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.

Yesha Desai

Once upon a time, there lived a big rat in the jungle. He was very wise and powerful and headed a large group of rats. A crafty wolf also lived in that jungle and intended to catch the entire group of rats.One day, a bright idea struck him. He went near the place where the rats lived and waited for them to come out. As soon as he saw the rats coming out of their hole, he stood on his hind legs and opened his mouth wide. The rats were surprised to see the wolf standing in this strange posture.Out of curiosity, the chief of the rats asked the wolf, “Wolf, why are you standing on your hind legs?” The cunning wolf made a long face and answered, “Dear friend, I am lame since birth. It hurts me to put my front legs on the ground. That is why I do not have any other option but to stand like this and suffer.”“And why is your mouth open?” asked the chief of the rats. “Since I cannot walk or move, I survive only on air. I keep my mouth open to take in as much of air as I can. I think I have been punished for my previous karmas. I must have done some wrongful act in the past life because of which I am suffering like this in the present birth. I now intend to spend the rest of my life only in meditation.” said the wolf gloomily.The rats felt very sorry for the wolf. They decided to visit the wolf everyday and spend some time with the hapless animal. The wolf also kept them entertained with his sermons. Each time, as the rats left, the wolf used to catch and eat the last one. Then he quickly wiped his lips, and acted as if nothing had happened. Soon, the number of the rats in the group started to decline and this also came to the notice of the chief of rats. He evaluated the situation carefully and came to the conclusion that perhaps it was an act of the wolf. He, however, did not have any proof.The next day when the rats went to meet the wolf, the chief of the rats instructed all the others to stay ahead of him while leaving. The chief of the rats kept himself towards the last and as he had rightly anticipated, the cunning wolf pounced at him. But the chief of the rats was prepared for the attack and he swiftly got away from the wolf’s clutches.“So, this is the food you eat! You took advantage of our innocence and belied our faith. You deserve to be punished!” said the chief of the rats angrily. He sprung at the wolf’s throat and bit him to death. This is how the treacherous wolf met his end. Moral:Treachery and trickstery does not reap good results.

This is a classic story from Jataka tales.This is a story of rat and wolf.Moral(s) of the story: betrayal

The tricky wolfs and the rats

Ravina Sewani

Once, there lived a horse and a buffalo, in the gorgeous meadows of Tall Mountain. The fresh green grass and swiftly flowing river across the mountain provided sufficient food and water for the buffalo and the horse. They soon became friends and started living happily. One year suddenly there was no rain, the river dried up and the grass turned brown. The horse and the buffalo started fighting over grass and water and soon the friends turned in enemies. One day during their regular fights, the buffalo became angry and hit the horse with its sharp horns. The horse was badly injured and ran away to save his life.Gradually, the horse became better. However, he still remembered how the buffalo had hurt him, and started making plans to take revenge on him. The horse thought for many days and finally decided to take help from a man. After hearing the plan of the horse, the man refused to help him and said to him, “This fight is between the both of you; you should settle it among yourself, why do you need my help? Anyway a buffalo has very sharp horns and I am very scared of them.” The man refused to help and went away.The horse was determined to take revenge so he pleaded with the man and convinced him by saying that if the man helped him take revenge on the buffalo, then he would help the man in capturing the buffalo and keeping him forever… The man laughed and said, “What will I do with the big buffalo?” The horse replied, “Buffaloes give extremely sweet and healthy milk. If you drink its milk every day, you will also become very healthy and strong.” The man thought about it for some time and then agreed to the horse’s proposal.The horse told the man, “All you have to do is carry a big, thick stick and hit the buffalo with it every time I run past it. A buffalo cannot run like me and will soon be hurt and tired and you can capture it easily.”The following day, they left for the meadows early morning. As per the plan, the man sat on the horse’s back with a big, thick stick and started hitting the buffalo as the horse ran past it. Soon the buffalo was hurt and fell to the ground; the man captured the buffalo and tied him to a tree next to his hut.The horse was very happy that he got rid of the buffalo and also because he had the whole meadow to himself. Happily he started walking towards the meadow, when he found himself tied to the tree; the horse was surprised and asked the man, “Why did you tie me up?” The man replied, “Dear horse, how did you think that I will let you go? You are extremely useful to me. Apart from teaching me how to capture a buffalo, you also taught me how to ride a horse. I will keep you both for my future help and will take very good care of both of you.”The poor horse felt very sad and betrayed, and finally realised that he shouldn’t have betrayed his friend the buffalo, by sharing the secret of his milk with the man. He understood that he was being punished for being greedy and revengeful. Since that day, the horse promised that he would never betray any one’s trust and would never be revengeful. That is why, through the ages, horses have been faithful companions of humans. Moral:Revenge does not bring happiness to anyone. If anything, it only brings more suffering. We should never betray anyone’s trust.

This is a classic story from panchtantra.This is a story of buffalo and horse.Moral(s) of the story: betrayal

The Horse’s revenge

Once, in a small village, there lived a wise merchant. He used to sell his goods in the market of a nearby town. He used to carry his goods there on the back of his donkey. The merchant was fond of the donkey and took care of him. But the donkey was lazy and did not want to work at all.To get to the market from the village, the merchant and the donkey had to wade across a shallow stream. One day, when the merchant had loaded a big sack of salt on the donkey’s back to carry it to the market, the donkey thought of a trick. They set off on their journey and soon came to the shallow stream. On reaching the middle of the stream, the donkey bent his knees and lowered his back so that the water level came up to the sack. The salt dissolved in the water and flowed out, making the donkey’s load very light. But, because of the donkey’s trick, the merchant had to suffer a heavy loss in his business.The next day, the merchant loaded a similar sack on the donkey’s back but this time, there was cotton in it instead of salt. On reaching the stream, the donkey thought of playing the same trick again. He bent down and water entered the sack. But, as wet cotton is heavier than dry cotton, the donkey’s load became a lot heavier than before. He had to carry this heavy load the rest of the way. Thus, because of the merchant’s cleverness, the donkey got the punishment that he deserved. Moral:You get what you deserve.

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

The wise merchant and the cheating donkey

A long time ago, there lived a heron, by the side of a pond brimming with fresh fish. He was a lazy creature, who wanted to find a way to catch all the fish without any effort. One day, he got an idea! He went to the side of the pond and put on a gloomy face. His friend, the crab, came alongside him and asked, “What is bothering you, my dear friend?”The heron said, “Alas, my friends! I spotted fishermen making hungry nets in the village nearby! Soon, they will come to our pond, to catch all the fish.” On hearing this, the inhabitants of the pond were devastated.The heron said, “Luckily, I know of a pond not far from here, where all the fish will be saved.” So, everyday, some fish would volunteer to be carried in the heron’s beak, to the safe pond.The heron would take the fish each day and on reaching a large rock, he would eat all the fish, leaving nothing but their bones behind. For many days, the sly heron got a continued supply of fish without any effort.But the wise crab was suspicious of the heron’s motives and one day, volunteered to go with the heron to the new pond. As they were flying, the crab was shocked to see his friends’ bones lying around the rock.He realized there was something fishy going on, but chose to wait and watch. The heron took the crab to the rock to eat him up. Seeing this, the alert crab tightened its claws around the heron’s long neck and threatened to choke him.“Please, spare me!” cried the scared heron, knowing his game was up. The wise and merciful crab let go of the heron’s neck, who promised never to be so deceitful again. The wise crab had saved the day. Moral:A mission started on deceit never goes a long way.

This is a classic story from panchtantra.This is a story of crab, fish and heron.Moral(s) of the story: betrayal

The heron and the crab

Once upon a time, a lion called Madotkata used to live in a dense forest. He was the king of the forest. He had three friends — a jackal, a wolf, and a crow. These were not true friends. They were selfish and had become friends with the lion for their own benefit because he was the king. One day, a camel lost his way and wandered into the forest. The three friends of the lion saw the camel and realised that he did not belong to this forest, so he must have lost his way and reached there.“Let’s kill and eat him,” the jackal said to his friend. “No,” the wolf replied. “It is a large animal. Let us go and inform our king.” The crow said, “Yes, this is a good idea. Then he can kill the camel and we can all share the meat after the lion has had his share.” So, the three went to the lion and said, “Your Majesty, a camel has wandered into our kingdom from somewhere. He has a lot of flesh and may prove to be the best meal of our lives. Let’s kill him and eat him.” The lion was angered on listening to the three friends’ suggestion. “If the camel has come to our kingdom seeking refuge, it is my duty as the king to offer him protection, not to kill him and eat him. Go and bring him to me.”The three friends were very disheartened but they could not do anything contrary to the king’s wishes. They went to the camel and told him about the lion’s command. The camel was very scared on hearing this. He thought that his last moments had come. He resigned himself to fate and followed the three animals to the lion’s den. But he was surprised on reaching there, because the lion received him warmly. The lion also assured the camel of his safety while he was living in his kingdom. The camel was very happy. He started living with the jackal, wolf, and the crow. A few days later, while the lion and his friends were hunting for food, they got into a fight with a wild elephant. The fight got so fearsome that all three of the lion’s friends deserted him and fled. Though the lion managed to kill the elephant, he was badly injured in the fight. He was unable to hunt and had to go hungry for many days. His strength was failing. His friends were also starving because they depended wholly on the lion’s prey for their food. But the camel, being a vegetarian, was not affected. He grazed around happily as before.One day, the jackal, the wolf and the crow went up to the lion and said, “Your Majesty, you are becoming weaker day by day. Why don’t you kill the camel and eat him?” The lion replied fiercely, “No, he is our guest. We can’t treat him that way. Don’t even suggest that to me.”So, the three animals thought of another plan. They went to the camel and said, “Friend, our king is in a very unfortunate situation. He has had nothing to eat for many days and is unable to hunt for food. Under such circumstances, it is our duty to sacrifice ourselves to save our king’s life. Let us go to the king and offer him our bodies for his food.” The camel had no idea about the other three’s scheme and agreed to come along with them. All four reached the den of the lion. First, the crow came forward and said, “Your Majesty, we could not find any prey, so you can eat me.” The jackal said, “Your body is too small to assuage the king’s hunger. Your Majesty, I offer myself to you. Kill me and eat me.” The wolf said, “No, you are also too small to assuage our king’s hunger. I offer myself to you for this noble cause, My Lord. Kill me and eat me.”But the lion did not kill any of the three animals. The camel was standing there looking at what was going on. He thought that now it was his turn to go forward and make his offering. So, he said, “My Lord, a friend in need is a friend indeed. Please eat me and fulfil your hunger.”The lion had already been informed by the wolf that the camel was very keen on offering himself to the king. Now that the camel himself offered to sacrifice himself, the lion did not feel any pangs of conscience on killing the camel. So, he pounced on the camel at once and tore him to pieces. The lion and his friends fed on the camel for days. Moral:Beware of people who become friends only to fulfil their evil desires. They might appear to be sweet, but they are never trustworthy in reality.

This is a classic story from panchtantra.This is a story of camel, crow, jackal, lion and wolf.Moral(s) of the story: betrayal

Beware of mean friends

Nishita Sanghvi

A pack of jackals roaming around in the forest suddenly saw a big elephant. They got excited thinking how good it would be to feast on him, but for that they had to find a way to kill him. They knew that if they managed to kill him, they would not have to look for food for several days. They could feast on its meat continuously. But it was a difficult task to kill such a big animal.The old jackal made a smart plan and went on to meet the elephant. He said hello to the elephant in a very courteous way and started the conversation, “O’ Mighty elephant! O’ King of kings! May you live long!” The elephant asked, “What is the purpose of your visit, dear jackal?”To which, the jackal said, “I represent a small pack of jackals. It is becoming difficult for us to live without protection in this jungle. We need an able King like you for us. The elephant was completely flattered. The jackal requested the elephant to come along. The elephant immediately agreed as the jackal added to his story that according to his astrologers, crowning ceremony should happen that day itself.The elephant was taken near a swamp and as expected, the elephant soon started sinking in the swamp due to his heavy weight. The terrified elephant moaned and cried for help but there were only deaf ears around him. The jackal laughed at the elephant’s misery, saying that he was foolish enough to believe him.The elephant sank and died. The jackals pulled him and feasted on his meat for many days. Moral:Never trust strangers and fall for flattering words.

This is a story of hitopadesha tales, elephant, fox and forest.Moral(s) of the story: betrayal

The Shrewd Jackals and The Elephant

Shina Utavani

There was once an eagle living in a jungle. He met fox and they both became friends. Their friendship grew stronger and they became best friends. They decided to build their homes next to each other. The fox lived near the bushes so eagle decided to build its nest near the bushes. They lived happily.After some time, both of the friends had their children. They adored and loved their children. One day, the fox wanted to go hunting. She left its cubs in the bushes and left in search of food. She said the cubs that she will be back soon. On the other side, the babies of the eagle were crying out of hunger. They were very hungry. The eagle did not have any food to feed her babies.The eagle tried searching for food but could not find anything. The eagle saw fox’s cubs playing near the bushes. The eaglets were crying out of hunger so she decided to feed one of the cubs to her children. The eagle went near the bushes and picked one of the cubs and fed her babies. She gave her friend’s baby to her children to eat. When the fox returned, she saw the eagle feeding her child to her babies. The fox was shocked and quickly went to the eagle. “What have you done?” said fox while crying. She was heartbroken and hurt. She was in extreme pain and said, “You have done very wrong with me eagle, you have cheated a friend, a good friend.” The fox took her cubs and left to never see the eagle again.The fox, even after being cheated by a friend, never wished for any harm to her friend. The fox was a good friend. But God had his plans.One day, the eaglets were very hungry and the mother eagle did not have anything to feed them. She decided to go to a nearby village to hunt. She thought she would surely find something there. She left for the hunt. There she found a dead goat. She took that and quickly flew back to her babies. When she came back, she was shocked to see the nest. The nest had caught fire and her babies were inside the nest. She pulled them out but it was too late. The poor eaglets were hurt badly and one of them even died. The eagle was heartbroken and in pain.At that moment, the fox was passing by. She saw the eagle’s nest. Looking at the eagle she said, “God has punished you for betraying a dear friend.” The fox left the place with a heavy heart. She did not wish for her friend to suffer but this was her justice. God had punished the one who did wrong to others. Moral:We should never betray other friends.

This is a story of eagle and fox.Moral(s) of the story: betrayal and friendship

betrayal 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 tricky wolfs and the rats

The Horse’s revenge

The wise merchant and the cheating donkey

The heron and the crab

Beware of mean friends

The Shrewd Jackals and The Elephant

The Eagle and the Fox

More like this

Bee Suggestions

About Bee