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.

Ravina Sewani

A long time ago, there lived a heron, by the side of a pond brimming with fresh fish. He was a lazy creature, who wanted to find a way to catch all the fish without any effort. One day, he got an idea! He went to the side of the pond and put on a gloomy face. His friend, the crab, came alongside him and asked, “What is bothering you, my dear friend?”The heron said, “Alas, my friends! I spotted fishermen making hungry nets in the village nearby! Soon, they will come to our pond, to catch all the fish.” On hearing this, the inhabitants of the pond were devastated.The heron said, “Luckily, I know of a pond not far from here, where all the fish will be saved.” So, everyday, some fish would volunteer to be carried in the heron’s beak, to the safe pond.The heron would take the fish each day and on reaching a large rock, he would eat all the fish, leaving nothing but their bones behind. For many days, the sly heron got a continued supply of fish without any effort.But the wise crab was suspicious of the heron’s motives and one day, volunteered to go with the heron to the new pond. As they were flying, the crab was shocked to see his friends’ bones lying around the rock.He realized there was something fishy going on, but chose to wait and watch. The heron took the crab to the rock to eat him up. Seeing this, the alert crab tightened its claws around the heron’s long neck and threatened to choke him.“Please, spare me!” cried the scared heron, knowing his game was up. The wise and merciful crab let go of the heron’s neck, who promised never to be so deceitful again. The wise crab had saved the day. Moral:A mission started on deceit never goes a long way.

This is a classic story from panchtantra.This is a story of crab, fish and heron.Moral(s) of the story: betrayal

The heron and the crab

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

Long ago, a youth named Brahmadatta lived in a village. One day, Brahmadatta had to go to the city for some important work. His mother was anxious about her son going alone, so she called him and said, “My dear son, I would advise you not to travel alone. You must take a companion with you so that he can help you if required.”Brahmadatta replied, “Mother, I am a grown man. I can take good care of myself. Besides, I do not have any companion to take with me.”“Not to worry! I will arrange a good companion for you,” said Brahmadatta’s mother. She then fetched a crab from the nearby pond and put it into Brahmadatta’s travelling bag. As Brahmadatta did not want to hurt his mother’s sentiments, he kept the crab in a camphor box and set out on his journey.The journey was long and Brahmadatta got very tired by evening. So, he decided to take some rest under a big banyan tree and soon he went to sleep. In the hollow of that banyan tree, there lived a snake. Seeing Brahmadatta fast asleep, the snake came down and hid himself in Brahmadatta’s travelling bag.The smell of camphor seemed very nice to the snake and thus, he slithered his way into the camphor box. As soon as he entered the camphor box, the crab sitting inside caught hold of the snake’s neck and killed it.When Brahmadatta woke up, he was astonished to find a dead snake lying beside him. In his heart, he thanked his mother for giving him the sage advice of taking a companion with him. Moral:You should listen to your parents’ advice as they mean the best for you at heart.

This is a classic story from panchtantra.This is a story of crab, mother, snake and son.Moral(s) of the story: family value

crab 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 heron and the crab

The crab, swan and the snake

Brahmadatta, crab and the snake

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