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 was a girl who thought her life was miserable. She did not know what was going on in her life. She was tired of struggling and fighting all the time. She was tired of dealing with all her problems. One day, she complained about her struggle to her father. Her father was a chef; he took her to the kitchen. He placed three pots filled with water on high fire.Once the water started boiling, he placed a potato in the first pot, egg and ground coffee beans in the second and third pot respectively. He then waited for the water to boil. Her daughter impatiently waited wondering what her father was doing. After twenty minutes, he took out potato and egg out of the pot and placed them in different plates. He placed the water with the coffee beans in a cup.He then asked her daughter what she noticed. She replied, “A potato, egg and coffee beans.” Her father told her to look closer and touch the potato. She did and noticed that they were soft. He then asked her to break the egg. She saw the boiled egg after pulling off the shell of the egg. Finally, he asked her to sip the coffee from the cup. The rich aroma of the coffee brought smile on her face.Then, she asked to her father the reason behind doing this activity. He replied that the potato, egg and coffee beans each faced the same problem- the boiling water. However, each reacted differently. The potato went in strong and hard but in boiling water it became soft and weak. The egg was weak with a thin layer protecting its liquid until it entered the boiling water. After, keeping it into the boiling water, the inside of the egg became strong. However, the ground coffee beans were unique. After they were put into the boiling water, they changed the water and created something new.Her father then asked her, “Which one are you? How do you respond in your difficult times? Are you a potato, egg, or a coffee bean? Moral:In life, things happen around us, things happen to us, but the only thing that truly matters is how you choose to react to it and what you make out of it. Life is all about leaning, adopting and converting all the struggles that we experience into something positive.

This is a story of coffee, daughter, egg, father and potato.Moral(s) of the story: confidence and struggle

The struggle of life

Ravina Sewani

Once, there lived a water bearer (one who carries water) in a beautiful town. The water bearer had 2 large pots, in which, he used to fill the water from the stream and deliver it to his master’s house. One of the pots that he had was cracked. So every day while returning from the stream, the cracked would lose half the water and would only be able to provide half water at the master’s house. Whereas the perfect pot was very proud of himself for doing its work perfectly.The cracked pot would lose water every day and this went on for 2 years. One day, the cracked pot felt ashamed about itself and apologised to its water bearer saying, “I am sorry for not being able to deliver full water. Because of me, you do not get credits for your efforts.”&nbsp;The water bearer felt sorry for the pot and told him, “While we return back from the stream today, look at the beautiful and colourful flowers along the path.” So that day, while returning, the cracked pot admired the flowers and the flowers cheered him up. But when they reached at the master’s house, it still felt sad for losing the water and so apologised again.&nbsp;The bearer then told the pot, “I have known about your crack since day one and so I planted flower seeds on your side of the path. Every day, for 2 years, you have been watering these flowers. Because of you, I was able to pick beautiful flowers and decorate my master’s table. If you did not water the flowers, my master would never have a beautiful table.” On hearing this, the cracked pot was filled with joy and understood that everyone has flaws. If we can accept our flaws and still do better in lives, they do not really better. Moral:Every person has unique flaws.&nbsp;We’re all cracked pots.&nbsp;Nothing in this world is a waste.&nbsp;We should never feel useless because of our flaws. Sometimes these flaws are a blessing in disguise.

This is a story of water and flower.Moral(s) of the story: confidence

The cracked pot

Yesha Desai

A strong and beautiful mother dragon had just given birth to three little dragon babies ó Red, Blue and Green.Red was a beautiful and calm and strong dragon. Soon after she was born, she had set to learning about protecting her lands. She didn't usually get angry, but when times called, she roared and spit fire. Blue was brave and strong willed. She loved exploring new places and was a natural protector. Being fierce and intelligent, she was very good at breathing fire. It was little baby Green that her mother was very worried about. Green did not seem to be able to breathe fire at all. Non fire breathing dragons were considered to be a disgrace to the society but Green's mother did not want to abandon her. At first her mother along with her sisters tried a lot to teach Green how to produce fire. They tried and tried and tried. But nothing happened.&nbsp; Her mother was frustrated and Green was very sad. She felt very bad about herself as she thought that now all her friends and family would not like her. It got worse when she realised that some of her friends in school had stopped talking to her. One day, there was an accident on their school's bus. The driver was very heavily injured. Little dragons around her panicked and some accidently burned the bus up. But little intelligent Green stayed focused. She got everyone out of the bus and even called for an ambulance. Due to Green's quick thinking and quick arrival of the help, everyone was rescued and everyone was safe in the end. Green was treated as a hero because of how intelligent and thoughtful she was and was no longer treated as an outcast. Everyone realised that just because Green was not like them did not make her any less valued. She was still amazing! Green finally started loving herself enough and did not let her flaws come in between her abilities.

This is a story of dragon, fire and school.Moral(s) of the story: confidence

The dragon who could not spit fire!

Once, a beautiful girl named Cinderella used to live with her evil stepmother and two stepsisters. Her stepmother was very rude to her. She did not like Cinderella and would tell her to do every household work. The mother did not use to give any work to Cinderella’s stepsisters. Cinderella used to do every work and her stepsisters used to roam around in their expensive dresses.A letter came to their house one day which said that the king had arranged a ball in which his son, ‘The Prince’ will choose a girl as his wife, every girl in the kingdom must be aware of it. After reading the letter, everyone was excited to attend the ball. Cinderella was also excited and wanted to go to the ball. She asked for permission from her stepmother. To which her mother replied, “You can go only if you complete all the household work on time and would help your sisters to choose their dresses for the ball.” Cinderella got excited and worked as fast as she could. Unfortunately, she could not complete all the household work and stayed at home disappointed.She felt very bad and ran to the garden. She sighed, “Wishes are never fulfilled.” A voice came behind saying, “Never my dear”. Cinderella looked up and saw a little woman. The woman had a magic wand in her hand. She had a big smile on her face. The little woman was Cinderella’s fairy godmother.The Fairy wanted to help Cinderella to reach the ball. The fairy waved her wand. With that Cinderella was dressed like a princess. The fairy gave her a new dress, glass sandals, and a black horse to reach the ball. Cinderella was shocked to see this. The fairy then said that the magic will last till midnight. She told her to come back before that.With the pretty dress and black horse, Cinderella reached the palace. Everyone was shocked to see Cinderella. She looked the prettiest in the ball. She looked beautiful and different than usual. Her stepsisters were stunned and could not recognize her. When the prince saw Cinderella, he fell in love with her instantly. The prince danced with her all night. Everyone was jealous of her. The Cinderella was busy in the ball that she almost forgot what fairy had told her. While dancing when she saw the time and realized the fairy’s words, she quickly left the palace and, in all hurry, she forgot one of the glass sandals at the palace.The prince was impressed by Cinderella’s beauty and fell in love. He wanted to marry her and was curious to know where she came from. He ordered his servants to find the girl. He told them to go to every house and find the girl whose foot matched the glass sandals. The two stepsisters tried their best to insert their feet into the sandals but failed. But when Cinderella tried the sandal, her feet completely fit into it. Prince recognized Cinderella and asked to marry him. They finally got married and lived a happy life. Moral:Have courage and believe in yourself even in times of adversity.

This is a story of cinderella, prince and sandal.Moral(s) of the story: confidence and courage

Cinderella

Bunny rabbit lived in the forest. He had many friends. He was proud of his friends.One day Bunny rabbit heard the loud barking of wild dogs. He was very scared. He decided to ask for help. He quickly went to his friend deer. He said, “Dear friend, some wild dogs are chasing me. Can you chase them away with your sharp antlers?”The deer said, “That is right, I can. But now I am busy. Why don’t you ask bear for help?”Bunny rabbit ran to the bear. “My dear friend, you are very strong. Please help me. Some wild dogs are after me. Please chase them away,” he requested to the bear.The bear replied, “I am sorry. I am hungry and tired. I need to find some food. Please ask the monkey for help.”Poor Bunny went to the monkey, the elephant, the goat and all his other friends. Bunny felt sad that nobody was ready to help him.He understood that he had to think of a way out by himself. He hid under a bush. He lay very still. The wild dogs did not find the bunny. They went chasing other animals.Bunny rabbit learnt that he had to learn to survive by himself, not depending on his unhelpful friends.

This is a story of friend and rabbit.Moral(s) of the story: confidence

Bunny and his Unhelpful friends

Once upon a time, there was a lazy man in a village. He would always try to get food without any hard work. One day while searching for the food, he saw a farm which was filled with delicious fruits. He decided to steal some fruits from the farm. As soon as he tried to pick an apple, a farmer saw him and started coming towards him. The lazy man got scared and ran into a forest beside the farm to hide. While walking through the forest, he saw a fox with only two legs. Despite having two legs, the fox managed to walk with them happily. The man wondered how that fox was surviving with only two legs. The fox could not run or feed himself as there were threats from other animals in the forest. Suddenly, he saw a lion coming towards the fox with a piece of meat in his mouth. The lazy man climbed up a tree to save himself from the lion. But the fox stayed there as he could not run. The man was shocked when he saw the lion left the piece of meat for the fox to eat. The lazy man felt happy to see the God’s play. He thought god always has a plan to take care of his creations. God must have planned something for him too. So, he left to find a place to sit and wait for someone to feed him. He waited for a long time but no one came to feed him. After two days of starving, he could not bare the hunger and left the place. On his way, he met an old sage. He told everything to the sage and asked, “Oh wise one, God showed mercy on the crippled fox but why didn’t he show mercy to me?” The old sage replied, “It’s true that god has a plan for everyone, and he surely has a plan for you too. But son you took his signs in a wrong way. He did not want you to be like a fox. He wanted you to become a lion.” Moral:God has given everyone the strength and ability to do their part. Always learn to see the things in a positive way and see yourself in a strong position to help the ones who need. Don’t go for the easy choice. Make the right choice.

confidence 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 struggle of life

The cracked pot

The dragon who could not spit fire!

Cinderella

Bunny and his Unhelpful friends

The Lazy Man and The God’s Plan

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