Yesha Desai

Once upon a time, there lived a skilful archer in a city. Though he was short in height and had a hunched back, none could beat him in archery. One day he thought, “I am good enough to join the king’s army, but he would never take me in because of my short stature and hunched back. I must look for someone tall and powerful, and then I can enter the king’s army as his page.”One day, the little bowman found the kind of man he was looking for. He was a tall and powerful man and used to dig ditches to earn his living. The bowman approached him and said, “The days of your misery are over! I am the best archer of this country and worthy of being a part of the king’s royal army. But, I may get rejected because of my height and crooked back. So, I need your help. You will immediately be recruited in the army because of your physique and you can then introduce me to them as your page. I will do the work that you will be given to do and we shall divide the pay between us. This way both of us will be able to live comfortably.”The tall man gladly agreed. Together they reached the king’s palace and sent word to the king that a famous bowman was there to meet him. The king met the bowman and being impressed by his towering personality, inducted him in the royal army. The little man’s dream had come true. He was now a part of the royal army, though disguised as the page of the big man.In those days, there was a man-eater tiger on the loose in the jungle. The king sent for the big man and ordered him to kill the tiger. The big man told the little bowman what the king had said. They went to the forest together and soon, the little bowman shot the tiger dead. The king was extremely impressed by the heroic act of the big man and rewarded him with expensive gifts.Some days later, a mad buffalo let itself loose on the city roads and started killing the people with its horns. The big man was asked to go and kill the buffalo. The big man carried the little bowman on his shoulders and as always, the little bowman hit his target and killed the buffalo. The king was full of praise for the big man and gave him a big bag of money as a gift.The big man slowly started to think that he deserved all the credit and the little bowman had no right to share the prize money or any praise. He started treating the little man as his servant and spoke to him very rudely. The little bowman was very sad.A few days later, the king of the neighbouring country attacked the kingdom. The king at once sent his army. The big man was mounted on a majestic elephant and was wearing shining armour. The little bowman knew that the big man could not shoot, so he also took his bow and arrow and quietly sat behind the big man on the elephant.When the big man saw a huge enemy army in front of him, he started to shake with fear. The little bowman asked him to keep sitting quietly, but the big man was so nervous that he jumped off the elephant and ran back to the city from the battle field.The little bowman led the elephant fearlessly into the battlefield and killed many of the enemies with his unmistakable shots. All the soldiers were motivated by the little man’s act of bravery and they soon forced the enemy army to withdraw itself. The king now understood that it was the little bowman who was the real hero. He made him the chief of his army and also rewarded him with rich gifts. Moral:Bravery and kindness are always rewarded.

This is a classic story from Jataka tales.This is a story of elephant.Moral(s) of the story: bravery and kindness

The brave little bowman

Shina Utavani

There was once a boy named Peter who lived with his grandfather. He was six years old. Their house was situated near a forest. His grandfather had a cat named Ivan and a duck named Sonya. One morning, Peter went for a walk near his house. Little peter saw the forest and decided to go on a hunt in the forest.His grandfather never allowed peter to go into the forest. So, peter decided to go when his grandfather was asleep. He slipped out from his house at night. He was very happy to finally go for a hunt. Sonya and Ivan also joined him to protect him. Peter took his popgun and went for a journey to the forest. Peter heard about a wolf that lived in the forest who used to tease people. Peter decided to hunt the wolf so the people could live without fear.As soon as they reached the forest, a little bird named Sasha saw Sonya coming towards the lake. The bird asked Sonya, “Are you a bird? What kind of bird you are and can you even fly?”. Sonya became a little nervous and said, “What kind of bird you are? Can you even swim?” Listening to this Sasha replied, “Birds can never swim.” Sonya said, “Yes, they can” and she jumped into the lake to show the bird that she can swim. The little bird was amazed.Back at home, the grandfather was awake and saw that the peter’s room was empty. Ivan and Sonya were also not there at home. The grandfather knew Peter would have gone to the forest. The grandfather ran towards the forest and saw peter in the forest. The grandfather said peter to come back home with him. Peter denied. As they were arguing, suddenly they saw the wolf coming towards them. The grandfather, peter and Ivan hid behind the tree. But the duck was still in the water. Peter shouted at Sonya and asked him to hide. But the duck was very scared and jumped out of the water. The duck was out of the water but very near to the wolf. As soon as Peter saw the duck, he ran towards the wolf to catch him. Peter had a rope and he went towards the wolf with the rope in his hand. The little bird helped peter to tie the rope around the wolf’s head. They were able to catch the wolf. The duck did not know what was happening so he hid under the tree.Peter and his grandfather took the wolf towards the zoo. Little Bird and Ivan also left for the zoo with them. But Sonya was still in the forest. Peter and his grandfather were so happy that they forgot about the duck. When they were returning from the zoo, they realized that Sonya was not with them. The grandfather and peter felt very bad. They all were very sad and went back to him. As they reached home, they heard the voice, “Quack, Quack”. Peter was surprised hearing the voice and saw Sonya hiding behind the tree. They all were very happy that Sonya was alive and safe.Peter was brave and everyone considered him a hero as he saved everyone from the Wolf. They all lived happily ever after.

This is a story of cat, forest, swan and wolf.Moral(s) of the story: bravery

Peter and the wolf

Once, there lived a farmer in land far away. He was very poor. He lived with his wife. One day they both were very hungry. They did not have anything to eat. Their neighbour had a beautiful garden. The farmer decided to pluck fruits from the garden. As soon as he plucked an apple, a voice came from behind. It was from his neighbour. His neighbour was an old witch. She screamed, “How dare you take fruits from my garden. I will turn you both into rats.” The couple was very scared. They requested her to forgive them and assured her they will never pluck any fruit from her garden. The witch said, “Okay, I will forgive you only if you will give me your first child.” The couple was very scared so they agreed immediately.The couple was blessed with a beautiful baby girl after a few years. When the old witch came to know about the baby, she immediately came and snatched the baby away from them. The witch named her Rapunzel. She did not want her parents to take her away, so she locked her up in a tall tower. The Rapunzel looked pretty when she grew up. She was very beautiful. The most beautiful thing about her was her hair. She had long, golden hair.Rapunzel was locked up in a tower since birth so, the only person she saw in her life was the old witch. The old witch use to come to meet her every day. The witch used to climb the tall tower with the help of Rapunzel’s hair. The witch used to tell Rapunzel to let down her hair from the window and she used to climb the tower with that.A prince was passing by the tower one day and saw the witch climbing the tower with the hair. The prince was surprised and he too wanted to try. When the old witch left the place, the prince went below the tower. He then shouted, “Rapunzel, let your hair down.” Rapunzel heard the noise and threw her hair from the window. The prince climbed the tower and reached to her room. Rapunzel was shocked to see the prince. The prince was very handsome and she had never seen someone like that before. Prince was also stunned to see Rapunzel. They both fell in love instantly. After that, every day they began to meet secretly.However, one day when the witch was climbing the tower, Rapunzel mistakenly said, “You are so much heavier than my prince.” The witch understood what was happening and she got angry on Rapunzel. She screamed and cut off her long hair. She sent Rapunzel into a forest. And that day when the prince came to the tower, the witch cursed the prince and he became blind. The prince then went to find Rapunzel in the forest with no eyesight.After many days, Rapunzel found the prince in the forest among the trees. The prince had many injuries. Rapunzel cried when she came to know that the prince had lost his eyesight. As Rapunzel was crying, her tears fell on the prince. Due to her tears, the wounds of the prince started healing. The eyesight of the prince came back. The prince opened his eyes and the first thing he saw was Rapunzel. They both were really happy to see each other. They both hugged each other and decided to go to the prince’s kingdom. They went far away from the wicked witch to the prince’s kingdom and lived happily ever after. Moral:The value of patience and determination. It also teaches the consequences of stealing.

This is a story of hair, kingdom, prince, rapunzel and witch.Moral(s) of the story: bravery and strength

Rapunzel

In the Motunui island, there lived a beautiful little girl named Moana. When kids of her age loved toys and chocolates, she had huge affection towards the ocean. She always loved the ocean. The other thing she loved was listening to Gramma Tala’s stories. From the stories, Moana’s favourite was the story about the trickster demigod Maui. In the story, Maui stole the heart of the mother island, TeFiti. Maui upset the balance of nature by stealing the heart according to Gramma.Little Moana’s affection and deep connection with the ocean scared her family. Her father, Chief Tui believed that the ocean was dangerous. Moana always felt a deep connection with all the creatures that belonged to the ocean. But the islanders were not allowed to sail beyond the bank. The ocean noticed the affection of Moana and gave a special gift to her. When her dad picked her, Moana dropped the gift. The gift was Gramma Tala. Someone else picked the gift dropped by Moana. She believed that the ocean’s real gift was the heart of TeFiti.When Moana grew up, she worked hard for her people and followed her father’s rules. But one day, when Moana turned sixteen, Gramma Tala took her aside and said that it was time for her to learn what she was meant to be. Gramma took her to a hidden cavern full of ancient canoes. Moana started drumming the canoes and she could feel the spirit of her ancestors who were the way-finders-voyagers on the ocean.The last wish of Gramma Tala was that Moana goes to the journey across the ocean and find Maui to restore the heart of TeFiti. By keeping the heart safe inside her necklace, Moana got ready to sail the ocean. Sailing on the ocean was difficult for Moana and it became worse when a storm hit the ocean.Moana met Maui the demigod when her boat reached on a faraway island. Maui was not as per the expectations of the Moana. He even stole Moana’s boat and tried to sail away. But the ocean made sure that Moana accompanied him. The ocean wanted them to work together.He promised her to return the heart of TeFiti only if she helped him in finding his magic fishhook. To get the fishhook, they had to pass Kakamora, an army of wild coconut-clad thieves. After that, they had to dive into the Lalotai, the kingdom of monsters. Moana smartly tricked a crab monster named Tamatoa and they recovered the missing fishhook.Maui taught Moana how to find way using the sun, the stars, the moon, and the ocean current to navigate. On the way to reach TeFiti, the journey became too difficult, Gramma Tala’s spirit returned and it said, “Know who you are meant to be”.After the long journey, they finally reached TeFiti. There they saw that the mother of the island was gone and instead there was a lava monster named, Te Ka. Maui and Moana tried hard but they could not defeat Te Ka. An idea stuck Moana and with all her courage she gave the heart to TeKa. The monster after receiving the heart remembered who she was meant to be. The monster was TeFiti. After receiving the heart, TeFiti bloomed once again. The world restored its balance.Moana and Maui’s journey together completed and they said goodbye to each other. Moana returned to her people. The little girl from the Motunui island now knew who she was meant to be. She was a daughter, a leader, and a way-finder. She was brave Moana. Moral:Be courageous and brave.

This is a story of Moana and courage.Moral(s) of the story: courage and bravery

Moana

Ravina Sewani

Once upon a time there was a shy and quiet octopus. He nearly always went about on his own because, although he wanted to have lots of friends, he was too self-conscious.One day, the octopus was trying to catch a very slippery oyster. Before he knew it, he had tied himself into one massive knot, and he couldn't move. He tried with all his strength to wriggle free, but it was no good. In the end, despite the great embarrassment he felt at being seen in such a tangle, he had to ask for help from the passing fish. Many fish swam past, ignoring him, but one very kind little fish offered to help to untie all those tentacles from all those suckers.The octopus felt heartily relieved when he was finally set free, but he was so shy that he didn't dare talk to the fish and make friends with him. He simply thanked the fish, and quickly swam off. Later, the octopus spent the whole night thinking that he had wasted a great opportunity to make friends with that very kind little fish.A couple of days later the octopus was resting between some rocks, when he noticed that everyone around was hurriedly swimming past. He looked into the distance and saw an enormous fish coming over to feed in that area. The octopus quickly hid; then, peeping an eye out from his hiding place, he saw that the huge fish was chasing the kind little fish who had untied him. That little fish really needed urgent help, but the big fish was so dangerous-looking that no one dared to go near. The octopus, remembering how the little fish had helped him, felt that he had to do whatever he could to come to his aid.Without hesitating, the octopus shot out from the rocks, like a ray. He put himself right in the path of the giant fish, and before the fish could do anything about it, the octopus had shot out the biggest jet of ink of his life. He grabbed the little fish, and swam off back to hide in the rocks. Everything happened so fast that the big fish had no time to react. However, he soon recovered from the surprise. Off he went to the rocks, looking for the octopus and the little fish. Now he really wanted to gobble them down!Soon, though, he began feeling a terrible itch; first in his gills, and then in his fins, and then all over his body. It turned out that this giant fish had a very artistic nature, he adored colours; and the octopus's dark ink had given him a terrible allergy!!So the big fish swam away, irritated all over.As soon as he was gone, all the fish who had been hiding came and congratulated the octopus for being so brave. Then the little fish told them all how he had helped the octopus a few days earlier, but he had never known anyone be so grateful that they would end up doing something so dangerous. Hearing this, the other fish discovered how nice the shy octopus was, and everyone around was keen to be the friend of such a brave and honourable octopus.Moral: Never leave an opportunity to show gratitude no matter how much difficult the situation seems.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

This is a story of fish and octopus.Moral(s) of the story: bravery and gratitude

An octopus in trouble

Callipso Island was a beautiful island where leopards and cheetahs lived on opposite sides of the tall and long wall. Leila was a leopard cub. Leila was a leopard, but she wished she was a cheetah. The problem was, leopards did not like cheetahs and cheetahs did not like leopards. Cheetahs were rich and leopards were poor. Cheetahs had enough food to eat and lived in tree houses with rooftop swimming pools. Cheetah children had playgrounds with slides made of glass and swings that whirled you through waterfalls so it felt like you were flying with the birds. Leopards did not even have enough food to eat. Leopards were not allowed on the cheetahs’ side of the wall. Tigers and grown-up cheetahs guarded it. One morning Leila was very sad because it was her birthday and her mother was too poor to buy ingredients to bake a cake. She went to her olive tree and curled up at the top. Amidst the silence of the dawn, her tears sounded very loud. On the cheetahs’ side of the wall, a group of cheetah children played football by it. One of the cheetah heard Leila cry and looked up. “Why are you crying?” the cheetah asked. “It’s my birthday and I didn’t get any cake or presents because my parents don’t have any money.” “Happy birthday!” said the cheetah, kindly. “I will make you a present today at school.” “Thank you.” Leila said. “You are a nice cheetah. What’s your name?” “My name is Charlie. What’s your name?” “My name is Leila.” “Meet me here this evening after school,” said Charlie, and he galloped off with his football. That evening, Leila climbed her tree and wondered if Charlie would remember to bring her a present. Charlie came as promised. “Catch!” he said. A paper aeroplane came gliding through the air and Leila caught it in her paws. “Open it!” Charlie called. Leila opened the aeroplane and inside was a bunch of flowers that Charlie had threaded into a bracelet. The message said: ‘Happy birthday Leila. Love from Charlie’. Leila grinned from ear to ear. “Thank you!” she called back. Charlie then ran off because the police tigers had started to growl at him. Leila wore her new bracelet and returned home. Her father arrived home very late. He had missed her party. He said, “I travelled all day to pick you some strawberries from the strawberry bush but I could not find any as the weather was bad." Leila understood and hugged her dad. At twilight, a shimmering, silver glaze settled over the ocean. Leila liked to rest here. Her grandfather lay next to her. “Grandad, tell me about the olden days, when leopards and cheetahs were all friends on Callipso Island.” Leila said. Leila’s grandfather lit his pipe and began, “In the early days when I myself was a child, the cat kingdom existed in harmony. Leopards and cheetahs lived happily side by side on Callipso Island. “So what went wrong?” Leila asked. “The greedy tigers came from the other side of the ocean and paid the cheetahs in gold and silver to get all the antelopes for themselves. “The tigers and the cheetahs built the wall overnight and the cheetahs got to stay on good side of the island with all the antelope parks and the fruitful land. The leopards were given the bad, smaller and barren side of the island.” The next day, Leila's father climbed to the cheetah's side of the wall to get strawberries for her daughter. But as soon as he jumped to the other side, the tigers and the cheetahs guarding the wall pounced on him and injured him badly. Leila’s father limped back to his den and Leila and her mother spent the night licking his wounds better. Leila woke up early next morning and rushed to her safe space – the olive tree. She cried and cried and thought that last night was all her fault. “Why are you crying?” Charlie asked her. She told him all about the tigers and the cheetahs hurting the leopards. “Leila, I want to give you a cuddle but I can’t reach you.” Charlie said. He stood on the ground wondering how he could help. That night, Leila joined hundreds of leopards at the big wall and all the leopards prayed for the quick recovery of Leila’s father. Suddenly, they heard singing from across the wall, a beautiful melody carried in the calm wind. Leila climbed over the olive tree and saw rows of cheetahs. They were holding paws and their singing became louder. Leila spotted Charlie and Charlie saw Leila. He shouted up to the tree, “My friends and I were so angry about how the tigers hurt you all. This wall is silly. Leopards and cheetahs should be friends again. We told all our families and friends at school. And here we all are. BREAK DOWN THE WALL!” “Break down the wall!” all the cheetahs chanted. “We are all cats! We are all equal!” Leila called her leopard friends, “Come up here!” she cried. The leopards stood on top of the wall and held their paws together too, joining in the chanting. The leopards jumped over the wall and the cheetahs clapped and cheered in welcome. The tigers crawled away, back to the land they came from. Charlie took Leila on the swing and they swung through the waterfalls. He gave Leila the cuddle he had wanted to give her. It was the best party that Leila had ever had. And so this day became known as the day when the little cats broke down the wall. It was the bravery of cheetahs and leopards and their good hearts which finally brought peace to Callipso Island. Moral:Bravery in the face of injustice is bound to bring great changes.

This is a story of leopard and cheetah.Moral(s) of the story: friendship, bravery

The Leopard and The Cheetah

One day, a hungry jackal was looking for food in an old battlefield. Suddenly he heard a strange noise coming from a distance. He wondered what could be the source of that frightening noise. At first he decided to run away from there and save his life. Maybe it was a monster who was making such a loud noise. The jackal started running but then he suddenly stopped. He thought that it was unwise to run away without investigating the incident. He gathered courage and slowly walked towards the sound. When he reached very close to the sound, he hid behind a rock and peeped. The jackal saw a big drum lying near a tree. Due to a strong wind, the branches of the tree were rubbing against the drum and making that noise.The jackal had a hearty laugh at himself. He was happy to solve the mystery of the noise. He tore open the drum, thinking that perhaps there was some food inside it but was extremely disappointed to find nothing. Though the jackal did not find anything to eat inside the drum, he was happy with himself for being brave and not running away like a coward. Moral:Be brave and you shall overcome all your obstacles.

This is a classic story from panchtantra.This is a story of jackal.Moral(s) of the story: bravery

The jackal and the drum

Book Author

As a child, Chandra Shekhar was very brave and fearless. Once in Diwali, he fired the colour match stick in his palm. His palm was burnt badly so he thought that his father will be angry so he left home and ran away to the jungle!As a child he attended the village school but did not take much interest in studies and used to roam around and play with tribal boys, using bows and arrows as toys. The village life somehow did not interest him and one day he left without informing his parents. He was fourteen at the time. His worried parents were relieved when they received a letter from their son telling them that he was in Kashi, studying Sanskrit in a pathshala (school).We all know the famous court incident when just 15 year old Chandra Shekhar told the judge that his name is Azad and his house is prison! He was sentenced blow of whip. When he was getting blow on his back, he kept shouting slogans like “Bharat Mata ki Jay”, “Mahatma Gandhi ki Jay”. After this incident, he was known as Azad! Chandra Shekhar Azad’s Message for YouthChandra Shekhar Azad has inspired the young generation with useful messages. He said, “Don't see others doing better than you, beat your own records everyday, because success is a fight between you and yourself.”He said, “If yet your blood does not rage, then it is water that flows in your veins. For what is the flush of youth, if it is not of service to the motherland.”“A plane is always safe on the ground but it is not made for that. Always take some meaningful risks in life to achieve great heights.”

As a child, Chandra Shekhar was very brave and fearless. Once in Diwali, he fired the colour match stick in his palm. His palm was burnt badly so he thought that his father will be angry so he left home and ran away to the jungle!

Chandra Shekhar Azad’s Childhood

Maharana Pratap was a brave ruler and leader from Rajasthan. Maharaja Mansingh who was the king of Jaipur once came to meet Rana Pratap. Mansingh had tied his sister’s knot with Akbar to save his state. He was general of Akbar and came to meet Rana Pratap to convince him to sign the treaty. Rana Pratap greeted him well but denied to accompany him for the food. When asked for the reason he said, “I do not accompany Rajputs who in order to save their state have surrendered their daughters or sisters to Mughals.” Mansingh’s ego was badly hurt after hearing this. He decided to attack Rana Pratap.Mansingh along with Salim (Akbar’s son) went on to attack Rana Pratap. A fierce battle was fought on 18 June 1576 at HaldiGhati. Rana Pratap gave a tough fight to Mansingh and his army.Rana Pratap was trying to get out of the encircled army but someone fired an arrow on Rana Pratap’s horse Chetak. The horse was badly wounded due to the arrow. In spite of the wound, Chetak continued running. He carried Rana on his back and they came across a stream. Chetak died when they reached as he ran out of capacity.Rana Pratap had a younger brother Shaktisingh who worked for the Akbar. In the middle of the battle, Rana Pratap saw Shaktisingh killing soldiers from the Mughal army. Ranaji was surprised when he saw that. Shakti Singh came to meet Ranaji and immediately hugged him. he said, “Dada, I do the service to the Mughal but you are still my idol. I work for Mughals as I do not possess courage and a strong mind like you but you are still my ideal.”Although Akbar and his army tried to defeat Rana Pratap but their attempts were not successful in front of determined, courageous and strong Rana Pratap.

This is a story of Akbar, Maan sigh and Maharana Pratap.Moral(s) of the story: bravery

bravery 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.