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.

Shina Utavani

Once there lived two cats who were best friends. They lived together and used to have a lot of fun.The two cats were roaming around one day. On a street, the cats found a loaf of bread. They took the loaf of bread and decided to break it into two. One of the cats said, “You take one of the pieces and I will take one.” the bread looked extremely delicious. The other cat agreed.They took the loaf and decided to break it equally. But both of them could not decide who will cut the loaf into two equal parts. They both were arguing over who will cut the bread. Meanwhile, a monkey saw the cats quarrelling over the bread. “Such foolish cats,” he thought. The monkey was also hungry so he made a plan.The monkey went to the cats and said, “Let me help you.” The monkey said, “let me decide who will break the loaf.” The cats said, “Then why do not you divide the loaf equally.” The monkey agreed. He divided the loaf into two parts.The two parts of the loaf were not equal. One of the pieces was larger than the other. Before the cats could say anything, the monkey said, “Let me take a bite of a larger piece and then it will be equal.” The cats agreed. This time the monkey purposefully took a bigger bite of the large piece. Thereby the piece became very small. And then the monkey told, “OH!! Now let me bite the other piece so that they will become equal.” The monkey took another bite of the bread. He continued doing so until he finished the bread loaf all by himself.The poor cats were left with no bread. The monkey said, “That was a very tasty bread. Sorry, it was difficult to divide the bread equally. I should go now,”. The monkey left the place. The cats then realized their mistake and thought it would have been better if they ate the bread without fighting. Moral:When we fight amongst ourselves, a third person gets the benefit.

This is a story of beard, cat, friend and monkey.Moral(s) of the story: idiot

Two cats and the monkey

Ravina Sewani

Once, a great number of mice used to live in a grocer’s shop. They ate the fresh, tasty wheat, rice, bread, cheese and biscuits that were kept in the shop. They were having a great time and living easy, comfortable lives, growing fatter day by day.But the grocer was concerned about the losses that he was suffering because of the damage done to his stock by the mice. So, he thought of a solution and bought a big, fat cat to keep in his shop.From that day onwards, the cat began to catch the mice every day. The mice were terrified of even stepping out of their holes. They could not reach the food anymore. This was a great cause of worry for them. They decided to call a meeting of all the mice in the shop to discuss this problem.They got together and started thinking. One of them suggested that they must get rid of the fat cat but no one could think of a way of doing so. So they kept thinking of other ways. Finally, one mouse spoke up, “We should tie a bell around the cat’s neck. That way, whenever the cat is near or is coming in our direction, we would get to know by the ringing of the bell and we can quickly run back to our holes.”This idea was much appreciated by the other mice. They thought that this was the best plan. They began dancing and celebrating with joy. But their celebrations did not last very long for soon an old and experienced mouse said, “You fools! Stop celebrating and first tell me: who will bell the cat?”None of the mice had an answer to this question. They had not thought about this major problem in their seemingly perfect plan. This is why it is said that making a plan is one thing but executing it is an entirely different thing. Moral:Do not count your chickens before they are hatched. The mice were over excited and proud of themselves without thinking about the actual execution of their seemingly perfect plan.

This is a story of bell, cat, greengrocer, mouse and panchtantra.Moral(s) of the story: foolishness and over confidence

Who will bell the cat?

Once, there lived a washer man in the city of Patna who had a donkey that used to carry all the clothes to the riverside and back. The washer man used to feed the donkey well. The donkey also worked very hard for his master. But as time passed, the donkey grew old and was no longer able to work as hard as before. The cruel washer man stopped feeding the donkey as he was of no use for him. The donkey felt miserable and decided to go to Calcutta to become a musician. So, one fine day, the donkey left the washer man’s house to go to Calcutta.On his way, he met an old dog that was crying uncontrollably. The donkey asked him, “What is the matter, my dear friend? Why are you crying?” The poor dog replied, “My master used to love me very much till the time I was young and alert enough to guard his house. But now age has caught up with me and I am not able to catch the thieves. So, my cruel master has thrown me out of the house.” The donkey replied, “The same thing happened to me. So I have decided to go to Calcutta to become a musician. Why don’t you join me?” The dog agreed to accompany the donkey and together they set out for Calcutta.On their way, they both met a cat who was crying horribly. The dog and the donkey asked him, “Why are you crying?” The cat replied, “My master brought me to this house when I was very young. I could catch a lot of rats every day and my master gave me lot of milk to drink. But now I have become old and cannot catch rats anymore. So my master has turned me out of the house. I am crying because of that.” The donkey and dog were very sorry to hear the cat’s story. They asked her to join them. The cat thought it was a very good idea and then the donkey, dog and the cat started walking towards Calcutta.Walking ahead, they met a rooster that was weeping bitterly. The donkey, dog and the cat asked the rooster, “Why are you crying?” The rooster replied, “My master brought me to this house when I was young. I used to wake up early morning and wake him up so that he could go to work early. He also used to give me good food. But now I have become old. I keep sleeping till late in the morning. So, I am not able to wake him up and because of this, my master has kicked me out of the house.” Then the donkey, dog and the cat told the rooster, “We are very sorry to hear your story. We also became old and our masters are not giving us food. So we decided to go to Calcutta to become musicians. Why don’t you come with us?” The rooster thought it was a very good idea and joined them.By the evening, the four friends got very tired of walking. They were feeling very hungry. Then, the rooster climbed up the tree and noticed some light coming from a distance. They thought maybe they would be able to find something to eat there. So, they followed the source of light and when they reached there, they saw that the light was coming from a big house. The rooster volunteered to fly around and find out who lived inside the house. He found out that the house belonged to three robbers and they had a lot of food stacked up in the house. The four friends were starving by now, so they spoke to each other and made a plan.The donkey stood with his legs on the window. The dog stood on him. The cat stood on the dog and the rooster flew and remained on the top. All of them started singing at the same time. The robbers who were inside mistook the four animals for a strange looking ghost and ran away.The donkey, the dog, the cat and the rooster went inside and ate to their heart’s content. Then, they decided to spend the night in the house. The cat decided to sleep on the stove in the kitchen. The dog decided to sleep near the gate. The donkey decided to sleep near the outside wall and the rooster decided to sleep on the roof.The robbers who had run away were also hungry. They were watching their house from far away. One of them came back to the house sent to see if everything was all right. That robber slowly entered the house through the back door and went into the kitchen. He wanted to see whether there was milk on the stove.When he reached near the stove, the cat jumped up and scratched his face. The robber was terrified by this sudden attack and ran outside. The dog, who was lying near the door, bit his leg. He ran near the wall. The donkey kicked him and threw him on the roof. The rooster who was there on the roof, pecked all over him with his sharp beak.The robber jumped from the roof and ran to his friends. He told them in a shaking voice, “That ghost has now entered our house. It scratched me, bit me, kicked me and pecked me. We must never go back there.” The other robbers agreed and went away. The donkey, the dog, the cat and the rooster lived happily in that house and gave up the idea of going to Calcutta. At night, all of them used to practice music. Moral:Every creature deserves love and affection. Do not be selfish and use animals or birds for as long as they prove to be helpful for you.

This is a classic story from panchtantra.This is a story of cat, dog, donkey and hen.Moral(s) of the story: selfishness

The donkey, the dog, the cat, and the rooster

Once, a little mouse who lived in the country village invited his cousin mouse from the city to visit him. When the city mouse sat down to have dinner, he was surprised to see that the village mouse had nothing to offer him except barley and some grain. He said scornfully, “Dear cousin, is this what you eat every day? I beg your pardon for saying so, but you do not live well at all here in the village. You must come to visit me once and see how I live!” The city mouse bragged further, “I have all sorts of fine things to eat every day. If you see my royal lifestyle there in the city, you would never want to come back.”The village mouse was very impressed to hear about his cousin’s way of life and thus, he decided to visit him. The city mouse warmly welcomed his cousin and the first place that he showed him was the kitchen. There were myriad delicious food items lying in the kitchen cabinets. There was bread, cheese, fruit, cereals and all sorts of grains. The village mouse could not believe his eyes as he had not seen so much of food in one place ever back in his village.Then the two mice went to the dining area to have their lunch. A lavish meal, including delicious cakes, dessert and wine was laid out on the dining table. When they were just about to start their lunch, they heard a distinct ‘Meeeeow’ coming towards them. It was a cat that was about to pounce on them. The two mice left whatever they had in their hands and scampered off to safety.The village mouse was very frightened and asked his cousin, “Who is she? Does she also live here in this house?” The city mouse replied, “She is Snowy, the cat. The owners have kept her to rid the house of the mice. I have to daily deal with her in order to savour all those delicious meals.”The cat looked for them for some time and then left. Both the mice came out again sat down to have their lunch but, just then the owners of that house also came to have their lunch. The mice had to run for their lives again and remain hungry till the night.In the night, the city mouse took his cousin to the cellar to find something to eat. The village mouse saw a big piece of cheese lying on the board and was just about to grab it when he heard his cousin yelling from behind, “Stop! That is a trap! You may get killed.”The little village mouse looked at the trap, and he looked at the cheese, and then he looked at the little city mouse. He said, “I think I will go home. I would rather have barley and grain to eat, and eat it in peace and comfort, than have cakes and desserts and cheese and be frightened to death all the time!” The city mouse had nothing to say. Moral:The luxuries and riches are not the sources of peace and happiness but being satisfied with what we already have is.

This is a classic story from panchtantra.This is a story of cat and mouse.Moral(s) of the story: happiness and peace

Village mouse and the city mouse

Sarah did not like to drink milk. Whenever her mom gave Sarah a glass of milk, she would say, “No, thanks, Mom, no milk for me.” Sarah’s mom knew how important it was for her young daughter to drink milk. Milk had calcium and Sarah needed calcium in order to have strong teeth and bones.One afternoon, Sarah’s mom spoke to Sarah’s teacher, Mrs. Smith, about her problem with Sarah. The next day Mrs. Smith gave Sarah a special book to read. The book was called, “Fluffy.” Sarah loved to read and loved kittens too. Fluffy was a kitten.When Sarah got home from school that day, she ran to her mom, kissed her, and said, “Mom, look. Mrs. Smith gave me a special book to read. It is about a kitten named Fluffy.”“That’s nice, dear. Why don’t you read a bit before dinner?” asked her mom. Sarah washed her hands and sat at the kitchen table to read. After reading for a few minutes, Sarah said, “Oh, poor Fluffy can’t climb a tree because her paws hurt.”Then Sarah said, “Poor Fluffy can’t bend, twirl, or dance because her paws hurt.” Sarah closed her book. Sarah’s mom came to the table and asked, “What’s wrong, dear? Why have you stopped reading?”Sarah said, “It’s Fluffy. She can’t climb, bend, twirl, or dance because she won’t drink milk and, and, and……” Sarah stopped. Then Sarah said, “Mom, may I have a glass of milk?” Sarah drank the glass of milk and said, “If Fluffy needs milk to be healthy and strong, I guess I do, too.” “Yes, dear,” smiled Sarah’s mom. Moral:A glass of milk everyday builds a strong mind and a strong body.

This is a story of mother, daughter, milk and cat.

Sarah and Fluffy

Once upon a time, a sparrow lived on a tree. He had a beautiful and comfortable nest in the tree and used to live in it happily. Each day, the sparrow would go out in search of food and return to the nest in the evening. One day, the sparrow as usual went out to look for food but it started raining heavily so the sparrow had to take shelter in another tree’s branches. The sparrow kept waiting for the rain to stop so that he could go home but the rain did not stop all night.In the morning, when the sky cleared, the sparrow returned to his nest. He was shocked to find a rabbit in his nice and comfortable nest. The sparrow became angry and said, “This is my home. Please leave at once and go back to wherever you have come from.” “Don’t be such a fool,” the rabbit replied. “Things like trees, rivers and lakes don’t belong to anyone. They are only yours as long as you are living in them. If, in your absence, your place is acquired by someone else, then it belongs to them. So, this place is now mine. Don’t disturb me now.”But the sparrow did not see any logic in the rabbit’s statement. He wanted his home back. He said, “Let us go and seek the advice of some wise person who can help us to settle this matter. Now it so happened, that a wild cat who used to live at a little distance from the tree overheard the conversation of the sparrow and the rabbit. He thought of taking advantage of the situation. So he quickly took a dip in the river and then sat like a priest chanting the name of God loudly. When the sparrow and the rabbit heard the chanting and saw the cat sitting there like a priest, they thought that he must be a very wise person. So, they went to consult him hoping that he provide them with impartial justice.The cat was very happy to see the sparrow and the rabbit. He pretended to listen with interest as they told their story and put forth their arguments. As soon as the time was right, he pounced upon them and killed both of them and ate them for his meal. This is how tussles over little, insignificant matters may sometimes lead to disaster. Moral:When you fight among yourself over little things, some third person gains from that usually.

This is a classic story from panchtantra.This is a story of cat, rabbit and sparrow.

The cunning judge

Nishita Sanghvi

A long time ago, the king of the jungle who lived in a cave was frequently irritated by a mouse who would climb up on him always at the time when he was sleeping. The lion tried very hard to kill the mouse but the mouse was too quick for him to get hold of. The moment the lion would try to grab him, the mouse would slip off. The lion was fed up and realized he had to trick the mouse somehow and so he thought of something very clever.The lion went to a nearby village and convinced a cat to come with him. The mouse was obviously scared of the cat and now was very careful in coming out of its hole. The happy lion could now sleep peacefully as the cat acted like the lions guard and the mouse would not want to leave his hole with the cat being around. Every day the lion would share his meal with the cat. Both the master and the servant were thus, passing time happily with each other.One day, the mouse came out of his hole looking for something to eat. The cat pounced on it and the mouse was dead. The lion was extremely happy to know this. Now the lion completely lost interest in the cat and stopped giving him any food as the cat was of no use to him and as a result the cat died of starvation.Therefore, we realize that people usually value things that are of use to them.Moral of the story -Unfortunately people only value things that are of use to them.

This is a story from hitopadesha tales of cat, lion and mouse.Moral(s) of the story: smartness

The Cat Who Served The Lion

Yesha Desai

Once upon a time a woman received a cap from a wizard. The wizard told her that it was a magic cap. “What sort of magic does it do?” The woman asked the wizard.The wizard smiled, “You would have to see that for yourself.” The woman took the cap and walked away with it.When she put the cap on her head she heard, “Give me back my food! You cat, give me back my food.”She looked around but there was no one but two cats fighting with each other. She ignored it, thinking that she was imagining the voices.She walked ahead and near a lake she heard, “Ugh these fishermen. I won’t die today.” She frowned because no one was around. What was happening?She walked some more and then a dog came in front of her, “Please give me some food human.” She was shocked. Was it the dog speaking?The dog barked a reply but she could understand it, “Yes. It was me.” The woman realised that all along, these were the voices of animals and she could understand them because of her magic cap.Not only could she understand what they were saying but even they could understand her.The woman decided to use this gift to help animals whose needs could not be understood. She pledged to create a better life for them.

This is a story of cap, cat, dog, goblin, pixies, troll and wizard.Moral(s) of the story: kindness

The magic cap

A long time ago there lived a partridge, in a safe and warm hollow in a tree. Unfortunately, there was no proper source of food available near his home. So, he decided to go out in search of a good source of food. He soon found a field where there was ample supply of food, so he did not come back to his home for a few days and ate to his heart’s content every day. While the partridge was enjoying himself in the field, a hare happened to see the partridge’s old home. He liked it very much and started living in it. One fine day, the partridge decided to go back to his old home again. He had now grown very fat because of consuming a healthy diet. When he saw the hare comfortably living in his home, he asked him to move out immediately.They had a long verbal argument, but could not arrive at any decision. So one day, they decided to approach someone else who could solve their problem. There lived a cat nearby, when the partridge and the hare approached him, he decided to take advantage of the situation. He slyly said, “My dear friends, I am so sorry, I am old and hard of hearing. Both of you come close to me and tell me your problem. I will do my level best to help you out.” As soon as the partridge and the hare came near the wicked cat, he killed them both and had a lavish meal.This story teaches us that whenever two people have a fight, a third, the mediator often takes advantage of the situation. Moral:Someone else can always benefit from your trifle so you must be careful.

This is classic story form Jataka tales.This is a story of cat and rabbit.Moral(s) of the story: smartness

cat 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.

Two cats and the monkey

Who will bell the cat?

The donkey, the dog, the cat, and the rooster

Village mouse and the city mouse

Sarah and Fluffy

The cunning judge

The Cat Who Served The Lion

The magic cap

The cat, partridge, and the hare

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