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 upon a time, there lived a farmer and a baker. Every day, the farmer used to buy a pound of bread loaf from the baker and the baker would buy a pound of rice from the farmer. They used to do this every day and they both shared a great bond. Soon, they became friends.One day, the baker decided to check the weight of the rice to see if he was getting a pound. When he measured the rice, he found out that he was not getting the right amount of rice. He was very angry and decided to file a complaint against the farmer. He took the farmer to the court.The farmer was very surprised. When the judge asked the farmer, “What measure are you using to weigh the products?” The farmer replied, “Your Honour, I do not have a proper measure but I do have a scale.” The judge was confused and said, “Then how did you measure the rice?”The farmer said, “Your Honour, I measured the rice with the bread loaf. Every day, when the baker brought the bread, I measured the rice on the scale with the bread and gave that rice to the baker. So, it is not my fault. If anyone is to be blamed, it is the baker.”Turns out that the baker was getting what he was giving. Moral:We get back in life what we give to others.

This is a story of baker, bread, farmer and rice.Moral(s) of the story: cheating

The Baker and The Farmer

Ravina Sewani

Once upon a time, a huge elephant lived in a forest. The elephant was very arrogant and cruel. He took advantage of his size and wrecked havoc in the forest. He roamed around in the jungle breaking branches and small trees with his trunk. He did not care about the fact that in this way he destroyed the nests of many birds and killed their babies. In the same way, he ruined many foxes’ homes by trampling over them with his huge and heavy feet. All the animals of the forest were terrorised by the elephant. Even the lions and tigers tried to keep clear of him. The animals had got so fed up of the elephant and his arrogant ways that they wanted to kill him but they could not come up with a way to do this. One day, fed up of the destruction that the elephant was causing, the foxes held a meeting among themselves. They decided that the elephant must be killed so that the other animals of the forest could live in peace. This difficult task of killing the elephant was given to a particularly clever fox.The chosen fox made a careful study of the elephant’s behaviour and daily routine. Then, after much thinking, he made a plan. He went up to the elephant one day and said, “My Lord, I want to speak to you about some urgent business.”The elephant trumpeted and asked the fox, “What is it? Who are you?”The fox replied, “Your Highness, all the animals of the forest have decided to make you our king. They have sent me to you as a messenger. I have come to escort you to the place where all the other animals are waiting for your coronation ceremony. All the preparations are in order. We are only waiting for you to arrive and then we will crown you as our king.”The elephant was very pleased. Becoming the king of the forest had always been his dream. He readily agreed to follow the fox. The fox led the way. On the way, there was a marshy area near a pond that the fox and the elephant had to cross. The fox was light so he easily walked over the swamp. But when the elephant tried to cross the swamp, he got trapped in the marsh because of his weight. The more the elephant struggled to get out, the deeper the marsh sucked him. The elephant began to shout, “Help! Help! I’m drowning. Pull me out. Go and call all the other animals for help, quick!”The fox, who was standing calmly at the edge of the swamp, replied, “Nobody is going to save you. This is the kind of treatment that you truly deserve. You have always been cruel to other animals and have mistreated them. You have taken advantage of your power and broken down countless birds’ nests without caring about their eggs or nestlings. You have stomped upon foxes’ burrows and crushed many foxes under your heavy feet. You knew about all the destruction and misery you were causing us but you did not care to stop. You never paid heed to our cries for mercy and so today, nobody is going to have mercy on you. It is not the day of your coronation but of your cremation.” Saying this, the fox left.The elephant struggled for hours but he could not come out of the swamp. Finally, he drowned in the marsh and died. It is true that every tyrant has to meet his doom. Moral:Karma always serves us what we deserve.

This is a classic story from panchtantra.This is a story of elephant and fox.Moral(s) of the story: karma

The fox and the elephant

Pallavi Hota

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”. Jesus was betrayed by Judas, one of His disciples, and was then taken before Pontius Pilate. The people urged Pontius to release a murderer named Barabas to them and to crucify Jesus.They had Him flogged and tortured, and made Him carry his own cross up the hill where He was to be killed. They pierced his limbs, after which they nailed him to the cross and placed a sign above Him that read ìKing of the Jews.î Jesus cried out to God and then He died. All this happened according to the prophecy that Prophet Isaiah had made, which said the one God who chose to take the punishment of the sins of His people would die in silence and would be hung on a tree. Moral:Jesus was sent to take our sins on Him and suffer death in our place.

This is a story of Bible and Jesus Christ.

The Crucifixion

Yesha Desai

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

The cat, partridge, and the hare

Once upon a time, there was a small dog that used to sneak in the royal shed to eat some food that was kept for the royal elephant. Since the royal elephant lived alone throughout the day in the shed, he also did not mind the dog visiting him daily and gladly let him eat his leftover food. Soon, the elephant and the dog became very good friends. They ate together, slept together and played together. A time came when they were almost inseparable from each other.Then one day, a farmer who came to visit the elephant-keeper, saw the dog. He liked it very much and asked the elephant keeper to sell it to him. Although the elephant keeper did not own the dog, He took some money from the villager and gave it to him. The king’s elephant became very sad after this incident. He missed his friend a lot and stopped eating, drinking and even bathing.Three days had passed and the elephant had not moved an inch from his place. The elephant keeper had to report the matter to the king. The king asked his wisest minister to look into the matter and find out what was wrong with his elephant. The minister went to the stable and checked the elephant. He could make out that there was nothing physically wrong with the elephant. He then arrived to the conclusion that the big animal was perhaps missing something or someone. He asked the elephant keeper, “ I think that the royal elephant is grief stricken, possibly due to the loss of a dear friend. Do you know if this elephant shared a close friendship with any person or animal?”The elephant-keeper hesitantly said, “Yes, Sir! There was a dog that used to eat, sleep and play with the elephant. A stranger took him away three days ago, but I do not know where he went.” The minister went to the king and told him, “Your Majesty, the royal elephant is fine but he is lonesome without his dear friend, the dog. Some stranger has taken away the dog and nobody knows his whereabouts.”The king was concerned about the well being of his elephant. He asked the minister, “How can we bring back the dog and make my elephant happy again?” The minister suggested, “Your Majesty, make a declaration, that whoever has taken the dog that used to live at the royal elephant’s shed shall be penalised.” The king did the same and the farmer who had taken the dog, quickly let him loose.Once freed, the dog found his way to the elephant’s shed easily. The elephant was so delighted to see the dog that he picked him up with his trunk and made him sit on his head. The king was content to see his elephant happy once again and suitably rewarded the minister for his wise judgement. Moral:True happiness is based on the relations you keep.

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

The elephant and the dog

In a jungle, there once lived a jackal. He was very smart and clever. One day, he was passing by and saw a dead elephant in his way. The jackal was happy to see the elephant and could not wait to eat the flesh. He went closer to the elephant and tried to cut the skin of the elephant with his teeth. He tried very hard but could not cut the skin as it was very tough. The jackal tried many times but failed.After trying it many times, he was very tired and stopped trying to cut the flesh with his teeth. He sat near the dead animal and started thinking about how to cut his flesh. Suddenly, the jackal saw the lion coming towards him. Seeing the Lion, he said, “Majesty, I am guarding this dead elephant for you. Please eat it.” The lion replied, “I never eat animals which are killed by others.” The lion went away. The jackal was happy that he saved the elephant from the lion. He wanted to eat it all alone. He again started thinking about how to cut the flesh.The jackal was thinking and he heard the roaring of the tiger. He thought that the tiger would surely eat the elephant. So, the jackal said, “Please go away from here. I am guarding this for the king. The king lion has gone for a bath and he asked me to warn him when a tiger comes. The king wants to kill all the tigers of this jungle.” The tiger got very scared and quickly left the place.Then after some time, a leopard approached the jackal. The jackal was very hungry and knew that the leopard had sharp teeth. So, he cleverly said to the jackal, “Hey, Friend. I am seeing you after a long time. You look tired and hungry. Why do not you take a few bites from the dead elephant which I am guarding for the king lion? He has gone for a bath.” The leopard said, “Why would I eat the king’s meat. He would kill me if he saw me eating his food.” The jackal said, “I will warn you when he returns. Till then you can take a few bites.” The leopard agreed and proceeded near the elephant.The leopard started to bite the elephant but as the skin was hard it took time. As soon as the leopard took off the skin, the jackal shouted, “Beware, the lion is coming.” Hearing this, the leopard quickly left the place. The jackal laughed out loud and sat near the elephant and ate all the flesh alone. Moral:Wisdom makes victory.

This is a story of elephant, jackal, leopard, lion and tiger.Moral: smartness and wisdom

The Clever Jackal

Long ago, in a small village there lived an old woman who owned a black baby elephant. The children in the village called her Granny, and they had nicknamed the elephant as ‘Granny’s Blackie.’Granny’s Blackie was a very friendly elephant and used to give joy rides to all the children. The children also loved him dearly and shared their food with him. The old woman used to do stitching and tailoring work while Blackie used to enjoy the whole day with the children. Some years happily went past like this.One day Blackie wanted granny to accompany him to the woods. The old lady declined the offer, saying, “My dear, I cannot walk that far now. My health is deteriorating and I am no longer as active and energetic as I used to be some time back.” Blackie realized that Granny was growing feeble and older.He thought to himself, “This kind woman has looked after me for so many years. Now, it is my turn to repay the debt. I must find some work and start earning money for her.”Blackie set out to find some work for himself. When he was walking along the river’s bank, he saw a man who was looking troubled. He had some heavily loaded bullock carts standing in the middle of a river and his bullocks were finding it difficult to lug them. When he saw Blackie, he asked him to help his bullocks in carrying out the carts out of water. He promised to pay two silver coins for each cart that Blackie pulled out of the water.Blackie gladly agreed to help. He went into the river, and drew one cart after another across to the bank of the river. After completing his job, he went to take his money from the man. But, he saw that the dishonest man had given him only half the money he had promised.Blackie was really upset with the man’s dishonesty. He went and stood in the road and did not let the carts go past him. The man tried to get Blackie out of his way, but he did not budge an inch from his place. The man soon understood what the elephant wanted. He went back and gave Blackie the other half of the sum, as promised. He apologised to Blackie and put all the silver coins in the bag that Blackie was carrying around his neck.Blackie happily went home to give his first earning to his dear Granny. Blackie had been out since the morning, so Granny was getting worried for him and was waiting for him to return at the doorstep. When she saw Blackie coming back, she was overjoyed and asked him where he had been. Blackie narrated the entire story to her and put the bag full of silver coins in her hand. Granny was very proud of her Blackie! Moral:&nbsp;When you learn, teach. When you get, give. A life lived with a heart which is ready to give back, is a life full of satisfaction.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

This is story of elephant, grandmother and Jataka tales.Moral(s) of the story: gratitude and responsibility

Granny’s Blackie

Once upon a time, hundreds of wild goats lived in a cave situated upon a hill. A wolf also lived with his wife in another cave nearby. Just like all the other wolves, the wolf couple also liked the taste of goat-meat. So they caught the goats, one after another, and ate them all. But, there was one wise goat who always managed to outsmart the wolf couple. No matter how hard the wolf couple tried to catch the wise goat, she somehow always outsmarted them.One day the wolf said to his wife, "My dear, let us play a trick on that wise goat. You go alone to her cave and tell her that I am dead. Try to win over her sympathy by looking sad and then seek her help in burying my body. I am sure that the goat will feel sorry for you and agree to come here with you. When she will come near me, I will bite her in the neck and kill her. Both of us will enjoy her delicious meat then.”The wolf then lay down, and his wife went to meet the goat, saying what she had been told to say. The wise goat heard the she-wolf’s story but kept sitting inside the cave and said, “"My dear, you and your late husband have killed all my relatives and friends. I do not think I am too safe out there with you.""Do not be afraid! I am mourning the death of my husband and thus I have decided not to kill any animal for one week," said the wolf. "And my husband is dead now. So, what harm can a dead wolf do to you?"The she-wolf managed to convince the goat to accompany her. The wise goat set out to the wolf’s cave but as she was still unsure of the she-wolf’s intentions, she asked the she-wolf to stay ahead of her.Meanwhile the he-wolf who was pretending to be dead since a long time in front of his cave, started to get impatient. He was hungry and he raised up his head a little to see whether the goat was coming with his wife or not. The goat saw him raise his head, and ran back to her cave."Why did you have to raise your head? We almost had the wise goat in our clutches," the she-wolf scolded her husband. He had no good answer. The she-wolf said, “Though your foolishness has spoiled everything, I will still try once again to bring the goat back to our cave.”The she-wolf went back to the wise goat’s cave and said, "My friend, your presence is divine! The moment you came near my husband, he sprung back to life. He is now very much better. I am indeed very thankful to you. Let us be friends and have a good time together."The wise goat knew that the she-wolf was again trying to pull a trick on her. She said, “My friend, I am glad to hear the good news. We must share it with as many animals as we can. I will bring some of my friends also to your cave. Then we can all have a good time together."The she-wolf had no idea who these friends were, so she asked the goat, "Who are your friends? Tell me their names." The wise goat said, "I will bring the two hounds, Old Gray and Young Tan and a big bull-dog called Four-Eyes. I will also ask them to bring their mates."The she-wolf was scared of the dogs and fled to her cave. She told her husband about the ferocious friends of the wise goat. The wolf couple took to their heels and the wise goat never saw either of them again. Moral:Pride and might lead to nowhere. The wolves, though being stronger than the goat could not trick the goat because of their greed and pretension. On the other hand, the wise goat calmly and smartly escaped the wolves’ plan and saved its life.

This is a story of goat, Jataka tales and wolf.Moral(s) of the story: smartness and wisdom

The Wise Goat and The Wolf

Once, a rich man invited Birbal for lunch at his place. When Birbal reached the rich man’s house, he saw that the main hall was full of many other people also. When the rich man saw Birbal at his door, he welcomed him warmly and ushered him inside the house. Birbal said, “My dear man, it seems to me that you have invited almost half of the city today.” The rich man politely replied, “Sir, they are not my guests, they are my employees. There is only one other guest here, besides you. Is it possible for you to identify who that other guest is?”Birbal smiled and said, “Well, I will certainly give it a shot. Tell them a joke! I will have a glance at all of them and then give you your answer.” The rich man told a lame joke and everybody laughed hysterically. It was the worst joke that Birbal had ever heard in his life. Now,The rich man asked Birbal, “I have told the joke, now you tell me who is the other guest here?” Birbal pointed out towards a man and said, “He is that other guest!” The rich man was very surprised hearing this as the man towards whom Birbal had pointed was indeed the other guest. He said to Birbal, “Dear Sir, you are absolutely right, but how did you recognize him?”Birbal said, “It was simple! Pardon me for saying so, but only your employees could have laughed on the pathetic joke that you had cracked. This man was the only person who did not even smile at your joke, and this helped me to recognize him as the other guest.” Moral:People who are indebted to you are more likely to indulge you.

cheating 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 Baker and The Farmer

The fox and the elephant

The Crucifixion

The cat, partridge, and the hare

The elephant and the dog

The Clever Jackal

Granny’s Blackie

The Wise Goat and The Wolf

Birbal identifies the guest

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