The theme makes the story more relatable to me as the reader. Events in the story illustrate the theme, and the lesson that you learn relates directly to the theme. What happens in the story and the order of the story's events, and the moral is the lesson that the writer wants the main character (and by extension, you) to learn from the story. So when you're trying to recognize the theme of a story, ask yourself what the author is trying to convey through the characters and events of the story.