Do you remember the stories that you read as a child? Moral stories can needn’t be serious, but they can be funny at the same time help your child learn something. We have compiled a list of 07 short moral stories that are inspirational, from India, and from around the world. <h3>1. The Boy Who Cried, Wolf</h3><img src="https://bee-assets-production.s3.amazonaws.com/image/the_boy_who_cried%2C_wolf.webp_image_1638188646554.webp" width="359">There was a young boy whose father, a farmer, had asked him to take their herd of sheep grazing every day.One day, the boy was extremely bored as he watched over the sheep and so he cried: “Wolf! Wolf!”On hearing his cries, the villagers rushed to help him chase the wolf away and save the sheep.When they saw the grinning boy and realised he had cried wolf for his amusement, they scolded him and told him to not cry wolf!The next day, the boy cried out that the wolf was there. The villagers came, scolded him again, and left.Later that same day, a wolf came and terrorized the sheep.The boy cried, “Wolf! Wolf! Please help me.”But, the villagers assumed that he was pulling a silly prank again and did not come to his rescue. The sheep ran away and the boy cried.Moral of the story: Don’t lie or engage in foolish pranks, for no one will believe a liar even when he is telling the truth! <h3>2. The Golden Touch Of Midas</h3><img src="https://bee-assets-production.s3.amazonaws.com/image/the_golden_touch_of_midas.jpg_image_1638188804006.jpg" width="365">A long time ago, there lived a king in Greece named Midas.He was extremely wealthy and had all the gold he could ever need. He also had a daughter whom he loved very much.One day, Midas saw a Satyr (an angel) who was stuck and was in trouble. Midas helped the Satyr and asked for his wish to be granted in return.The Satyr agreed and Midas wished for everything he touched to be turned to gold. His wish was granted.Extremely excited, Midas went home to his wife and daughter touching pebbles, rocks, and plants on the way, which turned into gold.As his daughter hugged him, she turned into a golden statue.Having learnt his lesson, Midas begged the Satyr to reverse the spell who granted that everything would go back to their original state.Moral of the story: Stay content and grateful for what you have. Greed will not get you anywhere. <h3>3. The Foolish Thief</h3><img src="https://bee-assets-production.s3.amazonaws.com/image/the_foolish_thief.jpg_image_1638188856227.jpg" width="362">Once, a wealthy merchant came to King Akbar’s court to seek help from Birbal. He suspected that one of his servants had robbed him.On hearing this, Birbal thought of a clever plan and summoned the merchant’s servants.He gave each servant a stick of the same length. He told them that the thief’s stick would grow two inches by the next day.The next day, Birbal summoned the servants again. He noticed that a servant’s stick was two inches shorter than the others.He knew who the thief was.The foolish thief had cut the stick shorter by two inches as he thought it would grow two inches. Thus, proving his guilt.Moral of the story: Truth and justice will always prevail. <h3>4. Two Frogs With The Same Problem</h3><img src="https://bee-assets-production.s3.amazonaws.com/image/two_frogs_with_the_same_problem.png_image_1638188962564.png" width="346">Once, a group of frogs was roaming around the forest in search of water. Suddenly, two frogs in the group accidentally fell into a deep pit.The other frogs worried about their friends in the pit.Seeing how deep the pit was, they told the two frogs that there was no way they could escape the deep pit and that there was no point in trying.They continued to constantly discourage them as the two frogs tried to jump out of the pit. But keep falling back.Soon, one of the two frogs started to believe the other frogs — that they’ll never be able to escape the pit and eventually died after giving up.The other frog keeps trying and eventually jumps so high that he escapes the pit. The other frogs were shocked at this and wondered how he did it.The difference was that the second frog was deaf and couldn’t hear the discouragement of the group. He simply thought they were cheering him on!Moral of the story: People’s opinion of you will affect you, only if you believe it to be so. It’s better to believe in yourself. <h3>5. The Milkmaid and Her Pail</h3><img src="https://bee-assets-production.s3.amazonaws.com/image/the_milkmaid_and_her_pail.jpg_image_1638189037353.jpg" width="348">There was once a milkmaid named Patty.She milked her cow and carried the two pails of milk she fetched on a stick and set out to sell the milk at the market.As she was walking to the market, she began to daydream about what she would do with the money she fo for the milk.She thought of buying a hen and selling its eggs and she planned on becoming wealthy.She dreamt of buying a cake, a basket of strawberries, a fancy dress, and even a new house with the money she would make selling the eggs and the milk!In her excitement, she forgot about the pails she was carrying and began to skip.Suddenly, she realised that the milk was spilling down and when she checked her pails, they were empty.Moral of the story: Don’t count your chickens before they hatch! It is important to focus on the process of achieving success and not just success alone. <h3>6. The Elephant Circus</h3><img src="https://bee-assets-production.s3.amazonaws.com/image/elepahnt_circus.jpg_image_1638189224771.jpg" width="361">Once upon a time in a circus, five elephants performed circus tricks. They were kept tied up with weak rope that they could’ve easily escaped, but did not.One day, a man visiting the circus asked the ringmaster: “Why haven’t these elephants broken the rope and run away?”The ringmaster replied: “From when they were young, the elephants were made to believe that they were not strong enough to break the ropes and escape.”It was because of this belief that they did not even try to break the ropes now.Moral of the story: Don’t give in to the limitations of society. Believe that you can achieve everything you want to!<h3> </h3>7. The Elephants And The Mice<img src="https://bee-assets-production.s3.amazonaws.com/image/1_xvfat_v8xumqnkx7-3jcka.png_image_1638189285226.png" width="350">In an earthquake-hit village abandoned by humans, a colony of mice lived. Near the village was a lake, which was used by a herd of elephants.The elephants would have to cross the village to go to the lake. Thus, one day, as they walked through, they trampled a lot of mice.The leader of the mice met with the elephants and requested them to take a different route to the lake. He promised them that their favour would be returned in the time of their need.The elephants laughed. How could such small mice help these large elephants in any way? But then, they agreed to take a different route.Not so long after, the mice heard that hunters had caught the herd of elephants and were tied in nets.Immediately, they rush to rescue the elephants. They gnawed through the nets and ropes with their sharp teeth.The leader of the elephants repeatedly thanked the mice for their help!Moral of the story: A friend in need is a friend indeed. Make sure you help your friends out whenever they need it. They should always be able to count on you. That’s all folks!We hope children like these short yet interesting stories with morals that we have read growing up!There are more and more stories with morals on <a href="https://www.beeparenting.com/s/moral-stories" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Bee Stories</a>.

Short stories with moral values will teach your children some important lessons which they will remember always.

07 Must Read Short Moral Stories For Children

Short stories with moral values will teach your children some important lessons which they will remember always.

Pallavi Hota

Bible is the collection of 66 books written by different authors describing the God's action and purpose with all creations. Bible contains life stories of Jesus. The bible gives the messages God has desired for us to understand. Following is a story from “The Bible”. Jesus us had been fasting forty days and nights in the desert. He was alone and hungry. The devil went to Him and tried to tempt Him into turning the stones into bread, but Jesus replied that man does not live on bread alone, but on the Word of God.Then, the devil took Jesus to the highest point in the Holy City. He told Jesus to throw Himself from there for the scriptures said that the angels would save Jesus. But Jesus replied to him that we should not put the Lord to the test.The devil then tried to promise all the kingdoms of the world to Jesus, as long as He bowed down and worshipped him.But Jesus rebuked the devil and told him that worship is meant for God alone. The devil then left Jesus, and the angels of the Lord came to attend to Him. Moral:If you hold fast to the Word of God, then nobody will be able to cause you to stumble.

Devil In the Desert

Ravina Sewani

A Serpent had succeeded in surprising an Eagle and had wrapped himself around the Eagle’s neck. The Eagle could not reach the Serpent, neither with beak nor claws. Far into the sky he soared trying to shake off his enemy. But the Serpent’s hold only tightened, and slowly the Eagle sank back to earth, gasping for breath.A Countryman chanced to see the unequal combat. In pity for the noble Eagle he rushed up and soon had loosened the coiling Serpent and freed the Eagle.The Serpent was furious. He had no chance to bite the watchful Countryman. Instead he struck at the drinking horn, hanging at the Countryman’s belt, and into it let fly the poison of his fangs.The Countryman now went on toward home. Becoming thirsty on the way, he filled his horn at a spring, and was about to drink. There was a sudden rush of great wings. Sweeping down, the Eagle seized the poisoned horn from out his savior’s hands, and flew away with it to hide it where it could never be found.Moral: An act of kindness is well repaid.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

This is a story of Aesop fables and eagle.Moral(s) of the story: helpfulness and kindness

The Serpent and The Eagle

Mahabharata is an ancient Indian epic about the brothers, Pandavas and kauravas. It describes the battle between them in the Kurukshetra war for the throne of Hastinapura. It is an epic tale that combines war, religion, philosophy and Hindu history. Following is a story from ìThe Mahabharata.There are some devotees who want to show off. For hours they meditate, for hours they chant, for hours they repeat the name of Lord Krishna. They look down upon others who do not spend so much time meditating and chanting. Arjuna happened to be one of these. Bhima, one of the five Pandava brothers, was the strongest in the family. Bhima never prayed to any god. He used to eat and he used to fight. He was a voracious eater and at the same time a great fighter.Arjuna used to pray to Lord Shiva. For two hours, Arjuna used to collect hundreds of flowers and offer them to Lord Shiva one by one. Each time while offering the flowers he used to utter the name of Lord Shiva. On the other hand, Bhima would put his fingers on his forehead and concentrate for a couple of minutes before each meal. Then he would eat voraciously. This was his meditation. Poor Arjuna would spend hours gathering flowers, but Arjuna's pride could not escape Sri Krishna. Sri Krishna took Arjuna for a walk. As they were walking, they saw a man drawing a cart. The cart was loaded with flowers. All kinds of flowers. Arjuna asked the man, ìWhat are you doing with these flowers? And where are you going?î The man had no time to respond to Arjuna. Sri Krishna said, ìArjuna, let us follow him.î When the man reached his destination, there were many more carts of flowers. ìWhat are you going to do with all these thousands and millions of flowers?î, Arjuna inquired. ìI have no time to speak to you. I am now in serious concentration, said the man. The man continues, ìI can speak only to one person on earth, and that is Bhima, the second Pandava. He is the greatest spiritual seeker. When he meditates before his meals just for a minute or two, saying O mighty Lord Shiva, thousands of flowers are offered by him to Lord Shiva. His concentration is the most intense. His meditation is the most sincere. Arjuna only throws flowers at Lord Shiva. He just shows off.îThis made Arjuna realise that it's not the time or the resources one offers to the Lords but the dedication which matters the most.

This is a story of Arjun and Bheem.

Bheema's power of concentration and dedication

Mahabharata is an ancient Indian epic about the brothers, Pandavas and kauravas. It describes the battle between them in the Kurukshetra war for the throne of Hastinapura. It is an epic tale that combines war, religion, philosophy and Hindu history. Following is a story from “The Mahabharata.” Pandu married Kunti. Pandu was cursed for accidentally shooting at a Brahmin named Kindama and his wife, mistaking them as deers while they were making love. Because of his mistake, Kindama cursed Pandu and said he would die if he were to engage in intercourse with any woman. Pandu also relinquished his throne to his brother Dhritarashtra as further penance for his crime. Yudhisthira’s mother, Queen Kunti, had the power to invoke the Devas, or the gods. Because of this power, Kunti was able to give birth to Yudhisthira by invoking the Lord of judgement, Dharma Yudhisthira was Pandu’s eldest son and by right should have been the heir to the throne. But because Pandu gave up his seat to his brother Dhritarashtra, it caused problems because Dhritarashtra’s son, Duryodhana, challenged Yudhisthira for the throne. The Hastinapura kingdom was split into two parts. Yudhisthira agreed to rule the arid and fallow region of the two. He, with his four Pandava brothers, then married Draupadi, the princess of Panchali. She gave birth to a son, Prativindya. Yudhisthira lived a normal life before his dedication to duty became his undoing. My son was then challenged by Shakuni, Duryodhana's uncle, in a game of dice. He lost everything in this game including his kingdom, wife, and brothers and was forced into exile. While in exile, Yudhistira tried to return to his kingdom multiple times but was refused by Duryodhana and Shakuni. An ally of Yudhisthira and his Pandava brothers, Krishna convinced Yudhisthira to go to war and win back his kingdom. After winning the war, Yudhisthira returned and crowned himself as the Emperor of Hastinapura. He believed in fulfilling his moral duty. To Yudhisthira, his Dharma was more important than anything in his life, his family, throne, and any material objects. Yudhisthira married Draupadi because of a comment his mother made in jest and abided by his Dharma of respecting his mother. He also denounced the strict distinctions between castes when he made Bhima, who was a kshatriya, marry Rakshasi, a Rakshasa demon. He believed that kshatriyas needed to fulfill their Dharma and be held accountable by their actions, rather than their birth. His dedication to fulfilling the moral duties of his caste was tested when Duryodhana’s uncle, Shakuni, challenged him to a game of dice. He was unable to refuse Shakuni who was a master gambler and eventually gambled away his kingdom, wealth, brothers, and even his wife. Even though Yudhisthira could have refused, his dedication to his Dharma prevented him from doing so. He said that he could not refuse any sort of challenge because he was of the Kshatriya, or warrior, class and had to stand by the warrior code of honor. This way, he was the son of Dharma, and was also called Dharmaraja.

Yudhisthira, the son of Dharma

Book Author

Much of Jawaharlal’s childhood was spent in the Palatial Building named Anand Bhawan spread on 16 acres situated very close to the University of Allahabad. So Nehru described his childhood as a "sheltered and uneventful one".Nehru received most of his primary education at home by many English teachers. Out of them only one managed to influence him. His name was Ferdinand Brooks—a part-Irish, part-Belgian theosophist. Under him Nehru became interested in Science and Theosophy. Nehru started taking interest in Theosophical Society at age thirteen by family friend Annie Besant. However, his interest in theosophy did not continue and he left the society shortly after Brooks departed as his tutor. Jawaharlal with Children / YouthChacha Nehru as the children fondly referred to him, was fond of both children and roses. In fact he often compared the two, saying that children were like the buds in a garden. They should be carefully and lovingly nurtured, as they were the future of the nation and the citizens of tomorrow. He felt that children are the real strength of a country and the very foundation of society. He was the ‘beloved’ of all the children who gave him the endearing name of ‘Chacha Nehru’. He started to wear a rose on his jacket after a child pinned one on it. He always said that children were "future of bright India". On his birthday, he used to have the children at his place to play and enjoy together. So he asked not to have any holiday for his birthday after his death but let the children enjoy the way they want. Nehru chacha’s birthday is celebrated as ‘Baal Din’. Nehru had invited all the newly elected MPs (Member of Parliament) of his party for a dinner held in the lawns of Teen Murti house. During dinner Nehru saw that some poor family children had climbed the boundary wall. They were sitting on it looking at the guests who were having dinner. So he took his plate and went to the wall and gave it to a young boy. Immediately all the MPs also gave their dinner plates to the children! On October 2, 1957, during the Ramlila celebrations in Old Delhi’s Ramlila Ground, Nehru along with some foreign delegates was watching the fireworks. Some sparks fell on the tent in which they were standing and it caught fire. A Boy Scout assigned to Nehru’s stand, grabbed Nehru’s hand and pulled him towards the dais. Then he climbed onto one of the poles, and with his scouts’ knife cut off the burning portion of the tent. This boy was Harish Chand Mehra. On February 4, 1958, a special programme was organised to honour Harish Chand and he was presented the award by Nehru at Teen Murti Bhawan. Nehru said that Harish needed no introduction, as he was himself an eyewitness to the whole account. He said it would be better if we could have more children of undoubted courage.Japan’s zookeepers had killed most of Tokyo’s wild animals to prevent them from escaping during World War II air raids. In 1949, Nehru delighted Japanese children by presenting Ueno Zoo with an Indian elephant.

Much of Jawaharlal’s childhood was spent in the Palatial Building named Anand Bhawan spread on 16 acres situated very close to the University of Allahabad. So Nehru described his childhood as a "sheltered and uneventful one".

Jawaharlal Nehru’s Childhood

Shina Utavani

Lord Shiva made a rule when Lord Ganesha was born, he said that to achieve success in any endeavour, Lord Ganesha must be worshipped first. So, everyone used to worship Lord Ganesha before going for a war.However, Lord Shiva forgot about his own rule and left for a war with the demons in Tripura. He did not worship Lord Ganesha before going for the war. While he was on his way in his carriage, the wheel peg got damaged. It was only then that Lord Shiva remembered that he had forgotten to offer prayers to Lord Ganesh before departing for the war.He offered his prayers to Ganesha and proceeded to the battleground. Lord Shiva won the war! Moral:You must follow certain rules, even if you are the one to define the rules.

This is a story of Ganesh and Shiva.Moral(s) of the story: discipline

Lord Ganesha and Lord Shiva

Ram Navami is an important Hindu festival that marks the birth anniversary of Lord Rama. It is an important day to worship Lord Rama. Ram Navami falls on the ninth day of Chaitra Navaratri. This day is auspicious and has religious importance. It is believed that Lord Rama was the seventh avatar of Lord Vishnu. The festival holds great importance in the Hindu religion. People celebrate this festival with great enthusiasm and joy. Celebrations of this festival indicate the removal of bad powers and welcoming of divine powers on Earth. Ayodhya, which is the birthplace of Lord Rama celebrates the festival with great devotion. A special rathyatra is organised on this day. People recite Ram Katha and narrate various stories of Lord Rama. Devotees take a dip in the river Sarayu which is in Ayodhya and after that, they visit the Ram temple to offer their prayers. Lord Rama is considered to be the king of Righteousness, virtue, and love. He was born to king Dashrath and Queen Kausalya. Lord Rama also lived in the forest for fourteen years on his father’s orders. He killed the demon king Ravana to rescue his wife who was held captive by the demon king. People celebrate the festival to worship Lord Rama.

This is a story of kausaiya, king dsrath, Ram and Ram Navmi.

Ram Navami

Alihusen Momin

A white van with drawings of chocolate, strawberry and vanilla ice cream moves through the street. All the children in the neighbourhood follow the little ding of its bell and immediately get into a line. The ice cream van has come with the ice cream man.&nbsp; Some children have already decided what they want to eat, others want to try a new flavour.&nbsp; The ice cream man opens the shutter and smiles warmly at the kids. They all look up at him eagerly. One by one he collects their orders and the children look up at the short, tubby man as he places scoops into cones. Red, pink, white, yellow scoops of icecream fly around into cones or cups. Some are sprinkled with chocolate chips, some with syrups and the icecream man always hands an extra tissue as he hands out each ice cream. As all the children in the line get their ice creams, they smile up at him and scatter around. Everyone is satisfied and the icecream man ignites the van to start driving.&nbsp; Everybody waves at him and sees him go, waiting for him to come again the next day.

This is a story of chocolate and ice cream.

The ice cream man!

Granted that all elephants have giant ears, but Elly had the giant ones.Her ears were larger than her mother’s, larger than her father’s, even larger than her grandfather’s ears!Such large ears? But Elly was such a small and delicate little elephant. She was always tired due to the weight of her ears. Tired and hungry due to carrying her heavy ears everywhere, she comes home with a frown.“Maaaaa!” She shouts. It was a particularly gruelling day at school, they had volleyball selections, and Elly was more than stressed. She wanted to vent about it to her mother. So she told her mother that she was stressed about the match.The next day at the volleyball event, Elly feels very insecure about her large ears in front of the audience. This disturbs her performance.She comes home crying again and shouts for her mother, “Maaaaa!”Her mother doesn’t know how to make her daughter feel better. She tries to comfort her daughter, but it is all in vain.So she comes up with a new trick. She sits Elly down in front of the television and switches to a sports channel where a volleyball game is playing.Watching the game, Elly has already calmed herself. Her mother points to the amazing volleyball players and says, “Elly, look! Mon, the monkey’s nose is too big. Croc Crocodile’s mouth is too wide. But do you see anyone talking about it?”That is how Elly slowly realises that physical flaws hold no bearing in front of her talent.It takes a long time for Elly to understand this fully, but she slowly overcomes her insecurities. <h3>Moral Of The Story: Accepting your body is the first step towards self-love.</h3>

This is a story of Elephant's ears.Moral(s) of the story: Self-love

alauddin khalji stories

Kids moral stories help in improving their imagination & relate to real-world life. Here are age-specific bedtime stories for children by renowned storytellers.

Devil In the Desert

The Serpent and The Eagle

Bheema's power of concentration and dedication

Yudhisthira, the son of Dharma

Jawaharlal Nehru’s Childhood

Lord Ganesha and Lord Shiva

Ram Navami

The ice cream man!

The Elephants Ears

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