Yesha Desai

Once upon a time a king gave a holiday to all the royal workers in his kingdom. The king’s gardener also wanted to avail a day’s holiday but he had to water the plants at the royal garden. It was summer time, and he could not leave the plants without water. He knew that if the plants died, he would have to face the king’s wrath. So, he thought of assigning the task of watering the plants to someone else.Just then he saw some monkeys having fun and frolic in the king’s garden and got a strange idea. He approached the chief of the monkeys and said, “You must consider yourselves lucky to be living in the royal garden. You get to play on the lush green trees and eat the fresh fruits from the garden. You must do something to show your gratitude towards the king.” All the monkeys were listening carefully to the gardener. The gardener further added, “The king has given a day’s holiday to all the royal workers. But, I cannot go anywhere as I have to water the plants. If you agree to water the plants for one day, the king would be very happy with you and I would also be able to go out with my friends.”The chief of the monkeys readily agreed to do the job and said, “We shall be glad to do that for our generous king.” The gardener gave the watering pots to the monkeys and went away. When the monkeys began to water the young trees, a query popped in their mind. They asked their chief, “How shall we know when each tree has been given enough water?” The chief of the monkeys scratched his head for a while and said, “Pull up each young tree and look at the length of its roots. Give more water to the trees with long roots, and only a little to the ones that have short roots.”Then the stupid monkeys uprooted all the trees of the garden to see which trees had long roots and which had short roots. When the gardener came back the next day, he was taken aback to see the deplorable condition of the royal garden. He could do nothing but repent over his act of foolishness. Moral:Foolishness always has bad consequences.

This is a classic story from Jataka tales.This is a story of gardener and monkey.

The stupid monkeys

Once, Emperor Akbar was looking for a suitable candidate for the post of his royal advisor. Several courtiers coveted the prestigious post and requested the Emperor to give them a chance. The number of the contenders for the post was increasing day by day and thus, the Emperor decided to test them for their intellectual abilities and wit. He announced, “I want all those who wish to be my royal advisor to appear for a test. The one who would pass the test will be appointed my advisor.” They agreed.Akbar unfastened his waist cloth and lay down on the floor, and asked the candidates to cover him with that cloth from head to toe. All the courtiers were perplexed by the Emperor’s strange test. They tried their best to cover the Emperor’s body with the waist cloth, but since it was very small in size, it could not cover the whole body. When the courtiers covered the Emperor’s head, his feet remained uncovered, and when they tried to cover his feet, then his head remained open.Just then Birbal entered the court, the king asked Birbal also to try to cover him with that cloth from head to toe. Birbal took a moment, and then asked the Emperor politely, “Huzoor, Could you pull up your knees a little bit?” The Emperor curled his legs up, and Birbal easily covered him from head to toe with that cloth.All the courtiers realized that they were not worth the appointment of the royal advisor and withdrew their claims.

This is a classic story from Akbar Birbal.

Birbal solves the problem

Shina Utavani

One upon a time, there was a lake near the forest. In the lake, there lived a crab. The crab had a best friend Swan who also lived near the lake. They both were great friends and lived happily in the forest.One day, the snake came to live near the lake. The snake would eat the swan’s egg and would create many problems for the swan. The swan was very scared. So, he went to Crab and said, “My dear friend, I am facing trouble because of the arrival of the snake. It eats all my eggs and I cannot even fight with him. I am very scared, please help me.” Near the lake, there also lived a mongoose. The crab had a plan. He said, “I have an idea, my friend. We will get some fish from the lake and throw them one by one from the snake’s house to the mongoose’s house.”Swan and Crab collected some fish from the lake and scattered them in a row from the snake’s house to the mongoose’s house. After throwing the fish they immediately went to their home. They waited for the mongoose to step out of his house. As soon as the mongoose came out, he saw fish on his door. He took the fish in his hand and started eating them. He started eating all the fish and followed the trail. As soon as he went ahead to eat the fish, he reached closer to the snake’s house. After some time, he reached the snake’s house.He said, “My enemy is here, I must kill it.” The snake and mongoose got into an ugly fight and in the end, the snake was killed. The swan and crab were very happy.The next day, the mongoose was very hungry, so he decided to eat more snakes. As soon as he reached near the lake, instead of snakes, he saw Swan’s eggs. The mongoose immediately grabbed the swan’s egg and started eating them. He liked them and decided to come there every day. The swan and the crab became helpless. By their foolish action, they had invited a new enemy which was more dangerous than the previous one.They were left with no option but to leave their homes. They always remembered the lesson that mongoose had taught them. Moral:Thoughtless actions lead to disaster.

This is a story of crab, egg, forest, lake, mongoose, snake and swan.Moral(s) of the story: foolishness

The crab, swan and the snake

The Ramayan is an ancient Sanskrit epic written by the famous sage Valmiki. It describes Lord Rama's effort to rescue Sita from the demon king Ravana. It also describes the challenges faced by Lord Rama, Laxaman, and Sita when they were exiled from the kingdom for 14 years. Following is a story from “The Ramayana”.Lord Hanuman is one of the bravest and most powerful characters in Ramayana. There is a story behind how he got the name ‘Bajrang Bali’.One day, Hanuman saw Sita applying something on her forehead. He was curious to know what she was applying on her forehead. So, he asked, “What are you applying on your forehead.” Sita replied, “I am applying vermilion (sindoor).” Hanuman again asked, “But what is the reason behind it?” Sita replied that it was a ritual that would result in longer and healthier life of Ram. As Hanuman was a big devotee of Ram, he also wanted to do something for a healthier and longer life of Lord Ram. So, he covered his entire body with vermillion. When lord ram saw Hanuman covered in vermillion, he laughed and named him ‘Bajrang Bali’. The word Bajrang Bali comes from the word Bajrang which means ‘Orange’ and Bali meaning ‘Strong”.

This is a story of Hanuman, Ram and Sita.

The story behind the name Bajrang Bali

Ravina Sewani

Long, long ago, there was a King who was very fond of painting portraits. One day he went to a hilltop and painted a beautiful picture on a canvas. When the picture was ready, he stood before the picture. He moved to and fro and gave it a finishing touch with his brush. Then he stepped backwards, looking at the picture before him, to see how it looked from a distance. He reached almost the edge of the hill.A shepherd boy, who was grazing his sheep on the hill, saw the King. He thought that if the King moved back even a bit, he would fall down into the valley below and die. So he ran to the picture and tore it with a hard blow of his stick.The King was very angry with the boy. He rushed to the boy and caught him. He angrily shouted, “You fool! What have you done? I will kill you.”The shepherd boy fell on his knees before the King and said in a humble voice, “Sir, please look back. If I had not done this, you would have fallen down and lost your life.”The King looked back and thanked the boy for saving his life. He said to the boy, “If you had not used your presence of mind, I would have certainly died.” Then the King took the boy with him to the palace and rewarded him with rich gifts.Later, the boy was brought to the palace and brought up there under the personal care of the King. After a few years, he was made the King’s Chief Minister. Moral:A stitch in time saves nine.

This is a classic story from Vikas books.This is a story of king.Moral(s) of the story: smartness

The King and the Shepherd Boy

Pallavi Hota

Mahabharata is an ancient Indian epic about the brothers, Pandavas and kauravas. It describes the battle between them in the Kurukshetra war for the throne of Hastinapura. It is an epic tale that combines war, religion, philosophy and Hindu history. Following is a story from “The Mahabharata.” The Pandavas were superior to the Kauravas in every respect, both in strength and intelligence. They were greatly appreciated for their innate noble qualities. Bhishma advised Dhritarashtra to declare Yudhishthira as the crown prince of Hastinapur since he was the eldest and was endowed with all the qualities necessary in a king. Duryodhana’s jealousy of the Pandavas increased after learning that Yudhishthira would be declared the crown prince. Out of anger, Duryodhana hatched a plan to kill the Pandavas so that he could ascend the Hastinapur throne. One day Duryodhana approached his father, Dhritarashtra, and requested him to send the Pandavas to the annual Pashupati fair in Varnavat, a place far away from Hastinapur. Ignorant of any foul play, Dhritarashtra asked the Pandavas to attend the fair. Duryodhana, on the other hand, secretly ordered his trusted aide and architect Purochana, to make a special palace, with highly inflammable materials, specially for the Pandavas (Lakshagriha – house of lacquer). His wicked plan was to burn the Pandavas alive while sleeping. The Lakshagriha was to be burnt on an Amavasya night. When that night finally reached Purochana, not knowing that the Pandavas were simply sleeping assumed them to be dead. To celebrate this Purochana began drinking and within hours was drunk. Utilizing this opportunity the Pandavas set fire to the palace and escaped through the tunnel that Vidura helped them build for emergency purposes.

This is a story of Dritarashtra and Pandavas.

Escape from Lakshagriha

Bible is the collection of 66 books written by different authors describing the God's action and purpose with all creations. Bible contains life stories of Jesus. The bible gives the messages God has desired for us to understand. Following is a story from “The Bible”. One day, Moses, the most important Jewish prophet, played many vital roles in the holy book Bible, saw an Egyptian man beating a Hebrew man. The sight of such injustice broke young Moses’ heart. As he tried to stop the fight, the Egyptian man was killed. Left with no other option, Moses had to flee Egypt to save his life.Moses wandered around as a shepherd, trying to understand the purpose of his life. One day, as he sat near Mount Horeb, tending to his sheep, he saw a miraculous sight! The Lord himself appeared to Moses in the middle of a burning bush. As Moses looked on with wonder, God spoke out “Remove your sandals as you stand on sacred ground.” Then he told Moses that the people of Egypt needed him, so he was to go back to save the Hebrew slaves. Moses was confused and said, “I am but a common man. How can I convince the Pharaoh to let slaves go? And in any case, the sons of Israel, the Hebrews in Egypt won’t follow me!” God knew that Moses still did not trust his strength, so he said, “Throw your stuff to the ground.” Moses did as the Lord said, and lo behold, the stuff turned into a serpent. And as Moses picked up the serpent it again became his stuff. Moses finally understood that he was God’s chosen one. With complete faith and trust in the Lord, Moses left for Egypt to save the sons of Israel. The story of Moses will be one of the kids favourite bible stories. Moral:We all have the strength to change the world.

This is a story of Moses.Moral(s): trust

The Story Of Moses

One day, a rich man wanted to get an innocent man named Hasan, punished for some grudge that he held against him. He accused him of stealing his wife’s valuable necklace, and reported this theft in the Emperor’s court.Emperor Akbar asked the man, “Why do you think that Hasan has stolen the necklace from your place?” The rich man replied, “Your Majesty, I have myself seen him stealing the necklace!” Hasan said, “No Huzoor, I am innocent! I do not know anything about the necklace.”The rich man said, “Huzoor, if he is innocent, ask him to prove his innocence by holding a hot iron rod in his bare hands. If he is able to do so, then I will believe that he has not stolen my necklace, and he is speaking the truth.”The rich man also convinced the Emperor that if Hasan was telling the truth then the holy deities above would not let any harm come to him and it was the most ideal way to test the innocence of the accused person. The Emperor ordered Hasan to appear in his court the next day and do as directed by the rich man.Poor Hasan was at his wit’s end. He went to Raja Birbal for help. Birbal could understand that the man was telling the truth and suggested a clever idea to him.When he returned the next day, he said, “I am ready for the test. But the same thing should be applied to the rich man as well. If he is speaking the truth, then the red hot iron should not burn his hands also. So, first let him hold the hot iron rod in his hands, and then I will hold that iron in my bare hands.”Now, the rich man was speechless! He requested the Emperor Akbar to let him go and look for the necklace again in his house; maybe his wife had misplaced it somewhere in the house itself.Emperor Akbar ordered the rich man to give the necklace to Hasan as a punishment and praised Raja Birbal for his clever idea. Moral:Framing someone for a crime and lying does not end well.

This is a classic story from Akbar Birbal.Moral(s) of the story: honesty and lying

Red Hot Test

Once, a village merchant named Vardhmanaka was going to Mathura on his bullock cart. His two bullocks, Sanjeevaka and Nandaka, who had always served him faithfully, were pulling the cart. As they were walking along the bank of river the Yamuna, Sanjeevaka all of a sudden stepped into a marshy area and got stuck. He tried to get out of the marsh with all his strength. The merchant also tried to get Sanjeevaka out of the marsh, but nothing worked. Ultimately, Vardhmanaka was left with no choice but to leave Sanjeevaka there and go on with his journey. So, Sanjeevaka was left there, stuck in the marsh. He thought sadly, “I served my master faithfully throughout my life and this is how he has treated me. Now, there were only two options for Sanjeevaka—either to try with all his might to escape from the marsh or to give up and die there. He thought, “It is said that God helps those who help themselves. I will not give up. I will try my best to get out of this marsh.” So, Sanjeevaka used every bit of his strength and energy to struggle against the marsh that was pulling him down, and finally he managed to get out of it.Now, Sanjeevaka had nowhere to go. He did not want to return to his master’s house after his master had deserted him so heartlessly. So, he started walking along the banks of the river. He wandered about, eating fresh grass in the nearby forest and drinking water from the river. Soon, living in the natural environment, he regained his strength and became healthier than ever. He started bellowing like a lion. His bellows sounded like thunder and could be heard from miles away.One day, the king lion of the forest, Pingalaka, went to the river to drink water. There, he heard the thunder-like bellowing which scared him so much that he ran back to his cave at once. His ministers were two jackals, Damnaka and Kartaka. When Damnaka saw that the king seemed to be afraid of something, he went and asked the king about it. “What is the matter, my lord? Has something scared you?” he asked. “Tell me, and I will bring it in front of you at once.”Though the lion, being the king, did not want to admit his fears, he ultimately told Damnaka about the frightening thunder-like sound. Damnaka at once left to investigate the source of the sound. Soon, Damnaka brought Sanjeevaka to the court and said, “This is the animal who has been making those frightful sounds, My Lord. He says that Lord Shiva has sent him to roam around in our forest.”King Pingalaka was pleased to meet Sanjeevaka. Soon, they became friends and spent most of their time chatting with each other. Gradually, the lion started becoming more and more spiritual. He started neglecting his kingdom and even stopped hunting for his prey. This made Damnaka, Kartaka and his other subjects very worried.Then, Damnaka came up with a plan. He went up to the king and said, “My lord, Sanjeevaka has evil plans about your kingdom. He plans to kill you, take over your kingdom and become the king himself.”And the next day, he went to Sanjeevaka and said, “King lion is no true friend of yours. He has planned to kill you and distribute your flesh to the whole kingdom. You should kill him with your sharp horns before he kills you.”Sanjeevaka was very furious on hearing this. He went to the king’s court and started bellowing in a thundering tone. The lion, who had already been misinformed by Damaka as to Sanjeevaka’s intentions, was himself very furious. Like a flash, the lion pounced on Sanjeevaka with a loud roar.Both, Pingalaka and Sanjeevaka, were strong. They had a gruesome fight at the end of which, Pingalaka killed Sanjeevaka with his sharp claws and ate his flesh. Though he had killed Sanjeevaka, Pingalaka felt sad about it. Sanjeevaka had been is friend. But since Damnaka had convinced him that Sanjeevaka was a traitor, he had no choice but to kill him. Damnaka was later made the chief minister of the kingdom. Moral:One should never be friends with a natural enemy.

This is a classic story from panchtantra.This is a story of bull, jackal and lion.Moral(s) of the story: friendship

chattrapati shivaji 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.