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

The Sun and the Moon were best friends once upon a time. As they were always together there was no concept of the night. No one in the world knew anything about the night. They did not know anything about sleeping. The children played the whole day without feeling sleepy. One day, the Moon and the Sun were passing by and saw the ocean. The ocean was the most beautiful thing they had ever seen. The ocean enjoyed the Sun’s warmth and Moon’s beautiful face. She loved the moon more than the Sun. Whenever Moon was around, she created waves and tides in excitement. This made Sun very jealous.One afternoon, as the Ocean slept, the Sun did something terrible. He slowly lifted the Moon and threw him against the wall of the sky! Instead of breaking like glass, the Moon created millions of sparks that could not go out. He called the sparks “stars.”The Stars knew what the Sun had done to the Moon. The stars were very angry at the Sun and decided to attack the Sun. The stars formed an army and went on to attack the Sun. Before they could attack the Sun, the Ocean stopped them and asked, “Where are you going little stars?” The stars replied, “We are going to destroy the Sun!”The Ocean did not want either the Sun or Moon to be hurt or destroyed in a fight. She loved them both. So, she made a quick plan. She told the stars she had an idea. She called the Moon and the Sun. She told them to share their time with her. The Sun would visit her in the day, and the Moon at night. Both were very happy with the idea. This made the Ocean happy too. The Stars followed the Moon every day, to protect him from the Sun.From that day onwards, people saw the Sun in the day and the Moon at night. Moral:Fighting is not the solution to every problem.

This is a story of moon, ocean and star.Moral(s) of the story: ego and respect

Stars guarding the Moon

Ravina Sewani

There was a heavy flood in a river. After three days the flood subsided. Among many other things, a copper pot and an earthen pot were floating side by side in the river.The copper pot saw the earthen pot and said, “My friend, you are made of soft mud, and are weak. Come closer to me, if you wish. I will protect you from harm.”“Thanks for your good feelings for me," said the earthen pot. "But I dare not come closer to you. You are so strong and sturdy. I am so weak and fragile. By chance, if we crash into each other, I will shatter into a thousand tiny bits. If you are really my well-wisher, please keep away from me."Saying so, the earthen pot smoothly floated away from the copper pot. Moral:Keep over-powerful neighbours at some distance.

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

The two pots

Guru Nanak once flew to Kashmir with Mardana and Bala, his two friends who had always supported him. They reached to the city of Sri Nagar. Because of Nanak’s beliefs and teachings, people knew who he was.A Pundit named Brahm Das, also lived in that town. He said, "I don't think I'm going to be pleased with this newcomer. It is me who has great knowledge and supernatural powers. I'm going to show him my potential. I'm going to fly down to where he is seated and there's no question that when I land, he'll be impressed.”He got on his rug and flew up to where a large crowd had assembled around the Guru. All seemed happy. He looked and searched but there was no place where he could see Guru Nanak. He landed and asked the people, "Where is this Guru?" The Guru was sitting among the crowd with his sweet voice and beautiful face, but the Pundit was unable to see him.He was trying to fly free from his rug, yet it wasn't effective. None of his tactics worked, and he had to walk back on foot.The next day, the pundit humbly walked on foot to meet the Guru. This time he saw the Guru among the crowd. The pundit bowed before the Guru and asked, “Respected Guru, I was not able to see yesterday. I want to know why?” The Guru replied, “How could you see in such extreme darkness?”. The pundit surprisingly said, “Darkness? But it was the day.” The Guru replied, “There is no deeper darkness than pride. Because you can fly you think you are so great. Look around, the birds can fly, the insects can fly. Do you want to be like them?”Guru further added, “You worship gods and goddesses and they are temporary just like humans. You followed men of great knowledge and have become lost in that knowledge. That kind of knowledge which increases the darkness of ego, it will not help you. Look within yourself and see the truth.”Pandit was impressed by the words and said, “I have now learned to seek wisdom and happiness from within.”

This is a story of guru Nanak.Moral(s) of the story: ego and wisdom

Guru Nanak and his two friends

There lived a huge king cobra in a dense forest. He ate all kinds of creatures like, “Frogs, Lizards, Bird eggs and every other small insect and animal.” He used to hunt for his food all night and would hide in his hole as soon as the sun would rise.All small animals began to fear the king cobra. This boosted up his pride. He began to think, “Now, I am the most powerful creature. I am the king of the forest. All the animals fear me.”The cobra was very lazy and soon he grew fat. Due to his fat, the cobra could not move easily from his old hole. So, he found himself a new hole which was a huge tree. The new tree had a huge group of ants at its roots. The cobra did not want ants near his house. He had a plan.As cobra was considered as the King of the forest, he ordered the ants to go somewhere else. The other animals around them were scared but the ants did not pay any attenion to cobra’s threats. The ants decided to teach cobra a lesson. They swarmed all over the body of the cobra and started biting him. Their bites causedunbearable pain to the cobra. He tried to pull ants away from his body but failed. He was in pain.After some time, the ants went away. The cobra was hurt and wounded. He was in severe pain. He was crying. All the other animals could only pity him. The ants taught king Cobra a great lesson. Moral:Bigger the ego, harder they fall. Powerful cannot face the small ones when they are in a large number.

This is a story of ant, cobra, fear and forest.Moral(s) of the story: ego

ego 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.

Stars guarding the Moon

The two pots

Guru Nanak and his two friends

The Cobra and the Ants

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