Do you remember the stories that you read as a child? Moral stories can needn’t be serious, but they can be funny at the same time help your child learn something. We have compiled a list of 07 short moral stories that are inspirational, from India, and from around the world. <h3>1. The Boy Who Cried, Wolf</h3><img src="https://bee-assets-production.s3.amazonaws.com/image/the_boy_who_cried%2C_wolf.webp_image_1638188646554.webp" width="359">There was a young boy whose father, a farmer, had asked him to take their herd of sheep grazing every day.One day, the boy was extremely bored as he watched over the sheep and so he cried: “Wolf! Wolf!”On hearing his cries, the villagers rushed to help him chase the wolf away and save the sheep.When they saw the grinning boy and realised he had cried wolf for his amusement, they scolded him and told him to not cry wolf!The next day, the boy cried out that the wolf was there. The villagers came, scolded him again, and left.Later that same day, a wolf came and terrorized the sheep.The boy cried, “Wolf! Wolf! Please help me.”But, the villagers assumed that he was pulling a silly prank again and did not come to his rescue. The sheep ran away and the boy cried.Moral of the story: Don’t lie or engage in foolish pranks, for no one will believe a liar even when he is telling the truth! <h3>2. The Golden Touch Of Midas</h3><img src="https://bee-assets-production.s3.amazonaws.com/image/the_golden_touch_of_midas.jpg_image_1638188804006.jpg" width="365">A long time ago, there lived a king in Greece named Midas.He was extremely wealthy and had all the gold he could ever need. He also had a daughter whom he loved very much.One day, Midas saw a Satyr (an angel) who was stuck and was in trouble. Midas helped the Satyr and asked for his wish to be granted in return.The Satyr agreed and Midas wished for everything he touched to be turned to gold. His wish was granted.Extremely excited, Midas went home to his wife and daughter touching pebbles, rocks, and plants on the way, which turned into gold.As his daughter hugged him, she turned into a golden statue.Having learnt his lesson, Midas begged the Satyr to reverse the spell who granted that everything would go back to their original state.Moral of the story: Stay content and grateful for what you have. Greed will not get you anywhere. <h3>3. The Foolish Thief</h3><img src="https://bee-assets-production.s3.amazonaws.com/image/the_foolish_thief.jpg_image_1638188856227.jpg" width="362">Once, a wealthy merchant came to King Akbar’s court to seek help from Birbal. He suspected that one of his servants had robbed him.On hearing this, Birbal thought of a clever plan and summoned the merchant’s servants.He gave each servant a stick of the same length. He told them that the thief’s stick would grow two inches by the next day.The next day, Birbal summoned the servants again. He noticed that a servant’s stick was two inches shorter than the others.He knew who the thief was.The foolish thief had cut the stick shorter by two inches as he thought it would grow two inches. Thus, proving his guilt.Moral of the story: Truth and justice will always prevail. <h3>4. Two Frogs With The Same Problem</h3><img src="https://bee-assets-production.s3.amazonaws.com/image/two_frogs_with_the_same_problem.png_image_1638188962564.png" width="346">Once, a group of frogs was roaming around the forest in search of water. Suddenly, two frogs in the group accidentally fell into a deep pit.The other frogs worried about their friends in the pit.Seeing how deep the pit was, they told the two frogs that there was no way they could escape the deep pit and that there was no point in trying.They continued to constantly discourage them as the two frogs tried to jump out of the pit. But keep falling back.Soon, one of the two frogs started to believe the other frogs — that they’ll never be able to escape the pit and eventually died after giving up.The other frog keeps trying and eventually jumps so high that he escapes the pit. The other frogs were shocked at this and wondered how he did it.The difference was that the second frog was deaf and couldn’t hear the discouragement of the group. He simply thought they were cheering him on!Moral of the story: People’s opinion of you will affect you, only if you believe it to be so. It’s better to believe in yourself. <h3>5. The Milkmaid and Her Pail</h3><img src="https://bee-assets-production.s3.amazonaws.com/image/the_milkmaid_and_her_pail.jpg_image_1638189037353.jpg" width="348">There was once a milkmaid named Patty.She milked her cow and carried the two pails of milk she fetched on a stick and set out to sell the milk at the market.As she was walking to the market, she began to daydream about what she would do with the money she fo for the milk.She thought of buying a hen and selling its eggs and she planned on becoming wealthy.She dreamt of buying a cake, a basket of strawberries, a fancy dress, and even a new house with the money she would make selling the eggs and the milk!In her excitement, she forgot about the pails she was carrying and began to skip.Suddenly, she realised that the milk was spilling down and when she checked her pails, they were empty.Moral of the story: Don’t count your chickens before they hatch! It is important to focus on the process of achieving success and not just success alone. <h3>6. The Elephant Circus</h3><img src="https://bee-assets-production.s3.amazonaws.com/image/elepahnt_circus.jpg_image_1638189224771.jpg" width="361">Once upon a time in a circus, five elephants performed circus tricks. They were kept tied up with weak rope that they could’ve easily escaped, but did not.One day, a man visiting the circus asked the ringmaster: “Why haven’t these elephants broken the rope and run away?”The ringmaster replied: “From when they were young, the elephants were made to believe that they were not strong enough to break the ropes and escape.”It was because of this belief that they did not even try to break the ropes now.Moral of the story: Don’t give in to the limitations of society. Believe that you can achieve everything you want to!<h3> </h3>7. The Elephants And The Mice<img src="https://bee-assets-production.s3.amazonaws.com/image/1_xvfat_v8xumqnkx7-3jcka.png_image_1638189285226.png" width="350">In an earthquake-hit village abandoned by humans, a colony of mice lived. Near the village was a lake, which was used by a herd of elephants.The elephants would have to cross the village to go to the lake. Thus, one day, as they walked through, they trampled a lot of mice.The leader of the mice met with the elephants and requested them to take a different route to the lake. He promised them that their favour would be returned in the time of their need.The elephants laughed. How could such small mice help these large elephants in any way? But then, they agreed to take a different route.Not so long after, the mice heard that hunters had caught the herd of elephants and were tied in nets.Immediately, they rush to rescue the elephants. They gnawed through the nets and ropes with their sharp teeth.The leader of the elephants repeatedly thanked the mice for their help!Moral of the story: A friend in need is a friend indeed. Make sure you help your friends out whenever they need it. They should always be able to count on you. That’s all folks!We hope children like these short yet interesting stories with morals that we have read growing up!There are more and more stories with morals on <a href="https://www.beeparenting.com/s/moral-stories" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Bee Stories</a>.

Short stories with moral values will teach your children some important lessons which they will remember always.

07 Must Read Short Moral Stories For Children

Short stories with moral values will teach your children some important lessons which they will remember always.

Yesha Desai

Mother Teresa was born with the name of Anjez Gonxhe Bojaxhiu in the (then) Ottoman Empire. Before she was a Saint, she was a little girl with such kindness in her heart that awed others constantly. Her father was deeply involved in the Albanian community politics, her family was deeply religious and they were fairly wealthy. But little Anjez wanted something more. Her father died when she was little, she turned further towards God in her grief. They had donated massive amounts of money in the wake of his death and she realised that helping people made her happy. From early childhood, she had been deeply fascinated by the work of missionaries. She knew that there were lots of places around the world that were very unfortunate and had lots of sad people and she wanted to help them. By the age of 12 she was convinced that she wanted to commit herself to a religious life and help people. At the age of 18 she left her home to join the Sisters of Loreto. She came to India in 1929 in Darjeeling where she learnt Bengali. When she took her religious vows she took the name of the patron Saint of Missionaries, Spanish spelling (Teresa). She loved her teaching job and loved how she got to guide children on the correct path. But in 1943 came the famine of Bengal. It left a lot of people in poverty and distress. She wanted to help them so badly and so she began missionary work. This is how she changed from Sister Teresa to Mother Teresa.&nbsp;She lived in India for the rest of her life and helped the unfortunate by living with the unfortunate. In 2016, by the Pope she was called Saint Teresa of Calcutta.

This is a story of Mother Teresa.Moral(s) of the story: benevolence and kindness

Mother Teresa and why she left Albania for India

There are many vehicles around that are used for transport. Each vehicle has a different use and a different speciality.First, let's meet Cal the bike. Cal is a motorbike. He is very strong and has two wheels. He moves very fast and can easily travel through busy, crowded streets. He is beautiful and black in colour.Next comes Bud the car. Bud is an old car. She has four wheels and is very long. She was created for a very old King and even though she is not as strong as the cars built now, Bud moves perfectly. Bud is white in colour and is very spacious.Casey is a cycle. Casey is tiny but very strong. She has two wheels and works on pedals. The cyclist has to work hard for the cycle to move fast. Casey the cycle is eco- friendly and is a good way to exercise. We should all use cycle.Aero the aeroplane is extremely huge. He can fly high above the clouds and can carry many people. Aero moves faster than the birds and is very strong. We use aeroplanes to travel long distances in a short time.Hayley the helicopter is a very fast mode of transport. A helicopter can fly too but is tinier in comparison to a plane. It can carry very few people and can be used for small distances and abrupt landings.Triv the train can carry a lot of people. It can travel short distances and long too. Travelling in a train is a lot of fun. Some trains are very fast, some are slow. Some trains carry people while others carry materials.Sally the ship is a very mighty boat. She is huge and sails in the sea. She can carry a lot of people but is mostly used for carrying materials.These are some vehicles of transport.

This is a story of Aeroplane, bicycle, car, helicopter, motorcycle, ship and train.

Different modes of transport

Pallavi Hota

Butterfly, butterfly, where do you fly? sang the little girl whom she kept as her pet. The girl took care of her butterfly just as a family member, but never allowed her the freedom to fly.One day the butterfly tried her best and got out of the cage. She felt as if she was born again. She flew here and there amidst the beautiful flowers with rain drops falling on her wings. The next day the little girl waking up to this, cried. She insisted her parents get her that butterfly back. But they could not find the butterfly. She tried to find the butterfly everywhere and called out for her. She also waited for her to fly back to her.After some time, she realised that one cannot stop anyone from having their own freedom, and cannot possess anything forcefully just because of his or her own happiness.Moral:Forceful things are not real.

This is a story of butterfly.Moral(s) of the story: happiness

The Caged Butterfly

Ravina Sewani

Once a cat and a fox were discussing about hounds. "I hate hounds," said the fox. "So do I," said the cat. “They are swift runners,” said the fox, "but they can't catch me, I know many tricks to get away from them.""What tricks can you perform?" asked the cat. "A lot of tricks," boasted the fox. "I can run along a thorny hedge. I can hide amidst thick bushes. I can hide in burrows. These are only a few of the many tricks that I can perform," said the fox."I know only one good trick," said the cat. "How sad! Only one trick? What is it?" asked the fox."I am going to do it just now. Look out, the hounds are coming," said the cat and ran up a nearby tree. There she was safe from the hounds.The hounds chased the fox. He tried one trick after another. But the hounds caught him at last and killed him."My one trick is better than all the tricks of the poor fox," said the cat to herself. Moral:It is better to be a master of one art than to be a jack of all trades.

This is a classic story from Vikas story.This is a story of cat and fox.

THE CAT AND THE FOX

A long time ago there was a river which did not share its water with any fish, boat or plant. The river lived alone and did not have any friends.The river lived alone for years until one day a little boy decided to free his goldfish called Goldie.Goldie was a very friendly fish. He sensed the river’s loneliness and decided to help the river.So Goldie swam and swam in the river and even invited his friends. Soon the river was filled with plants and fish.First, the river was unaccepting of the new members but after a while, made new friends.The river thought about why it had no friends for all these years. It was because it had isolated itself and refused to help cater to any plants and animals.But seeing how his new friends had helped him feel less lonely and good, it decided to be a good friend too.Then the river was always happy and smiling. It helped the plants grow, the fish swim, boats float and animals drink water from it.The river realised that although it may sometimes be a bit inconvenient or uncomfortable, it was always better to have friends and to try to be happy. Moral:Friends make life better and easier.

This is a story of boat, fish, friend and river.Moral(s) of the story:

The river

Once a learned Pandit came to Akbar’s court and expressed his desire to test the intelligence of his courtiers. Emperor Akbar was very proud of his set of learned and highly decorated courtiers and he was sure that they would be able to clear whatever test the Pandit gave them. Thus, he granted Pandit’s wish. Next day all the courtiers gathered in the Emperor’s durbar and waited for the Pandit to arrive. The Pandit reached the court at the appointed time. He had a pot covered with a cloth in his hand. He put it in front of the courtiers, and said, “If any one of you can tell me what lies in this pot, I would accept my defeat.”There was pin drop silence in the court. Nobody knew how to tell the contents of a covered pot. Then Birbal came forward, he uncovered the pot, peeped inside and said, “There is nothing inside the pot. It is empty!”The Pandit said, “This is cheating! You opened the pot.”Birbal replied, “But, Panditji, you never said not to open it in the first place!”The Pandit understood that the clever minister of Emperor Akbar had outwitted him. He humbly bowed to the Emperor and left. Moral:Even if the question is silly, you can manage the situation by thinking on your feet and giving a witty answer.

This is a classic story from Akbar Birbal.

Birbal passes the test

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.Sri Krishna and Arjuna once were guests of a widow. The widow had no children, nobody. She was all alone. But she had a cow. This cow was her only means of support. She used to sell milk, and by selling milk she used to sustain her life. At the same time she was a great devotee of Sri Krishna.When Sri Krishna and Arjuna visited her in disguise, she was so happy to see the two divine guests. She fed them with whatever she had in her house. Sri Krishna was extremely pleased with her surrendering attitude and her devotion. On their way back, Arjuna said to Krishna, ìYou were so pleased with her. Why didn't you grant her a boon? Why didn't you tell her that she would be prosperous soon, now that you are pleased with her?îìI have already granted her the boon that her cow must die tomorrow, replied Krishna. ìWhat? Her only means of support? She has only the cow, and nothing else. Without the cow how can she live on earth? asked Arjuna. Krishna answered, You don't understand me, Arjuna. She always thinks of the cow. The cow has to be fed, has to be milked, has to be bathed and so forth.ìI want her only to think of me, and when the cow is gone, she will think of me all the time, twenty-four hours. Then soon the time will be right for me to take her away from this world, and after a few years I will give her a better and more fulfilling incarnation. When she has nobody on earth, not even the cow, she will try and spend all her time, day and night, devoting herself to me. Otherwise, this way she will linger on earth and constantly think of the cow and not of me.

This is a story of Arjun and Krishna.

Krishna, Arjuna, the widow and her cow

One day, a man climbed up a tree. While climbing up, he did not realise how tall the tree actually was and kept climbing up. On reaching the top, when the man looked down, he realised that climbing down from the tree would not be as easy as climbing up. He could not think of any way of getting down without injuring himself seriously.He asked the people who were passing by to help him. But nobody could think of a way of bringing him down safely. Soon, quite a few people gathered around the tree and tried to help the man, but no one knew what to do. The man remained stuck on top of the tree.Just then, Nasiruddin, who was walking by, saw this scene and wondered what was going on. The people standing around the tree told Nasiruddin about the situation. “Oh!” Nasiruddin said, “I’ll get him down in no time.” He took a long rope and threw one end of it up to the man telling him to tie the rope around his waist.Everyone wondered what Nasiruddin’s plan was. When one of them asked him, Nasiruddin replied, “Just leave it to me. It’s a foolproof plan.”When the man on the tree had tied the rope tightly around his waist, Nasiruddin pulled the rope with all his force. As soon as Nasiruddin did this, the man fell down from the tree and hurt himself badly. The bystanders were shocked at this. They turned to Nasiruddin and asked, “What were you thinking? What kind of a silly plan was that?”Nasiruddin replied, “Well, once I did exactly the same thing and saved someone’s life.”One man asked him, “Is that true?”“Absolutely!” replied Nasiruddin, “The only thing I cannot remember is whether I saved him from a tree or from a well.” Moral:To act without putting much thought often ends up causing more damage than good.

This is a story of men, tree and Mulla Nasruddin.Moral(s) of the story: foolishness

The man on the tree

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.” Once Durvasa Muni, the ancient Rishi, who was known for granting boons to people who pleased him, visited the house of&nbsp;Duryodhana, the enemy cousin of Maharaja Yudhisthira. Duryodhana was&nbsp;intelligent enough to satisfy the brahmana by all means, and the&nbsp;great rishi wanted to give some blessings to Duryodhana. Duryodhana knew his mystic powers, and he also knew that the mystic brahmana, if&nbsp;dissatisfied, could cause some havoc. When the rishi asked Duryodhana, Duryodhana wished that he should visit the house of Maharaja Yudhisthira, who was the eldest and chief among all his cousins. He requested the rishi to go to Yudhisthira after he had finished his meals with his Queen, Draupadi. Duryodhana knew that after Draupadi’s dinner, it would be impossible for Maharaja Yudhisthira to receive such a large number of brahmana guests, and thus the rishi would be annoyed and would create some trouble for his cousin Maharaja Yudhisthira. That was the plan of Duryodhana. Durvasa Muni agreed to this proposal, and he approached the King in exile, according to the plan of Duryodhana, after the King and Draupadi had finished their meals. On his arrival at the door of Maharaja Yudhisthira, he was at once well received, and the King requested him to finish his noontime religious rites in the river, for by that time the foodstuff would be prepared. Durvasa Muni, along with his large number of disciples, went to take a bath in the river. Maharaja Yudhisthira was in great anxiety about the guests. If Draupadi had not taken her meals, food could have been served to any number of guests, but the rishi, by the plan of Duryodhana, reached there after Draupadi had finished her meals.Draupadi was thinking of Lord Krishna in that difficult situation. Lord Krishna arrived at the scene and asked Draupadi to give whatever food she might have in her stock. Draupadi apologised to Lord Krishna and told Him that the mysterious dish which she had received from the sun-god could supply any amount of food if she herself had not eaten. But on that particular day, she had already taken her meals.The Lord, however, asked Draupadi to bring up the cooking pots to see if there was any&nbsp;particle of food left, and on Draupadi doing so, the Lord found a few particles of vegetables sticking to the pot. The Lord at once picked it up and ate it. After doing so, the Lord asked Draupadi to call for her guests, the company of Durvasa. Bhima was sent to call them from the river. Bhima said, “Why are you delaying, sirs? Come on, the food is ready for you.” But the brahmanas, because of Lord Krisha’s accepting a little particle of food, felt sumptuously fed, even while they were in the water. They thought that since Maharaja Yudhisthira must have prepared many valuable dishes for them and since they were not hungry and could not eat, the King would feel very sorry, so it was better not to go there. Thus they decided to go away.

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.

Mother Teresa and why she left Albania for India

Different modes of transport

The Caged Butterfly

THE CAT AND THE FOX

The river

Birbal passes the test

Krishna, Arjuna, the widow and her cow

The man on the tree

Durvasa Muni and cooking pot of Draupadi

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