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.

Ravina Sewani

A long time ago, two young men named Mohan and Sohan lived in a small town. Mohan was a rich jeweler while Sohan was a poor man. Once, for his sister’s wedding, Sohan took jewels worth five thousand rupees on credit from Mohan’s shop. He promised to pay the money to Mohan in six months time.But not even a month had passed from that day, that Mohan started asking Sohan for the money. Sohan replied, “I can’t make the payment so soon, friend. As it is we had an agreement that I will pay the money to you in six months. It has not even been a month yet. You know I am a poor man. Have some patience and give me time to collect the money.”Actually, Mohan had his eye on Sohan’s property. In connection with this debt, he wanted Sohan to sign some papers that said that Sohan had mortgaged his house and other property to Mohan for buying the jewels. So, he insisted that Sohan should come with him to the court of law where these papers could be prepared.Sohan again told Mohan about his poor financial state and reiterated that he would not break his promise of paying him back in six months. But Mohan did not relent. Seeing no other way out, Sohan said, “But I don’t even have a horse. How am I supposed to reach the court?”“You can borrow mine,” said Mohan, not wanting to let this opportunity go.“And what about clothes? I don’t have any decent clothes that I can wear to the court,” Sohan said.“I’ll give you some of mine,” said Mohan.“I don’t even have shoes,” Sohan said.“Alright, take mine,” Mohan replied.Finally, Sohan agreed to accompany Mohan to the court. Mohan lent him his clothes, shoes and horse.When their case was called out by the judge, Sohan requested the judge to allow him to ask Mohan a few questions. The judge gave permission. Sohan asked Mohan, “Mohan, tell me, whose clothes are these that I am wearing?”“Mine,” said Mohan.“And whom do these shoes belong to?” Sohan asked.“They’re also mine,” replied Mohan.“And the horse that I rode on this morning to come here?” Sohan asked.“That too is mine,” Mohan answered.Everyone in the courtroom burst out laughing.Sohan said to the judge, “Your Honour, you can see for yourself that Mohan’s mental condition is not stable. He thinks that all the things that I possess belong to him.”The judge agreed with Sohan and dismissed the case. In this way, Sohan foiled Mohan’s evil plan. Moral:Greed is evil and must be destroyed with cleverness.

This is a story of court, horse, panchtantra, shirt, t shirt, trousers and shoes.Moral(s) of the story: greediness and smartness

The Rich Mohan and the Poor Sohan

Yesha Desai

Once upon a time, there lived a herd of eighty thousand elephants at the bottom of the majestic Himalayas. Their leader was a majestic white elephant who was extremely kind-hearted. He dearly loved his old and blind mother and took great care of her.Each day, the white elephant would go deep into the forest in search of the best of wild fruits to offer his mother. He used to send fruits for his mother through his messengers. The messengers were a bunch of greedy elephants. They used to eat the fruits themselves and never gave anything to the white elephant’s old mother. The white elephant was completely disappointed with his herd.Then one day, he decided to abandon the herd and go with his mother to Mount Candorana to live in a cave beside a beautiful lake that had lovely pink lotuses.It so happened that one day, a forester from Banaras lost his way in the forest and was absolutely terrified to find himself alone in the thick woods. He was weeping bitterly and desperately looking to find some help. The white elephant took pity on the man and promised to help him. He knew every inch of that dense forest and showed him the way out to Banaras city. The forester thanked the white elephant and happily went home.Then after some days, the forester got to hear the news that king Brahmadutta’s personal elephant had died and he was looking for a new elephant. The forester thought that if he would tell the king about the majestic white elephant that he had seen on Mount Candorana, he would certainly get a reward. So, he went and told the king about the white elephant. The king decided to go in the search of that white elephant the very next day.The forester then led the king and his men to the place where the white elephant lived. When the white elephant saw the forester, he realized that it was he who had led the king’s men to him. He was very upset at the man’s selfishness and ingratitude. He decided not to put up a fight because it would have led to unnecessary bloodshed. So, the white elephant went along with the king and his men to the Banaras city.That night when the white elephant did not return home, his mother was very worried. She had heard all the commotion outside and had guessed that the king’s men must have taken away her son. She just lay down in her cave and cried bitterly.Meanwhile, the white elephant was led in to the beautiful city of Banaras where he was given a grand reception in the royal elephant shed. The keepers had laid out a feast for him and decorated the stable with fragrant flowers. But, the elephant neither touched the food nor seemed to be impressed with the beautiful and comfortable shed. He just sat there with a sad expression on his face.The matter was reported to the king. The king came to visit the white elephant and to find out what ailed him. On questioning, the white elephant told the king about his blind old mother. He expressed a desire to go back to her as in his absence she would not be able to sustain herself and die.The compassionate king was touched by the elephant’s story and asked him to return to his blind, old mother and take care of her as he had been doing all along. The happy elephant went running home as fast as he could. His mother could immediately recognise the scent of her son and was overjoyed to have him back. She blessed the kind king with peace, prosperity and joy till the end of his days.The white elephant took good care of his mother till the day she died. The king often used to come and visit him in the forest. And when the white elephant died himself, the king erected a statue of him by the side of the lake and held an annual elephant festival there in his memory. Moral:Always give affection and care to your dear ones. Always respect other’s feelings.

This is a classic story from Jataka tales.This is a story of elephant and king.Mora(s) of the story: caring and compassion

The King’s white elephant

Shina Utavani

Once upon a time, a bear was living in a jungle. He admired the moon shining up in the sky. One night, he was looking up at the sky and thought of giving a birthday present to the moon. But he did not know the Birthdate of the moon. He was not even sure what gift he would give to the moon. So, he decided to have a little chat with the moon. He decided to ask the moon what it would like to have for a present and so the bear went up into the mountains to get close to it. When the bear said “Hello” to the moon, his voice echoed back. The bear thought the response was coming from the moon. Because of the echo, everything the bear said was repeated back to him. The bear asked the moon, “What do you want for the birthday?” His voice echoed, and he thought that the moon was asking him what he wanted for the birthday. So, he replied that he wanted a hat. The same sentence was repeated because of the echo and the bear thought that the moon also wanted a hat for his gift. Now, bear knew what he wanted to gift the moon for his birthday. That night bear put the hat in a tree where the moon could find it. As the moon sneaked through the branches of the tree, it appeared that the moon was wearing the hat. The bear saw the moon wearing the hat and was pleased.The next morning, the hat fell out of the tree and to the bear’s doorstep. The bear believed that the moon had left it there as a present for him. The wind blew the hat away, the bear chased it, and when he could not find it, he decided to go to the mountain and talk with the moon. The bear told the moon, “I still love you” and the moon, of course, replied with the same.

This is a story of bear, birthday and moon.

Happy Birthday Moon 

Once, a lion was in a very foul mood because his wife, the lioness, had told him that his breath smelled, and he needed to do something about it. The lion acted as if he did not care as he was the king of the jungle, but secretly though, he was worried and wanted to know from others also if he had bad breath. So, later that day, the lion summoned three of his counsellors – the sheep, the wolf and the fox. He first addressed the sheep and asked, ‘Tell me, do you think my breath smells?’The sheep thought the lion wanted to know the truth. So, she humbly bowed before the lion and said, ‘Yes, Your Majesty! Your breath smells terrible. In fact, it smells so bad that it makes me feel sick.” This was not what the lion wanted to hear. He roared loudly with anger and killed the sheep for her audacity.Then, he called the wolf and said, “Tell me, O Wolf! Do you think my breath smells?” The wolf had already seen what the lion did to the sheep when she told him the truth. He had no intentions of ending up the same way. He folded his hands and said, “Your Majesty! I wonder who in the world told you that your breath smells! Your breath smells as sweet as the flowers in spring. I simply love to be around you.” The lion understood that the wolf was lying. His anger knew no bounds. He pounced on the wolf and ripped him to pieces.At last, the lion called the fox. The fox had seen the fate of the sheep and the wolf. They had both been punished for telling the truth and as well as for lying. So, the fox was caught between the devil and the deep sea. He did not know what to tell the lion. Still, he went near the lion, while desperately thinking of a suitable plan to escape from the lion’s wrath. “Tell me, O Fox,” growled the Lion, sharpening his claws, “Do you think my breath smells?” The fox coughed and sneezed and blew her nose, and then clearing her throat noisily, said in a hoarse voice, “I am so sorry, Your Majesty! I have such a nasty cold that I cannot smell anything.” The lion found her excuse to be genuine, and let her go scot free. This is how the clever fox saved her life. Moral:Cleverness and wit can help you escape out of the toughest situations.

This is a classic story from panchtantra.This is a story of fox, lion, sheep and wolf.Moral(s) of the story: smartness

The Lion’s bad breath

A long time ago there was a river which did not share its water with any fish, boat or plant. The river lived alone and did not have any friends.The river lived alone for years until one day a little boy decided to free his goldfish called Goldie.Goldie was a very friendly fish. He sensed the river’s loneliness and decided to help the river.So Goldie swam and swam in the river and even invited his friends. Soon the river was filled with plants and fish.First, the river was unaccepting of the new members but after a while, made new friends.The river thought about why it had no friends for all these years. It was because it had isolated itself and refused to help cater to any plants and animals.But seeing how his new friends had helped him feel less lonely and good, it decided to be a good friend too.Then the river was always happy and smiling. It helped the plants grow, the fish swim, boats float and animals drink water from it.The river realised that although it may sometimes be a bit inconvenient or uncomfortable, it was always better to have friends and to try to be happy. Moral:Friends make life better and easier.

This is a story of boat, fish, friend and river.Moral(s) of the story:

The river

In a forest, there lived a bear. The bear was very greedy. He always wanted something bigger. He was never satisfied with what he had. One day, the bear was very hungry and he wanted to eat something. He decided to go out to search for food.The day was very beautiful and bright. The sun was shining and everything looked bright and pretty. The bear decided to eat fish to enjoy the bright sunny day. So, he went to a river to catch fish. The river was filled with fishes and the bear was very happy to see that. He decided to eat lots of fish.The bear prepared himself for the hunt. He looked at the fish and waited for the chance. The bear looking at the opportunity tried to catch a fish. As soon as he grabbed a fish, he was very happy. But when he saw the fish, he became sad. he said, “This fish is very small. I will wait for the bigger fish.” The bear threw the fish back in the water.He again started hunting for the fish. He waited for his chance. He swung his arm in the water and grabbed another fish. After looking at the second fish he again said, “Oh no! This is very small. I need a bigger one.” He again threw the fish back in the water.He continued doing the same again and again. Every time the fish he grabbed was too small for him and every time he would throw the fish back in the water. He wanted to eat a bigger fish. In the end, he was very tired and had nothing to eat because he had thrown every fish back in the river. Moral:Many small things make up for one big thing. Never let go of what you have in hand for what you don’t have yet.

This is a story of bear, fish and river.Moral(s) of story: greediness

The Foolish Bear

Near the mountains in the north, on a fig tree on the banks of the river Amravati, lived a pair of herons. A wicked black serpent also lived in a hole of that tree. Whenever the heron couple had babies, he used to slither up the tree and eat the herons’ young ones. Once, when the female heron was lamenting over the loss of her babies, another heron who lived on the nearby tree approached her and advised, “Dear sister, I can understand your pain. I will tell you a way to get rid of the diabolical serpent forever. Next time, when you have your babies, scatter some pieces of fish meat from the mongoose’s burrow to the serpent’s hole in your tree. The mongoose loves to eat fish. He will certainly follow the trail and reach the serpent’s hole. I am sure when the mongoose will see his mortal enemy, the black serpent, he will kill him.”The next time the female heron had her babies, she did what her neighbour had told her to do. As foreseen, the mongoose followed the fish trail, happened to see the serpent and killed him. However, the mongoose also got the smell of the heron’s newly-born young ones. He quickly climbed up the tree and ate them all. The neighbouring heron felt miserable and guilty for giving advice without a thought. Moral:When you think of a plan, you should also think of its consequences.

This is a classic story from panchtantra.This is a story of heron, mongoose and snake.Moral(s) of the story: wisdom

The heron, the serpent and the mongoose

Once, a donkey called Gopu lived in the hills. One day, Gopu was happily munching on the grass of the lush green meadow. Gopu was so engrossed in eating the green patch of grass that he did not notice anything in his surroundings. Suddenly while eating, he lifted his head and was shocked to see Shikari right in front of him. Shikari was a wolf. Gopu realized that he needed to quickly think of an idea or else the wolf would devour him. At once, Gopu started making sounds, “Oohhh, ahhh, it’s hurting so bad!” Unable to understand anything, Shikari asked him what was wrong. Gopu began to limp and said, “A sharp thorn has pierced through my foot while I was walking on the bushes, now I am in terrible pain, will you please remove it for me?”“Why do you think I would do that?” asked Shikari, and thought to himelf how foolish the donkey must be. “I am waiting to eat him up and he wants me to remove a thorn from his foot,” thought Shikari.“Shikari, it is for your benefit that I am asking you to take out the thorn,” said Gopu. “What benefit will I get by helping you?” asked Shikari.“The thorn is very big and sharp. When you eat me, it will get stuck in your throat and will hurt you badly.”Shikari thought for a moment and then agreed to do what Gopu said. Gopu lifted his foot for Shikari, and as soon as Shikari came close to his feet, Gopu kicked Shikari with all his strength and galloped away swiftly.Shikari was blinded by the force of the kick and he also lost some teeth. “Serves me right. Why did I even listen to the donkey instead of eating him up right away? It is so foolish of me,” Shikari thought to himself, and quietly limped away from there. Moral:The right use of one’s wisdom at the right time can escape the scariest of the situations.

This is a classic story from panchtantra.This is. a story of donkey and wolf.Moral(s) of the story: wisdom

The donkey’s wisdom

It happened in ancient times that a slave named Androcles escaped from his master and fled into the forest, and he wandered there for a long time until he was weary.Just then he heard a lion near him moaning and groaning and at times roaring terribly.&nbsp;And when&nbsp;he tried to get up, there he saw the lion coming towards him.Instead of attacking him it kept on moaning and groaning and looking at Androcles, who saw that the lion was holding out his right paw, which was covered with blood and very much swollen. Looking more closely at it, Androcles saw a great big thorn pressed into the paw, which was the cause of all the lion’s trouble.Plucking up courage, he seized hold of the thorn and drew it out of the lion’s paw, who roared with pain when the thorn came out, but soon after found such relief from it that he rubbed up against Androcles, and showed&nbsp;that he knew, that he was truly thankful for being relieved from such pain.One day, a number of soldiers came marching through the forest and found Androcles. They took him prisoner and brought him back to the town, and he was condemned to death because he had fled from his master.Now it used to be the custom to throw murderers and other criminals to the lions, and on the appointed day he was led forth into the arena.The Emperor of Rome was in the royal box that day and gave the signal for the lion to come out and attack Androcles. But when it came out of its cage and got near Androcles, what do you think it did? Instead of jumping upon him, it rubbed up against him, and stroked him with its paw.It was of course the lion which Androcles had met in the forest. The Emperor summoned Androcles to him. So Androcles told the Emperor all that had happened to him and how the lion was showing gratitude for his having relieved it of the thorn. Thereupon, the emperor pardoned Androcles and ordered his master to set him free, while the lion was taken back into the forest and let loose to enjoy freedom once more.Moral: An act of kindness is always remembered. This act is often expressed as gratitude through other kind act.

This is a story of forest, king and lion.Moral(s) of the story: gratitude

animal 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.

The Rich Mohan and the Poor Sohan

The King’s white elephant

Happy Birthday Moon

The Lion’s bad breath

The river

The Foolish Bear

The heron, the serpent and the mongoose

The donkey’s wisdom

Androcles and the lion

More like this

Bee Suggestions

About Bee