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

Manu came from a poor family, they had enough money to meet their needs but not enough for unnecessary expenditures. Manu’s friend, Shanu was rich enough to enjoy his life.Lord Ganesha’s festival came near and everyone brought colourful idols in their home to welcome the Lord. Shanu brought a very big idol, it was decorated with flowers and crowns.Manu was in awe of the idol Shanu had bought. He asked his parents to get the same for him but they refused. They did not have the money to do so. Manu sat quietly in a corner, thinking God would not come to him because he could not spend enough.However, with as much as he could manage, he built a small clay idol to worship. That night, in his dreams Lord Ganesha appeared and said, “ Hello, Manu.”Manu was shocked before he finally remembered his manners and bowed. Lord Ganesha explained it to him that he was visiting because Manu’s devotion was real and God resides in hearts, not in fancy idols. Moral:God resides, not in rituals and clay idols, but in our heart and our devotion.

This is a story of Ganesh and idol.Moral(s) of the story: devotion

Where is God?

Shina Utavani

The Ramayan is an ancient Sanskrit epic written by the famous sage Valmiki. It describes Lord Rama's effort to rescue Sita from the demon king Ravana. It also describes the challenges faced by Lord Rama, Laxaman, and Sita when they were exiled from the kingdom for 14 years. Following is a story from “The Ramayana”.In ancient India, there lived a poor boy named Shravan. He lived with his elderly parents. His parents were very old and blind. Shravan had devoted his life to serving his blind parents. He took care of every wish of his parents. His whole life was centredon serving his parents.Once his parents expressed their desire to go on a pilgrimage but since they were blind, they could not go there alone. So, Shravan decided to take his parents to the pilgrimage. He made two large strong baskets and tied each basket on either side of a long bamboo stick. He made his parents sit on each basket and carried them on his shoulder. He then left for the pilgrimage carrying his parents on the shoulder. Shravan was so devoted to his parents that he did not feel their weight.Shravan took his parents to pilgrim places. After a few months, they reached the outskirts of Ayodhya, the holy birthplace of Shri Ramchandra Bhagwan. They were resting in a forest and his parents were thirsty. So, Shravan went in search of water for his parents. He saw the river Saryu flowing nearby. As he bent down to take water, an arrow pierced his chest. King Dashrath had hit him by accident. The king was in the forest hunting for a deer. In fading light of the dusk, he mistook Shravan for a deer because of the gurgling sound of the water. The king then realised his mistake and ran towards Shravan. Even in his last breath, Shravan asked King Dashrath (Lord Ram’s father) to satisfy the thirst of his parents and let them know about the tragedy.King Dashrath felt very bad and went to the blind couple with water. The parents were very sad to hear this and wished to be taken to Shravan. The king took them to Shravan. The old parents grieved at their son’s death. Dashrath bowed down and begged for forgiveness. Shravan’s father said, “Kind man, we do not want to curse you, as the power to curse is only in God’s hands. But we see your future. As we shall die longing for our son, you too shall die longing for your son.”Soon the old parents died longing for their dear son. The couple’s words later turned out to be true for Dashrath. He, too died, longing for his son Shri Ram. Moral:Always respect and obey your parents. Serve them with utmost devotion.

This is a story of king dasrath, parent and shravankumar.Moral(s) of the story: devotion

Shravan Kumar’s devotion to his parents

Ravina Sewani

One of the many disciples of Guru Ram Dass, the fourth Sikh Guru, was Arjun Dev who was always dedicated to the duties assigned to him.His duty was scrubbing the utensils and the other disciples asked him to also serve the Guru sometimes.Arjun Dev replied, “My work is of cleaning the utensils, I do upon Guru’s orders.”The others insisted that the Guru will not be pleased simply by this and that Arjun should serve the Guru too. They went quiet when Arjun replied, “My duty is to serve and obey, not please the Guru.’Time went on and the other disciples did not advice more. Arjun continued his work and the Guru’s health declined.When Guru Ram Dass died everybody wanted to know what was written in his will. Every disciple was so sure that they will succeed the Guru and inherit his fortune.When the ‘will’ was opened, Arjun Dev had been declared the successor.Everyone, particularly those who had high hopes, was surprised and some even questioned Arjun’s qualities.The wise men said, “In the Guru’s views Arjun Dev was the only deserving successor to him.” The disciples asked, “But he never said his prayers. He never took part in the religious discourses. He was only cleaning utensils. Nothing else did he do. Then where lies the justification in making him the successor.”The reply was that the eligibility for becoming the Guru’s successor is one’s innate faith, absolute devotion and discipline, as well as his knowledge and wisdom. Moral:Pleasing others does not take you far, being disciplined and completing the work given to you with devotion brings rewards.

This is a story of Guru Ram Das.Moral(s) of the story: devotion, discipline and hard work.

The Guru’s Successor

Sudama was a brahmin man.&nbsp;He was a good friend of Lord Krishna. Sudama was very indifferent. He had no desire for material things. Once Sudama and Krishna went to a jungle. Sudama did not offer food to Krishna and lied to him saying he did not have anything to eat.&nbsp;After completing education, Lord Krishna left for Dwarka but Sudama stayed. He got married and began to pass his life with his wife and children.Sudama spent most of his life in poverty because of what he did with Krishna in the jungle. He did not have enough money to fulfil his family's needs. There were times where he had nothing to feed his children.His wife was very upset as they could not feed their children. His wife insisted him to ask for help from his friend Krishna, who was the king of Dwarka. Sudama at first did not like the idea of taking favours from anyone but seeing his kids starving he decided to ask for help from Krishna.Sudama went to Dwarka to meet Krishna. He took rice for Krishna. His dignity did not allow him to ask any favours. He left the palace without asking for any favours. He felt very bad for his kids and wife.The pure devotion of Sudama and Krishna's true friendship worked its magic. Sudama took rice for Krishna and Krishna while eating the rice blessed Sudama and his hut was converted into a beautiful palace. His dignity was rewarded. Tears rolled out from his eyes when he saw the palace. This shows the true friendship and devotion they both shared.

This is a story of Krishan and Sudama.Moral(s) of the story: devotion

Sudama

The Ramayan is an ancient Sanskrit epic written by the famous sage Valmiki. It describes Lord Rama's effort to rescue Sita from the demon king Ravana. It also describes the challenges faced by Lord Rama, Laxaman, and Sita when they were exiled from the kingdom for 14 years. Following is a story from “The Ramayana”.Vibhishana was the younger brother of Ravana, the king of Lanka. He was always surrounded by people who hated Lord Ram. Though he was born into a family of demons, he held in his heart great love and respect for Lord Ram.Vibhishana used to warn Ravana to give up his evil ways, but Ravana would never listen to him. Ravana instead used to laugh at Vibhishana for being weak and submissive. But Vibhishana was never discouraged by Ravana’s words and always followed his noble path. Vibhishana even advised Ravana to return Sita to Lord Ram but he never listened to him.Eventually, Vibhishana’s righteousness was paid off when Ram defeated Ravana and made Vibhishan the King of Lanka. Moral:No matter how many detractors you have around you, always stick to the right path.

This is the story of Ram, Ravan and veebhishana.Moral(s) of the story: devotion

devotion 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.

Where is God?

Shravan Kumar’s devotion to his parents

The Guru’s Successor

Sudama

Vibhishana’s devotion

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