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 two friends namely a Camel and a Zebra in a jungle. They both were very different. The Zebra was very proud of his appearance and looks. He always thought that Camel was very ugly. One day, the Camel asked Zebra, “Hey Zebra, let’s go out and play in the mud.” The Zebra replied, “No, Camel, I do not want to play in the mud. You go if you want. My white and black coat could get dirty in the mud.” So, the camel went alone in the mud.In the evening, the Zebra was passing by the Camel’s house. The Camel called Zebra and asked, “Have I done something wrong, Zebra?”. The Zebra replied, “No, Camel. I am just very busy.” The Camel could not understand why Zebra was ignoring him. He felt very sad.After a few weeks, there was a severe drought in the area. There was no rain in the jungle for the whole season. There was no water and everything began to dry up. The birds cried because they had no water to drink. The tortoises were sad because the lakes had no water. Everyone was sad.The Zebra was also very thirsty. He saw donkey carrying some water on its back. The Zebra asked donkey for some water but the donkey rudely said, “No”. Zebra felt very bad by the harsh words of the donkey. Soon, Zebra saw his best friend, Camel. “I am very thirsty, there is no water. I think I will die.” said Zebra. The camel said, “Nothing will happen to you as long as I am here.”The Zebra was surprised to see that the camel was not affected by the drought. The Camel said, “The ugly thing you see on my back is a hump. It stores water. The amount of water it stores can be used for almost a month.” The Zebra was shocked by what the Camel had told him. The Zebra was very thirsty and was getting out of breath.As the camel promised him to provide water, he decided to take Zebra to a place that had water. The camel said, “I am the ship of the desert. I know how to find an oasis.” The Zebra asked, “What is an oasis?” The camel replied, “It is the place in the desert that has water. Only we can smell it.” They both left to find an oasis in the desert.On their way to find the oasis, there was a huge dust storm. The Camel told Zebra to hide under him. The Zebra quickly went under the Camel. The storm did not affect the camel. Zebra was shocked to see that. The Camel again said, “My huge ugly eyelashes help to protect my eyes from the dust. Also, my skin is pretty thick.”While walking on the hot sand, Zebra’s feet began to burn. Zebra said to Camel, “My feet are burning due to the hot sand. Your feet are not burning?”. The Camel replied, “Not at all! My rounded feet and long legs help me to walk on the hot desert sand. If you cannot walk on the sand, hop on my back. I will carry you.” The Zebra was shocked by the qualities of Camel. Zebra sat on the Camel’s back and they went to find the water. After some time, they found an oasis and the Zebra drank water to his fullest to quench his thirst. Moral:It is not always the good looks and appearance that are important. It’s the quality you have that matters.

This is a story of camel and zebra.Moral(s) of the story: friendship

The camel and the zebra

Ravina Sewani

Once upon a time there was a little boy who became very ill. He had to spend all day in bed, unable to move. Because other children weren't allowed to come near him, he suffered greatly, and spent his days feeling sad and blue.There wasn't much he could do except look out of the window. Time passed, and his feeling of despair just grew. Until one day he saw a strange shape in the window. It was a penguin eating a sausage sandwich. The penguin squeezed in through the open window, said "good afternoon" to the boy, turned around, and left again.Of course, the boy was very surprised. He was still trying to work out what had happened, when outside his window he saw a monkey in a nappy, busy blowing up a balloon. At first the boy asked himself what that could possibly be, but after a while, as more and more crazy-looking characters appeared out the window, he burst out laughing and found it hard to stop.Anyone wanting to stop laughing would never be helped by seeing a pig playing a tambourine, an elephant jumping on a trampoline, or a dog wearing a pair of glasses and talking about nothing except politics. The little boy didn't tell anyone about this because who would have believed him? Even so, those strange characters ended up putting joy back in his heart, and in his body. Before long, his health had improved so much that he was able to go back to school again.There he got to talk to his friends, and tell them all the strange things he had seen. While he was talking to his best friend he saw something sticking out of his friend's school bag. The boy asked his friend what it was, and he was so insistent that finally his friend had to show him what was in the bag:There, inside, were all the fancy-dress suits and disguises that his best friend had been using to try to cheer the little boy up!And from that day on, the little boy always did his best to make sure that no one felt sad and alone.Moral: True friends never give up on us even though everyone else has.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

Morals of this story are friendship, caring and kindness.

A sick boy and his friend

One evening a poor farm worker was on his way home. A very pleasant smell came from a sweet meat shop on the road. His mouth watered. He went to the shop and stood there for some time. Then he turned to go because he could not afford to buy the sweet meat.Just then he heard the shopkeeper's commanding voice, "Stop. You can't go away without making payment." "Payment? For what?" asked the man. "For the sweet meat," said the shopkeeper."But I haven't eaten any," said the man. "But you did enjoy its smell, didn't you?" asked the shopkeeper. "Smelling is as good as eating." The poor man looked very much worried. Now, a wise man was standing by. He took the man aside.He whispered a word of advice into his ears. The man's face lit up. He went up to the shopkeeper and jingled a few coins in his pocket. The shopkeeper seemed pleased. He said, "Come on, pay the money."The man said, "I have paid it." The shopkeeper said, "No, you haven't." The man said, "Didn't you hear the jingle of the money? If smelling is as good as eating, hearing is as good as receiving. Ha ! Ha! Ha !" He raised his head in pride and stood there for some time. Then he walked away. Moral:Tit for tat.

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

Smell and sound

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”. It rained in the forest as a punishment of God to the unfaithful mankind which led to flood. But Noah, an obedient servant of God in the Old Testament who found favor with God amidst a sinful world saved his family with God’s grace. Years after the flood, when Noah and his family settled down and had more children, they began to move from place to place. When they reached the land of Babylon, they decided to settle there and build a tower so high that it would reach the sky. The hearts of the people were proud, and they thought that they could reach the same level as God, the Highest. This pride was their downfall. When God came down to the city and saw what the people were doing, He became very angry. He decided to put a stop to their construction, by making sure that nobody could understand each-other. God made sure that all the people there began to speak a different language, so that neighbours could no longer understand each other. When people tried to communicate, it turned into a whole babble of confused voices. Soon, everyone who spoke the same language left the city together, and in this way, they spread out across the world, taking their different languages with them. This is why the tower is called the tower of “babel.” Perhaps the origin of the word “babble”. Moral:The pride of the people of Babylon led to their downfall. Just like Satan, they wanted to be like God. We must humble ourselves before the Lord.

This is a story from Bible.Moral(s): pride

The Tower of Babel

A long time ago, there was a farmer who had a donkey. The farmer used to take the donkey every day to the marketplace with a huge heap of wheat on its back.One day while walking the donkey accidentally fell into an empty well. The poor donkey cried loudly for hours. The farmer tried to figure out what to do. The farmer after hours of waiting, finally decided that the donkey was old and the well needed to be covered up anyway. To retrieve the donkey was not worth it.He decided to cover them well with the mud. He invited all his neighbours to come and help him cover the well with the dirt. They all grabbed a shovel and began to shovel dirt in the well. When the donkey saw the mud, he cried miserably and loudly. But after some time, he stopped crying.After a few shovels, the farmer decided to look down in the well. He was surprised by what he saw in the well. The donkey did something amazing by every shovel of dirt thrown at him. the donkey would shake off the dirt and would take a step up. With each shovel of dirt, he would shake it off and take a step up.After some time, everyone was amazed when donkey stepped up over the edge of the well. Moral:Don’t give up easily. Shake it off and take a step ahead. Life is going to shovel dirt on you, all kinds of it. But all you need to do is shake it off and step up.

This is a story of donkey and farmer.Moral(s) of the story: smartness

The donkey in the well

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.” Karna was primarily an Archer. A very skilled one and a Rathi (equally proficient in archery on a moving chariot not just standing stationary on a ground). He was trained by Drona, Kripa and Parshuram. Apart from archery he was skilled in sword fighting, mace fighting as well. So his weapons would be Bow and Arrow (he had received celestial Vijaya Bow made by Vishwakarma from Parshuram), Sword and Mace. From Drona he had received all the usual divine astras used as arrows. But he did not get the Big Three (Brahmashira, Pashupatastra and Vaishnavastra). Drona only had Brahmastra which he refused to give him but gave to Arjun. So Karna went to Parshuram to obtain it but he lied he was a Brahmin so Parshuram cursed him when he found out that he will never be able to use it against his mortal enemy. Karna wanted it to defeat Arjun but the curse removed that possibility. He then traded his Divine Armor given by Surya for Amogh Shakti from Indra. It was a weapon that would kill whoever it was targeted at without fail but could be used only once. So other than the usual divine astras, Nagastra, Brahmastra, Agniastra, he had Amogh Shakti or commonly known as Vasava Shakti and Vijaya Bow. He had Surya's divine Armor till before the war.

This is a story of Karna and Drona.

Karna’s Weapons

Dussehra is one of the major Hindu festivals which is celebrated with great zeal and enthusiasm. This day observed the killing of demon king Ravana by Lord Ram.Dussehra is also known as Vijayadashami. It is celebrated at the end of Navratri every year. The word Dussehra is derived from two Sanskrit words- ‘Dasha’ and ‘hara’ which means defeating the ten demons.The day also observes the end of Durga pooja. People remember the victory of goddess Durga over the buffalo demon Mahishasur. Durga is celebrated for nine days and the tenth day is dedicated to Durga as Vijaydashmi.On the day of Dussehra, huge effigies of Ravana are made and set on fire. The burning of Ravana signifies the victory of good. Plays of Ramleela are organised on this day to pay a tribute to Lord Rama. Moral:The festival signifies the victory of good over evil and teaches that truth always wins. It also teaches us to never be egoistic.

This is a story of Dussehra, Ram and Ravan.

Dussehra

Yesha Desai

A long time ago, there lived a beautiful woman called Vidyullatha in Vijayanagar. She was a learned lady who was accomplished in all genres of fine arts.One day, because of her pride and arrogance about her abilities, she put a hoarding outside her house that said, “A reward of one thousand gold coins would be presented to those who would be able to defeat me in humour, wit and knowledge of ancient texts.”This became an issue of prestige for all the scholars in the region. Many of them took up the challenge and tried to defeat Vidyullatha in the war of words, but none succeeded.Days passed like this. One morning, a vendor happened to pass by her house selling firewood. The man was shouting at the top of his voice, “Firewood ..strong firewood….Who wants my strong and long lasting firewood?”The vendor had a shrill voice and was shouting continuously which irritated Vidyullatha. She stormed out of the house and called the vendor, “Oh vendor! Come here! I will buy your firewood. Just tell me how much you want for it, but please stop shouting.”The vendor replied, “Madam, I will not sell this for money. If you can give me a handful grain I will readily give you all the firewood that I have.”Vidyullatha promised him to give what he wanted and ordered him to dump the load in the backyard.The vendor said, “I need a handful of grain, Madam. Have you understood me clearly?”Vidyulltha yelled at the vendor, “You are asking me whether or not I have understood what a handful of grains mean? I am the most learned lady in the entire district! I know what you want. Now stop arguing and put this firewood in the backyard.”The persistent vendor said, “Madam, I pity you! You really do not know what I want. If you cannot pay the price, you should pay me one thousand gold coins and wipe the invitation hoarding on the compound wall.”Vidyullatha was infuriated. She asked angrily, “What nonsense are you saying?”The vendor said, “This is no nonsense. I told you the price and you agreed for it. Now if you cannot pay the price, you must give me one thousand gold coins for you have clearly failed to understand what I meant. And considering that, I have defeated you in the war of words.”A heated argument ensued between the two and then Vidyullatha decided to approach the provincial Court of Law for justice.&nbsp;She presented her argument in front of the judge, “My Lord! This firewood vendor is crazy. He asked for a handful of grains in lieu of his load of firewood. I agreed to give him that but he keeps saying that I do not know what it means and wants me to wipe off the board in front of the house. I plead for justice!”The judge looked at the vendor and asked him what the matter was. He humbly replied, “Sir, I informed her beforehand that the load of firewood would cost her a handful grain. I actually wanted one grain that could fill the hand. If she cannot understand this much, she has no right to put up that hoarding in front of her house.”Vidyullatha was outwitted by the firewood vendor and the verdict was given in favour of the vendor. Vidyullatha was ordered to pay him one thousand gold coins and ordered to take down the hoarding from her wall.That witty vendor was none other than Tenaliram.&nbsp;He had also heard about Vidyulalltha’s arrogance and haughtiness, and had thus taken the guise of a firewood vendor to teach her a lesson. Moral:Arrogance and pride leads you nowhere.

This is a classic story from Tenali Raman.Moral(s) of the story: arrogance

Thousand gold coins and a handful grain

Once, a lion was in a very foul mood because his wife, the lioness, had told him that his breath smelled, and he needed to do something about it. The lion acted as if he did not care as he was the king of the jungle, but secretly though, he was worried and wanted to know from others also if he had bad breath. So, later that day, the lion summoned three of his counsellors – the sheep, the wolf and the fox. He first addressed the sheep and asked, ‘Tell me, do you think my breath smells?’The sheep thought the lion wanted to know the truth. So, she humbly bowed before the lion and said, ‘Yes, Your Majesty! Your breath smells terrible. In fact, it smells so bad that it makes me feel sick.” This was not what the lion wanted to hear. He roared loudly with anger and killed the sheep for her audacity.Then, he called the wolf and said, “Tell me, O Wolf! Do you think my breath smells?” The wolf had already seen what the lion did to the sheep when she told him the truth. He had no intentions of ending up the same way. He folded his hands and said, “Your Majesty! I wonder who in the world told you that your breath smells! Your breath smells as sweet as the flowers in spring. I simply love to be around you.” The lion understood that the wolf was lying. His anger knew no bounds. He pounced on the wolf and ripped him to pieces.At last, the lion called the fox. The fox had seen the fate of the sheep and the wolf. They had both been punished for telling the truth and as well as for lying. So, the fox was caught between the devil and the deep sea. He did not know what to tell the lion. Still, he went near the lion, while desperately thinking of a suitable plan to escape from the lion’s wrath. “Tell me, O Fox,” growled the Lion, sharpening his claws, “Do you think my breath smells?” The fox coughed and sneezed and blew her nose, and then clearing her throat noisily, said in a hoarse voice, “I am so sorry, Your Majesty! I have such a nasty cold that I cannot smell anything.” The lion found her excuse to be genuine, and let her go scot free. This is how the clever fox saved her life. Moral:Cleverness and wit can help you escape out of the toughest situations.

This is a classic story from panchtantra.This is a story of fox, lion, sheep and wolf.Moral(s) of the story: smartness

cycling 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 camel and the zebra

A sick boy and his friend

Smell and sound

The Tower of Babel

The donkey in the well

Karna’s Weapons

Dussehra

Thousand gold coins and a handful grain

The Lion’s bad breath

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