was too scared to move the net, so the King of the Sea laughed, showing his sharp teeth. “If the fishermen notice the net moving, they will hold on to it tightly. That is when I will pull the net with all my strength and make the fisherman fall in!”
The fish started pulling the net, and the fisherman knew that he had caught some fish. He started pulling the net, and the fish were lifted up. The King of the Sea swam with great force and pulled the net, trying to make the fisherman fall. But the net was strong, and the fish were raised out of the water.
Adventure stories for kids
The King of the Sea jumped high into the air and then dived back into the sea, but he saw that the fisherman had put the three fish in a beautiful glass tank. He was curious to see the beautiful home the fish were put in.
The fisherman came close to the fish and looked at them for a long time in admiration. The yellow fish said to him: “We thought you wanted to eat us, so we asked the King of the Sea to attack you!” The fisherman was surprised by what the yellow fish said and smiled: “So that’s how it is… I love shark meat, and so do my wife and children.”
Fantasy books for children – short stories
Then, the orange fish swam closer to the glass and said: “Sharks love human meat, and they are very mean. The King of the Sea wanted to eat you, and you should catch and eat him!”
The blue fish was sad and did not speak. The yellow fish asked her: “Why don’t you help us get rid of the mean shark?”
The blue fish replied angrily: “Have you forgotten that the King of the Sea did not want to eat us when we were trapped in the net, and he chose to eat the one who tried to kill us instead?”
The yellow fish said: “Don’t be silly! If we had not promised him human meat, we would have been cooked!”
The fisherman came back with a rope and a spear. He tied the rope to a strong winch and tied the other end to the spear, intending to hunt the King of the Sea. The blue fish realized that the fisherman was serious about killing the shark and called out: “Oh, fisherman, I am willing to be the bait that will make the shark swallow the spear!” The other fish were surprised by what she said, but she was serious.
Adventure stories for kids – short stories
The fisherman tied the blue fish to the spear and lowered her into the water. There was no movement. The shark came close to the spear, and the blue fish told him everything the other fish had done.
The shark became very angry and said: “The selfish fish loved the small tank and forgot the freedom of the huge sea!”
The blue fish shook her head sadly, and the shark swam away from the boat, taking her with him. The shark kept saying: “Beware of he to whom you have done good.”
short stories for kids
The other selfish fish remained trapped in the glass tank, where the fisherman’s children played with them until they died. This became a famous saying on the island: “Not all fish are mandarins.”
Author’s Message
My dear children, we learn from this story to be loyal and to choose freedom over slavery. We must never forget the kindness of those who have done good to us.
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