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

Once upon a time lived on a cloud that was grown up over a very beautiful country. One day, she saw another much bigger cloud and she felt so much envy, than the cloud decided that in order to get bigger and grow more, her water would never abandon her, and will never start raining again.Indeed, the cloud grew up, while his country was getting dried. First, rivers dried up, then people, animals, plants, and finally, the whole country became a desert. The cloud did not care much, but she also did not realize that by being over a desert there was no place where she could obtain new water to keep growing. So slowly, the cloud began to lose size, and was unable to do anything to stop it .The cloud then realized her mistake, and that her greed and selfishness were the cause of her vanishing; but just before evaporating, when she was just a sigh of cotton, there started blowing a gentle breeze. The cloud was so small and weighed so little that the wind took her far away, to a faraway beautiful country, where once again she recovered her original size.Having learned this lesson, our cloud remained small and modest, but she became so generous when raining, that her new country became even greener, giving away to all people there the most beautiful rainbow in the world.Moral: Greed and selfishness bring with them serious problems.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

This is a story of cloud, rain and rainbow.Moral(s) of the story: greediness and selfishness

The greedy cloud

Once upon a time, on the banks of a mighty river, there was a monkey, who lived on a magnificent tree. The tree bore fruits as sweet as nectar, and the monkey lived a happy and content life.Once, a hungry crocodile swam up to the bank of the river. “Hello! Try out these fruits!” called out the monkey, tossing the juicy fruits to the crocodile. Every day, the crocodile would come to eat the fruits, and soon, they became great friends.But the crocodile’s wife was very greedy, and wanted to have the monkey for her supper. “I want to devour the monkey’s heart, for it will be as sweet as the fruit he eats,” schemed the wife.Next day, the gullible crocodile invited his dear friend to his house for supper. The poor monkey believed the story, and without hesitation, jumped on the crocodile’s back and off they went to the crocodile’s home on the other side of the river.In the middle of the river, the crocodile began sinking deep. The frightened monkey screamed, “What are you doing?” The crocodile said, “Forgive me, my friend, but I have to kill you! My wife has heard so much about you, and now she wants to eat your juicy heart.”“Oh, silly friend,” baited the monkey. “Why didn’t you say so in the beginning itself? My heart is stored safely in the burrow of the tree.”“Really? Let’s go get it then,” said the silly crocodile, and he started swimming back to the tree. Once the crocodile reached the river bank, the terrified monkey sprang to safety, on a high branch.Once out of reach, the monkey yelled at the crocodile, “Your wife is a greedy crocodile and you a foolish one. I have only one heart and it’s beating inside me.” The crocodile was ashamed of what happened and swam back into the sea, having lost a dear friend due to his foolishness. Moral:Presence of mind can help escape any dangerous situation. The monkey used his wit at the right time and was able to escape the vicious plan of the crocodile.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

This is a story of crocodile, monkey and panchtantra.Moral(s) of the story: foolishness, greediness and smartness

The Monkey and the Crocodile

Once there was a greedy man named Karodimal. One day he wanted to buy a coconut. He went to a coconut vendor and asked him the price of a coconut.“Four rupees each,” said the vendor.“Four rupees? That’s too much. I'll pay you three rupees,” said Karodimal. “If you go a mile ahead, you'll get it there for three rupees,” said the vendor.Karodimal said to himself, “Money is very precious. I don’t mind walking a mile to save a rupee.”So he walked down a mile ahead and saw there a coconut vendor. He asked him the price of a coconut.“Three rupees each,” said the vendor. “Three rupees? That’s too much. I'll pay you two rupees,” said Karodimal.“If you go a mile ahead, you'll get it there for two rupees,” said the vendor. Again Karodimal said to himself, “Money is very precious. I don’t mind walking a mile more to save a rupee.”So he walked down a mile ahead and saw there a coconut vendor. He asked him the price of a coconut.“Two rupees each,” said the vendor. “Two rupees? That’s too much. I’ll pay you one rupee,” said Karodimal.“If you go a mile ahead, you will reach the beach. There you'll get it for one rupee,” said the vendor.Again Karodimal said to himself, “Money is very precious. I don’t mind walking a mile more to save a rupee.” So Karodimal walked down a mile ahead and reached the beach. There were many coconut vendors there. Karodimal went to one of them and asked him the price of a coconut.“One rupee each,” said the vendor. “One rupee? That’s too much. I'll pay you fifty paisa,” said Karodimal.The vendor said, “Why don’t you climb up one of these coconut trees and get one for nothing?”“That’s right,” said Karodimal and climbed up a coconut tree. He tightly held a coconut between two hands to pluck it from the tree. But just then his legs lost the hold of the trunk and he hung in the air. He swung in the air for some time. Then he fell down on the sandy beach. He got a coconut just for a few scratches on his body and a fracture in his leg. Moral:Greed is the root cause of many evils and sufferings.

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

Greedy Karodimal

A long time ago, two young men named Mohan and Sohan lived in a small town. Mohan was a rich jeweler while Sohan was a poor man. Once, for his sister’s wedding, Sohan took jewels worth five thousand rupees on credit from Mohan’s shop. He promised to pay the money to Mohan in six months time.But not even a month had passed from that day, that Mohan started asking Sohan for the money. Sohan replied, “I can’t make the payment so soon, friend. As it is we had an agreement that I will pay the money to you in six months. It has not even been a month yet. You know I am a poor man. Have some patience and give me time to collect the money.”Actually, Mohan had his eye on Sohan’s property. In connection with this debt, he wanted Sohan to sign some papers that said that Sohan had mortgaged his house and other property to Mohan for buying the jewels. So, he insisted that Sohan should come with him to the court of law where these papers could be prepared.Sohan again told Mohan about his poor financial state and reiterated that he would not break his promise of paying him back in six months. But Mohan did not relent. Seeing no other way out, Sohan said, “But I don’t even have a horse. How am I supposed to reach the court?”“You can borrow mine,” said Mohan, not wanting to let this opportunity go.“And what about clothes? I don’t have any decent clothes that I can wear to the court,” Sohan said.“I’ll give you some of mine,” said Mohan.“I don’t even have shoes,” Sohan said.“Alright, take mine,” Mohan replied.Finally, Sohan agreed to accompany Mohan to the court. Mohan lent him his clothes, shoes and horse.When their case was called out by the judge, Sohan requested the judge to allow him to ask Mohan a few questions. The judge gave permission. Sohan asked Mohan, “Mohan, tell me, whose clothes are these that I am wearing?”“Mine,” said Mohan.“And whom do these shoes belong to?” Sohan asked.“They’re also mine,” replied Mohan.“And the horse that I rode on this morning to come here?” Sohan asked.“That too is mine,” Mohan answered.Everyone in the courtroom burst out laughing.Sohan said to the judge, “Your Honour, you can see for yourself that Mohan’s mental condition is not stable. He thinks that all the things that I possess belong to him.”The judge agreed with Sohan and dismissed the case. In this way, Sohan foiled Mohan’s evil plan. Moral:Greed is evil and must be destroyed with cleverness.

This is a story of court, horse, panchtantra, shirt, t shirt, trousers and shoes.Moral(s) of the story: greediness and smartness

The Rich Mohan and the Poor Sohan

Shina Utavani

Once upon a time, there lived jackal whose name was Jijo. One day, Jijo went to the fair with his friend Fredo, the fox. They loved the place and enjoyed various rides. They ate a lot of ice cream and fried snacks. They spent their entire day having fun at the fair.Jijo loved motorbikes and wanted to have one. He told his father to get him a motorbike. His father thought that he was very small to ride a motorbike. So, he told him to use a bicycle for now. Jijo thought he was old enough to use a bike. But all he had was an old bicycle. He really wanted to ride the motorbike so he decided to ask for a bike to his father again.He went to his father one day and said, “Dad, I know how to ride a bike and I want the bike. Please buy one for me.” His father replied, “Son, riding a bike takes a lot of responsibility. Will you be able to take care of your bike? You have to assure me that you will follow all the rules and will drive safely.” Jijo said, “Yes, Dad, I promise!” His father had some more conditions. He said, “I will give you money for just four litres of fuel every month. You will use the bike only to do important things. You should always inform us before using the bike and you must learn all the important traffic rules.”After hearing all the conditions, Jijo was a little shocked but as his father agreed to buy him a bike so he said ‘Yes’.The next month, Jijo’s father got him a new bike. Jijo was busted with joy. He was overwhelmed to receive a bike. He would make different excuses to ride the bike. He wanted to ride the bike every day but as he was allowed only four litres of fuel in a month, he could not ride very far. His friends also wanted to ride his bike. But Jijo could not do a lot of things due to the conditions put by his father. He felt restricted due to the conditions.One day, Jijo’s friend, Fredo, the fox came to visit him. Fredo was impressed by his bike. He said, “Jijo, you know there is a fair being held on the outskirt of the forest. Why don’t we go there on your bike?” Jijo wanted to go but there was hardly any fuel left in the bike and he did not have money to buy more fuel. Fredo said, “Ask your mother. She might have some task for you to complete and using that as an excuse, we can go to the fair and have some fun.” Jijo went to his mother and informed his mother that they were going to market to buy some fruits. His mom agreed and the two set off for the fair.Jijo and Fredo enjoyed the bike ride and reached the fair. They spent their entire day at the fair and enjoyed different rides, ate ice-creams, and a lot of fried snacks. They had a great time together at the fair.As it started getting dark, they decided to go home. They took the bike and went back to their home. In the middle, their bike suddenly stopped. They had only travelled a small distance and they had a long-distance to cover in order to reach home. When Jijo checked the fuel tank of the bike, it was empty. Jijo got worried and asked, “How will we go home, now?” Fredo had an idea, he said, “We can do one thing. You sit on the bike and I will push it from behind. After some time, I will sit on the bike and you push. This way, we will reach home.” Jijo agreed and they both took turns and tried to push the bike. Somehow, they reached home late at night. They both were very tired. Jijo was very upset as it was very difficult for them to reach back home. He said to himself, “My old bicycle was so much better. It looks worn out but it never stopped working. It was good for my health too.”Jijo understood the value of his old bicycle. After that day, he decided to ride his bicycle every day and used his motorbike only when he needed to.

This is a story of bicycle, fox and motorcycle.Moral(s) of the story: greediness

Jijo's new Motorbike 

Sam was a greedy and a selfish man. He always desired to have lots and lots of money and never hesitated to cheat others to make money. Also, he never wished to share anything with others. He paid very low wages to his servants.However, one day, he learned a lesson that changed his life forever.It so happened that one day, a small bag that belonged to Sam was missing. The bag had 50 gold coins in it. Sam searched high and low for the bag, but could not find it. Sam’s friends and neighbours also joined in the search, but all their efforts were in vain.After a couple of days, the ten year old daughter of a man working for Sam found the bag. She told her father about it. Her father identified the bag as the one that was missing, and immediately decided to take it to his master.He gave the bag back to his master Sam, and asked him to check whether the bag had 50 gold coins. Sam was exultant to get the coins back, but he decided to play a trick. He shouted at his worker, “there were 75 gold coins in this bag but you gave me only 50! Where are the other coins? You have stolen them!”The worker was shocked to hear this and pleaded his innocence. Selfish and greedy, Sam did not accept the worker’s story, and decided to take the issue to court. The judge heard both the sides. He questioned the daughter and the worker about the number of coins they had found in the bag, and they assured it was only 50. He cross-examined Sam and Sam replied, “Yes my lord, I had 75 gold coins in my bag, and they gave me only 50. Hence, it is quite obvious that they have stolen 25 coins!” The judge then asked, “Are you sure that your bag had 75 coins?”Sam nodded vigorously. The judge then made his judgment. “Since Sam lost a bag of 75 gold coins and the bag found by the girl had only 50 coins, it is obvious that the bag that was found does not belong to Sam. It was lost by someone else. If anyone finds a bag of 75 gold coins, I will declare that it belongs to Sam. As there are no complaints about the loss of 50 coins, I order the girl and his father to take those 50 coins as a token of appreciation for their honesty!” Moral:Honesty will always be rewarded and greed punished!

This is a story of coin.Moral(s) of the story: greediness, honesty and selfishness

Gold Coins and a Selfish Man

Once upon a time, a man and his wife had the good fortune to have a goose which laid a golden egg every day. Lucky though they were, they soon began to think they were not getting rich fast enough.They imagined that if the bird is able to lay golden eggs, its insides must be made of gold. And they thought that if they could get all that precious metal at once, they would get mighty rich very soon. So the man and his wife decided to kill the bird.However, upon cutting the goose open, they were shocked to find that its innards were like that of any other goose! Moral:Greediness is always punished.

This is a story of goose.Moral(s) of the story: greediness

The Goose with the Golden Eggs

Yesha Desai

Once upon a time, there lived a king who ruled over a rich and prosperous kingdom. But, the king was never happy with what he had and was always on a mission to expand his empire by conquering other kingdoms. One day, he set out on a mission to conquer a distant country. The king and his soldiers walked the entire morning in the forest. By evening, all of them were exhausted and thus halted near a lake to take some rest. The horses were also tired, so the soldiers fed them some peas. A monkey living in the forest was eyeing the delicious peas being fed to the horses. He jumped down from the tree, grabbed a handful of peas and scampered back to the tree. As he sat down comfortably on a branch and started to eat the peas, one small pea slipped from his hand and fell on the ground. Without thinking even once, the greedy monkey dropped all the peas he had in his hands, and ran down to look for the lost pea. Unfortunately, the monkey could not find that pea. He kept looking for the pea for some more time and then climbed back the tree empty handed. His greed had made him lose all that he had.The king was watching the monkey with great interest. Wisdom dawned on him and he realised that his want for more may leave him with nothing one day. He said to himself, “I will not be like this foolish monkey, who lost much to gain a little. I will go back to my own country and enjoy what I have.” So, the next day he ordered his men to march back home. Moral:We should try to be happy with whatever we have and not be greedy and foolish.

This is a classic story from Jataka tales.This is a story of Monkey.Moral(s) of the story: greediness

The penny wise monkey

At one time, there were two traders who were great friends. One of them lived in a small village, while the other one lived in a big town nearby.One day, the village trader took his plow to the town and left it with his friend to get it mended. The town trader promised to have the plow repaired and send it back to his friend in the village. Instead of getting the plow repaired, the cunning town trader sold it and kept the money.When the trader from the village did not get his plow back for a long time, he decided to go to the town again. The village trader met the town trader and asked him about the plow. The town trader slyly replied, “My friend, I am sorry. The mice have eaten your plow.”It was the strangest reply that the village trader had ever heard! How an iron plow could be eaten by mice, he wondered, but kept quiet. The village trader was very clever. He thought of a plan and said, “Things happen, my friend! Let us not worry over what has happened. It is so hot in the town. I would like to go for a swim in the nearby pond. Please send your son also with me to take care of my clothes while I bathe in the water.” The town trader heaved a sigh of relief as the village trader did not make any issue about his plow and gladly sent his son with him.The village trader took the town trader’s son with him and hid him in a cave. Hours later, he returned alone to his friend with a long face. The town trader anxiously asked, “Where is my son? You took him along. Why didn’t you bring him back?”“Yes, I took him with me and left him on the bank of that river while I went down into the water,” said the villager. “While I was swimming, a big bird came, grabbed your son in its claws and flew high in the air. Before I could do anything, the bird vanished with your son.” he said.“You are lying!” yelled the town trader. “It is just impossible. No bird could pick up a child and fly away like that! I will take you to the court.”The village trader calmly said, “As you please.” They both went to the court.The town trader pleaded to the judge, “Your Honour! This fellow took my son with him to the river in the afternoon. Now he has come back alone and is telling me that a bird took away my son in its claws.”“What have you to say?” the judge asked the village trader.“Sir, it is true! I did tell this man that a bird has taken away his son,” said the village trader.“What you say is just impossible! No bird is strong enough to carry away a small boy in its claws.” said the judge.The village trader said, “I beg your pardon, but if the mice can eat an iron plow, the birds can also fly away with small children.”“What do you mean by that?” asked the judge.“Some time back, I had left my plow with this man. When I came to get it back, he told me that the mice had eaten it. I believed him and now he must also believe me. A bird has taken away his boy!”The judge understood the whole matter and ordered the town trader, “You have cheated your friend! You must now give him a new plow and he shall return your son to you.”This is how the witty village trader taught a lesson to the greedy town trader. Moral:Greediness never gets you anywhere.

This is a classic story from Jataka Tales.Moral(s) of the story: greediness

greediness 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 greedy cloud

The Monkey and the Crocodile

Greedy Karodimal

The Rich Mohan and the Poor Sohan

Jijo's new Motorbike

Gold Coins and a Selfish Man

The Goose with the Golden Eggs

The penny wise monkey

The stolen plow

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