Skip to main content

English Short Stories

The Miser and His Gold — A Short Moral Story on Greed

The Miser and His Gold — A Short Moral Story on Greed

Indian miser looking sadly at an empty hole under a banyan tree where his gold pot was buried.
Reading Time: < 1 minute

Dhaniram had never spent a single gold coin in his life. Then one night, someone spent it for him.

Dhaniram earned good money from trading grains, yet he lived like a poor man.
He wore torn clothes, ate plain food, and never helped anyone.
Every evening, he quietly walked to his backyard, dug a little hole under the banyan tree, and checked on a small pot filled with gold coins.

He never spent a single coin — not even for his comfort.
Each night, he would stare at the shining gold and whisper, “My precious treasure, you are my true happiness.”

One night, a thief who had been watching him crept into the yard.
When Dhaniram was asleep, the thief dug up the ground, took the pot of gold, and disappeared into the darkness.

The next morning, when Dhaniram found the hole empty, he screamed, “My gold! My gold is gone!”
He cried so loudly that the whole village gathered.

A kind farmer asked, “Dhaniram, what did you do with that gold?”

“I never spent it,” he sobbed. “I only looked at it every night.”

The farmer smiled gently. “Then put a stone in the hole and look at it every day. It will be just the same — gold or stone, what difference does it make if you never use it?”

The villagers laughed softly, but Dhaniram understood the truth.
He realised that wealth is useful only when it helps others or brings good to the world.

From that day, he began sharing — repairing the temple roof, helping the poor, and smiling more often.
And for the first time, his heart felt truly rich.

💡 The Lesson Inside
Wealth has no value unless it is used for good.
✨ Words Worth Keeping
Miserly
Unwilling to spend money
Treasure
Something valuable like gold or jewels
Thief
A person who steals
Sobbed
Cried heavily
Generous
Willing to give and share with others
📚 Quick Glossary
Banyan Tree
A large sacred tree found commonly in Indian villages
Trader
A person who buys and sells goods
Temple
A place of worship in India
Gold Coins
Symbol of wealth and greed in folk tales
Village Gathering
Community of people assembling to help or discuss issues

🎯 Complete the Story Challenges

🧩 Vocabulary Explorer ✏️ Context Architect ⏳ Timeline Master ✍️ Creative Novelist
Game 1: Word Match ✨ Reward: +10 XP

Vocabulary Matcher

Match the vocabulary word on the left with its correct meaning on the right.

Treasure
Miserly
Sobbed
Thief
Unwilling to spend money
Something valuable like gold or jewels
Cried heavily
A person who steals

One more story before you go...

School student choosing truth over higher marks during exam result day

The Exam Paper Mistake

Reading Time: 3 minutesRohan was not the kind of student who usually stood first in class. He worked hard, completed his homework on time, and respected his teachers, but there was always someone

Read More »
An Indian shepherd boy shouting “Wolf!” from a hill while villagers run toward him.

The Boy Who Cried Wolf

Reading Time: 2 minutesLong ago, in a quiet village at the edge of a forest, there lived a young shepherd boy named Arjun.Every day, he took his sheep to graze on the green

Read More »

Stories you may like...

A young railway worker quietly cleaning and arranging blue plastic chairs on Platform Three at a Mumbai local station during a warm sunset, while commuters board a train in a soft watercolor illustration.

Reading Time: < 1 minute“You’re wasting ten minutes every day,” the station master said. “One day you’ll realize it.” Aarav only smiled. Every evening,

Read More »
A mouse (mushak) and an elephant share a laddoo by lamplight in a Mumbai kitchen bedtime story.

Reading Time: < 1 minuteIn a small Mumbai apartment, where the evening diya flickered, a little mouse named Mushak sat on the kitchen shelf

Read More »
A boy and an old gardener tending a sunlit courtyard garden, a story about seeing things differently.

Reading Time: 3 minutesIshaan hated the new town before he’d even unpacked his last box. The building had peeling paint. The boys at

Read More »

Readers Also Enjoyed

📖 Finding your next story...

Learn something new

[ess_learning_sidebar]
English Short Stories logo

Straight to Your Inbox