Short Stories Taught in Philippine Schools
The Philippine K to 12 English curriculum has no single prescribed anthology, but the same stories turn up year after year in the DepEd learner modules, the Grade 7 Philippine literature units, the Grade 8 Afro-Asian units, the Grade 9 Anglo-American units and school reading lists. The world classics that are out of copyright are explained here in full with the ending and quotations.
The two most-taught Filipino stories, Manuel Arguilla's How My Brother Leon Brought Home a Wife and Nick Joaquin's May Day Eve, are still in copyright, so they are summarised and analysed without quotation. Each guide gives the themes and moral lessons teachers ask about and the technique behind the story, with a prompt to write your own.
When you have read them, write your own and enter the short story contest for Filipino writers or the contest for stories written in Filipino.
- How My Brother Leon Brought Home a Wife by Manuel Arguilla: Summary, Themes and Ending (Grade 7 to 10 reading lists, Philippine literature): How My Brother Leon Brought Home a Wife by Manuel Arguilla: summary with the ending, Baldo, Labang the bull, the Waig road test, Maria from Manila, themes and craft notes.
- May Day Eve by Nick Joaquin: Summary, Themes and Ending (Grade 7 to 10 reading lists, Philippine literature): May Day Eve by Nick Joaquin (1947): summary with the ending, Agueda and Badoy at the mirror, the devil and the witch, how the two tellings meet, themes and craft notes.
- Kabuliwala by Rabindranath Tagore (Grade 8, Afro-Asian literature): Kabuliwala by Rabindranath Tagore: complete summary with the ending, Mini and Rahmat, the handprint, themes of fatherhood and distance, and the craft.
- The Happy Prince by Oscar Wilde (Grade 7 and 8 reading lists): The Happy Prince by Oscar Wilde: full summary with the ending, the statue and the swallow explained, themes of charity and sacrifice, and the craft behind the tale.
- The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry (Grade 9 and 10 reading lists): The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry: full summary with the ending explained, Della and Jim's characters, themes of love and sacrifice, and the double irony.
- The Last Leaf by O. Henry (Grade 9 and 10 reading lists): The Last Leaf by O. Henry: complete summary with the ending, Behrman's masterpiece explained, characters, themes of hope and sacrifice, and the story's craft.
- The Necklace by Guy de Maupassant (Grade 9 and 10 reading lists): The Necklace by Guy de Maupassant: full summary with the famous ending, Mathilde Loisel's character, themes of pride and appearance, and how the twist works.
- The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe (Grade 9, Anglo-American literature): The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe: full summary with the ending, the vulture eye and beating heart, themes of guilt and madness, and the unreliable narrator.
- The Monkey's Paw by W. W. Jacobs (Grade 9 and 10 reading lists): The Monkey's Paw by W. W. Jacobs, summarised with the ending explained: the three wishes, the knock at the door, the characters, themes and craft.
- Dead Stars by Paz Marquez Benitez: Summary, Themes and Ending (Paz Marquez Benitez, 1925): Dead Stars by Paz Marquez Benitez (1925): full summary with the ending, Alfredo Salazar between Esperanza and Julia Salas, the meaning of the title, themes and craft.
- Footnote to Youth by Jose Garcia Villa: Summary, Themes and Ending (Jose Garcia Villa): Footnote to Youth by Jose Garcia Villa (1933): summary with the ending, Dodong and Teang, the son Blas repeating the pattern, themes of youth and regret, craft notes.
- The Summer Solstice by Nick Joaquin: Summary, Themes and Ending (Nick Joaquin): The Summer Solstice by Nick Joaquin: summary with the ending, Doña Lupeng, Don Paeng, the Tatarin ritual on St John's Day, the kiss on her feet, themes and craft.
- The Bread of Salt by N.V.M. Gonzalez: Summary, Themes and Ending (N. V. M. Gonzalez): The Bread of Salt by N.V.M. Gonzalez: summary with the ending, the boy violinist, Aida, the asalto party and the napkin of food, pan de sal explained, themes and craft notes.
- Scent of Apples by Bienvenido Santos: Summary, Themes and Ending (Bienvenido Santos): Scent of Apples by Bienvenido Santos: summary with the ending, Celestino Fabia's farm in Michigan, the question about Filipino women, the photograph, themes and craft.
- Faith, Love, Time and Dr. Lazaro by Gregorio Brillantes: Summary, Themes and Ending (Gregorio Brillantes): Faith, Love, Time and Dr. Lazaro by Gregorio Brillantes (1960): summary with the ending, the night call, the baby with tetanus, Ben's baptism, themes of faith and craft notes.
- The Mats by Francisco Arcellana: Summary, Themes and Ending (Francisco Arcellana): The Mats by Francisco Arcellana: summary with the ending, Mr. Angeles's gifts from Mariveles, a mat for each child and three for the dead, themes of grief and craft notes.
- Magnificence by Estrella Alfon: Summary, Themes and Ending (Estrella Alfon): Magnificence by Estrella Alfon: summary with the ending, Vicente the bus conductor, the promised pencils, what the mother sees and does, themes and craft.
- The Virgin by Kerima Polotan: Summary, Themes and Ending (Kerima Polotan): The Virgin by Kerima Polotan: summary with the ending, Miss Mijares at the placement office, the carpenter and his child, the jeepney in the rain, themes and craft.
- My Father Goes to Court by Carlos Bulosan: Summary, Themes and Ending (Carlos Bulosan): My Father Goes to Court by Carlos Bulosan: summary with the ending, the rich neighbour's complaint about stolen food smells, the coins in the hat, themes and craft.
- Wedding Dance by Amador Daguio: Summary, Themes and Ending (Amador Daguio): Wedding Dance by Amador Daguio: summary with the ending, Awiyao and Lumnay, the tribal law that ends a childless marriage, the gangsas and the bean field, themes and craft.
- We Filipinos Are Mild Drinkers by Alejandro Roces: Summary, Themes and Ending (Alejandro Roces): We Filipinos Are Mild Drinkers by Alejandro Roces: summary with the ending, the American soldier, the lambanog challenge, the joke in the title, themes and craft.
- The Chieftest Mourner by Aida Rivera-Ford: Summary, Themes and Ending (Aida Rivera-Ford): The Chieftest Mourner by Aida Rivera-Ford: summary with the ending, the poet's wake, Aunt Sophia the wife and Esa the other woman, who truly mourns, themes and craft notes.
- The Legend of Maria Makiling: Summary, Versions, Meaning and Rizal's Retelling (Tagalog legend): The Legend of Maria Makiling: the diwata of Mount Makiling, the ginger that turned to gold, the hunter who married another, Rizal's 1890 version, meaning and classroom notes.
- The Monkey and the Turtle: Summary, Moral and Rizal's 1889 Version (Tagalog fable, Rizal 1889): The Monkey and the Turtle, the Philippine fable retold by Jose Rizal in 1889: the banana plant divided, the thorns, the trick of the water, its moral and classroom notes.
- Ang Alamat ng Pinya (The Legend of the Pineapple): Summary, Moral and Classroom Notes (Filipino-language legend): Ang Alamat ng Pinya, the Filipino legend of the pineapple: Pina and her mother, the lost ladle, the wish for a thousand eyes, the fruit in the yard, moral and notes.
By the Writory editorial team, reviewed by working writers. Updated September 2026.
All classic short stories. Enter the short story contest and have your own story read and scored.