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

There was once an eagle living in a jungle. He met fox and they both became friends. Their friendship grew stronger and they became best friends. They decided to build their homes next to each other. The fox lived near the bushes so eagle decided to build its nest near the bushes. They lived happily.After some time, both of the friends had their children. They adored and loved their children. One day, the fox wanted to go hunting. She left its cubs in the bushes and left in search of food. She said the cubs that she will be back soon. On the other side, the babies of the eagle were crying out of hunger. They were very hungry. The eagle did not have any food to feed her babies.The eagle tried searching for food but could not find anything. The eagle saw fox’s cubs playing near the bushes. The eaglets were crying out of hunger so she decided to feed one of the cubs to her children. The eagle went near the bushes and picked one of the cubs and fed her babies. She gave her friend’s baby to her children to eat. When the fox returned, she saw the eagle feeding her child to her babies. The fox was shocked and quickly went to the eagle. “What have you done?” said fox while crying. She was heartbroken and hurt. She was in extreme pain and said, “You have done very wrong with me eagle, you have cheated a friend, a good friend.” The fox took her cubs and left to never see the eagle again.The fox, even after being cheated by a friend, never wished for any harm to her friend. The fox was a good friend. But God had his plans.One day, the eaglets were very hungry and the mother eagle did not have anything to feed them. She decided to go to a nearby village to hunt. She thought she would surely find something there. She left for the hunt. There she found a dead goat. She took that and quickly flew back to her babies. When she came back, she was shocked to see the nest. The nest had caught fire and her babies were inside the nest. She pulled them out but it was too late. The poor eaglets were hurt badly and one of them even died. The eagle was heartbroken and in pain.At that moment, the fox was passing by. She saw the eagle’s nest. Looking at the eagle she said, “God has punished you for betraying a dear friend.” The fox left the place with a heavy heart. She did not wish for her friend to suffer but this was her justice. God had punished the one who did wrong to others. Moral:We should never betray other friends.

This is a story of eagle and fox.Moral(s) of the story: betrayal and friendship

The Eagle and the Fox

Ravina Sewani

Once upon a time, a huge elephant lived in a forest. The elephant was very arrogant and cruel. He took advantage of his size and wrecked havoc in the forest. He roamed around in the jungle breaking branches and small trees with his trunk. He did not care about the fact that in this way he destroyed the nests of many birds and killed their babies. In the same way, he ruined many foxes’ homes by trampling over them with his huge and heavy feet. All the animals of the forest were terrorised by the elephant. Even the lions and tigers tried to keep clear of him. The animals had got so fed up of the elephant and his arrogant ways that they wanted to kill him but they could not come up with a way to do this. One day, fed up of the destruction that the elephant was causing, the foxes held a meeting among themselves. They decided that the elephant must be killed so that the other animals of the forest could live in peace. This difficult task of killing the elephant was given to a particularly clever fox.The chosen fox made a careful study of the elephant’s behaviour and daily routine. Then, after much thinking, he made a plan. He went up to the elephant one day and said, “My Lord, I want to speak to you about some urgent business.”The elephant trumpeted and asked the fox, “What is it? Who are you?”The fox replied, “Your Highness, all the animals of the forest have decided to make you our king. They have sent me to you as a messenger. I have come to escort you to the place where all the other animals are waiting for your coronation ceremony. All the preparations are in order. We are only waiting for you to arrive and then we will crown you as our king.”The elephant was very pleased. Becoming the king of the forest had always been his dream. He readily agreed to follow the fox. The fox led the way. On the way, there was a marshy area near a pond that the fox and the elephant had to cross. The fox was light so he easily walked over the swamp. But when the elephant tried to cross the swamp, he got trapped in the marsh because of his weight. The more the elephant struggled to get out, the deeper the marsh sucked him. The elephant began to shout, “Help! Help! I’m drowning. Pull me out. Go and call all the other animals for help, quick!”The fox, who was standing calmly at the edge of the swamp, replied, “Nobody is going to save you. This is the kind of treatment that you truly deserve. You have always been cruel to other animals and have mistreated them. You have taken advantage of your power and broken down countless birds’ nests without caring about their eggs or nestlings. You have stomped upon foxes’ burrows and crushed many foxes under your heavy feet. You knew about all the destruction and misery you were causing us but you did not care to stop. You never paid heed to our cries for mercy and so today, nobody is going to have mercy on you. It is not the day of your coronation but of your cremation.” Saying this, the fox left.The elephant struggled for hours but he could not come out of the swamp. Finally, he drowned in the marsh and died. It is true that every tyrant has to meet his doom. Moral:Karma always serves us what we deserve.

This is a classic story from panchtantra.This is a story of elephant and fox.Moral(s) of the story: karma

The fox and the elephant

A long time ago, a lion named Kharankhara used to live in a forest. The lion had grown very old and weak. He was unable to hunt for his food anymore. This was a great source of worry for him. He thought that he might starve to death. One day, as he was roaming around in the forest, desperately trying to look for some food, he came across a cave. The lion thought that there must be some animal living in the cave. Suddenly, a plan struck him. He thought that he would go and hide inside the cave and when the owner of the cave returned, he would kill him and eat him. So, he went inside the cave and hid himself. After a while, a fox approached the cave. The cave was this fox’s home. As the fox was walking towards her cave, she happened to look at the ground. She was surprised to see the footprints of a lion going inside the cave but not coming out of it again. The fox wanted to make sure that the lion was inside the cave so she thought of a trick. She stood some distance away from the cave and called out, “Hello, cave! I have returned. May I come in? Why aren’t you replying, dear cave? Speak to me as you always do.” When the lion heard the fox, he thought that this cave must really be a talking cave. He thought that maybe the cave was not replying to the fox because of the lion’s presence inside it. He was worried that if the cave did not reply, the fox might leave it and go to reside in some other cave and thus, he would miss his chance of having a meal. So, trying to be smart, the lion thought of replying to the fox, pretending to be the cave. He roared out, “I have not stopped speaking to you, dear fox. Please come in and make yourself at home.” The clever fox immediately knew that the lion was hiding inside the cave. She said, “No one but an absolute fool would believe that a cave can speak,” and ran for her life as fast as she could. Moral:Presence of mind and quick thinking can get us out of any difficult situation.

This is a classic story from panchtantra.This is a story of fox and lion.Moral(s) of the story: wisdom

Hello, cave!  

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

The Lion’s bad breath

Once upon a time, a foolish donkey used to live in a small town. There was a forest near the town where many wild animals lived. The king of the jungle—the lion also lived in the forest along with his minister, a cunning fox. Now it so happened, that a few days back, the lion had got into a fight with a wild elephant and was badly injured. The lion was weak and wounded and was unable to go and hunt for his prey himself. So, his minister, the fox was in charge of bringing food for the lion. Like every day, the fox set out to hunt for prey, so that he could bring back food for his master. He had not gone far when he saw the donkey. The donkey was looking nervous, foolish and hungry. The fox walked up to him and said, “Hello! You seem to be new here. Where have you come from?” The donkey replied hesitantly, “Yes, I have come to the forest for the first time. I used to live in the nearby town. My master, the washer man, used to make me do a lot of work and hardly gave me anything to eat. So I have run away from his house in search of a better place.”The fox realised that this was his chance. He said cheerfully, “You have come to the right place, friend! I am a minister of this kingdom. Our king is looking for a bodyguard for his palace. He wants to give the job to someone who has experienced town life. You will have a very comfortable life here, living in the palace and feeding on the fresh, soft grass that grows around the palace.”The donkey was very happy on hearing this and he agreed to follow the fox back to the palace at once. When the lion saw the fox leading a donkey to the palace, he became very impatient with hunger. He pounced upon the donkey immediately and grabbed him. Due to his injuries and constant hunger, the lion had lost much of his strength and so he could not overpower the donkey. The donkey freed himself and ran as fast as he could.“My Lord,” the fox said to the lion, “You have scared away your prey. You should not have attacked him in such a hurry.” The lion was disappointed. “See if you can manage to bring him back,” he said to the fox.So, the fox ran behind the donkey and at last, caught up with him. “Why did you run away, you fool?” he said to the donkey. “Of course, I had to! Your king would have eaten me up,” the donkey replied. “Oh you silly fellow, that was just a test of your alertness for the job of the royal bodyguard of the king. If you had not shown alertness and quick reflex action, the king would have rejected you for the job. Come back with me to the palace now.” The donkey believed the fox’s story and followed him back to the palace. This time, the lion was hiding behind some thick bushes. As soon as the donkey passed by these bushes, the lion pounced on him and killed him.The lion was very pleased with himself. He thought of feasting on the donkey right away. Just as he was about to start eating, the fox said, “My lord, you are going to have a meal after a long time. Shouldn’t you take a bath and say your prayers first?”“Yes, you’re right,” the lion replied. “Stay here till I get back” While the lion was gone, the fox ate up the whole of the donkey’s brain. When the lion got back and began eating, he noticed that the donkey’s brain was missing. He questioned his minister about it angrily. “Where is the donkey’s brain?” he roared. The fox replied, “The donkey’s brain? But, Your Majesty, you must be aware that donkeys don’t have brains. If this creature had a brain, do you think he would have come back with me to the palace after being attacked the first time?”“Yes, you have a point,” said the lion and resumed eating. Thus, the fox managed to fool not only the donkey but also the lion with his cunning arguments. It is true that sometimes, a cunning argument can outwit normal intelligence. Moral:Be aware of how people behave with others. If they trick one person, they can trick everyone.

This is a classic story from panchtantra.This is a story of donkey, fox and lion.

The donkey and the cunning fox

One day a fox and an ass made a deal with the lion, that they would help one another in hunting for food. This way, they would have a lot of food and none of them would have to starve. Initially, both the fox and the ass were worried and nervous about the thought of going for a hunt with the lion, but when they imagined the share of food they would accumulate this way, they began to salivate and their nervousness disappeared in a jiffy.They made a fantastic plan for the hunt. According to the plan, the ass would first keep an eye on the animal they could hunt. Once he spotted a prey, he would go up to it and start talking. The bray of the donkey would alert the other two.The fox would then come out growling at the animal and once it started running, the fox would chase it. Trying to avoid the fox, the animal would run in the other direction where the lion would be waiting and the lion would immediately catch it and kill it at once.Their plan was successful and it was time for the much awaited meal of the day. The food looked delicious and the trio looked extremely happy and hungry. The lion ordered the ass to allot each of the partners their due share.The ass was overwhelmed by the lion’s gesture of asking him to delegate the share. Very carefully the ass divided the booties into three equal shares. “Now you may start enjoying your meals friends,” said the ass and started licking his share hungrily.The lion, however, was not very happy. He looked at the share for some time, “You guys really think that each one of us deserves the same share? You think your mere attempt of talking to the animal can be compared to my effort of killing it?” said the lion and pounced on the ass and killed it instantly.The lion then asked the fox to distribute the food. Terrified, the fox made two divisions and gave the lion almost all that was accumulated leaving a minor share for him. With a feeble voice, he told the lion, “Now you can have your share, sir.”The lion looked at his share carefully. Then, pleased with the division, the lion said to the fox, “You did an excellent job of delegating the share. I am impressed.”“Thank you, sir,” he replied. “I learnt a lesson by seeing the fate of the ass.” The frightened fox quietly left with his share and decided to never enter into any agreement with the lion in the future. Moral:One cannot change anyone’s behaviour which the nature has set.

The lion’s share

A Fox, swimming across a river, was barely able to reach the bank, where he lay bruised and exhausted from his struggle with the swift current. Soon a swarm of blood-sucking flies settled on him; but he lay quietly, still too weak to run away from them.A Hedgehog happened by. “Let me drive the flies away,” he said kindly.“No, no!” exclaimed the Fox, “do not disturb them! They have taken all they can hold. If you drive them away, another greedy swarm will come and take the little blood I have left.” Moral:It is better to tolerate a lesser evil than to risk a greater one in removing it.

This is a story fo Aesop fables, fox, hedgehog and river.Moral(s) of the story: tolerance

The Fox And The Hedgehog

Once there lived a camel who had a bad habit of making funny comments on the looks of other animals and birds. He never spoke a good word about any of them.To the cow he said, "Just have a look at yourself. What an ugly looking animal you are! When I look at your bones, it seems to me they will tear through your skin any moment."To the buffalo he said, "You must have surely offended the Creator and so He has painted your entire body with the coal black colour. Your crooked horns make you look uglier still."To the elephant he said, "You are a cartoon among all the animals. The Creator must have made you in one of His humorous moods. All the parts of your body are out of proportion. Your huge body is tagged with a bit of a tail. Your eyes are so small, and ears so big. I had better not say anything about your trunk and legs and other parts of your body."To the parrot he said, "The Creator has shown His sense of humour through the hook-like red beak of yours."In this way the camel always jeered and sneered at one and all. Once the camel chanced to meet a fox who was very outspoken and blunt. The fox said to him, "Camel, give up your dirty habit of commenting on others. Just find some time to look at yourself. You have a long face, stone-like eyes, yellow and dirty teeth, legs like crooked sticks and an ugly hump on your back. You are the ugliest among ugly animals. Other animals have a fault or two each, but yours outnumber and outclass them all."The camel hung his head in shame and walked away silently. Moral:Look at your own faults rather than at those of others.

This is a classic story from Vikas books.This is a story of buffalo, camel, cow, elephant, fox and parrot.Moral(s) of the story: empathy

The ugly Camel

In a dense forest, there lived a fox and a wolf. They both were good friends. They both enjoyed each other’s company. The fox depended on the wolf for many things. The wolf would go for hunting and fox would always go with him. He would sneak the spoils of the hunt left behind by the wolf. He used to get the meal easily as the wolf would do all the hard work.The fox used to always follow the wolf and would eat without doing much hard work. One day the wolf became aware of fox’s deceiving nature. The wolf started ignoring him. He would go hunting without his friend. The wolf decided to stay away from the fox as he was using him for his benefit. He thought that the fox was not a good friend and he was very selfish. The wolf did not call fox for the hunt after that.As the winter season started, the wolf began hunting and saved his meat for the season. He would hunt for the meal and would store it in his house for the winter. To avoid any difficulty in the winter, he stored as much food as he could. The wolf worked hard and searched for his food. The fox rested all around and did nothing. He thought that the wolf would take him for the hunt. He waited for the wolf to go for hunting.Many days went by and the wolf did not call the fox. So, the fox decided to look for the wolf. For many days, the fox managed to eat little food which he got nearby but he wanted to eat some good meat. He went to the wolf’s cave. The fox did not want to directly ask the wolf why he was not going for the hunt. So, he shouted, “Wolf, my friend. Are you fine? I have not seen you for a long time.” After this, the fox sneaked inside the cave to look for the wolf. Inside the cave, he saw a huge pile of meat. The wolf was inside the cave and was surprised to see the fox.The wolf coughed and said, “I was sick for a while. I will come to meet you when I feel better.” The fox asked the wolf to take care and left his cave. The wolf was happy that the fox left, he did not want to be friends with him. The fox felt very bad that the wolf was ignoring him and went for the hunt without him. Instead of realizing his mistake, he thought that the wolf was very mean to him. He decided to take revenge from the wolf.The fox went to a shepherd and took the shepherd to the wolf’s den. The shepherd was shocked to see his sheep inside the den. As they were easy to hunt, the wolf had killed many of shepherd’s sheep. The shepherd got very angry and started beating the wolf. “How dare you hunt my sheep? Now, you will not be killing my sheep anymore” said the shepherd and killed the wolf. Then he took off the wolf’s skin and left.The fox was very happy that the wolf was killed. He said, “This is what you get when you are mean to others. You are dead now and I will eat all your meat.” The fox did not realize what he had done and it was obvious that the selfish fox would never realize his mistake. As the fox was dancing and jumping, a hunter saw the fox and caught him. The hunter killed him. In the end, the fox was punished by God, for betraying his friend. Moral:One should always be loyal to their family and friends.

This is a story of farmer. fox and wolf.Moral(s) of story: selfishness

fox 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 Eagle and the Fox

The fox and the elephant

Hello, cave!

The Lion’s bad breath

The donkey and the cunning fox

The lion’s share

The Fox And The Hedgehog

The ugly Camel

The Fox and the Wolf

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