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

It was raining heavily, and the glass was splattered with the huge drops of water. Robbie said to his mom, “I want to go outside and play, Mum.” His mom did not know how to answer Robbie’s question so, she said, “When is it going to stop raining?” Due to heavy rain, Robbie was not able to go outside and play. Her mother replied, “I am sure it will stop any time now, Robbie. Why don’t you come and help me make some cookies?”Robbie was tired of making cookies. He did not want to play with his toys anymore. He was bored watching television. He wanted to go outside and play. Robbie said to his mum that he did not want to make cookies and ran into the living room. He threw himself on the couch and sighed, “I just want to go outside.” His mum, seeing him sad said she had an idea. She said, “Robbie, why do not you go upstairs and put your rubber boots on and your raincoat and rain hat too.Robbiegot up and asked, “Has it stopped raining?” Her mum replied, “No, but there is no reason you cannot go outside and play in the rain. Would you like to do that?” Robbie replied, “Yes, Mum. I want to go outside and play, even in the rain.” He ran to his bedroom and put on his red rubber boots. They fit snugly over his tennis shoes and would keep the water out when he splashed in the puddles. He wore his raincoat. It was red just like his hat. “I am ready, Mum,” he said.Her mum said to him to wait and she opened the closet and picked up a bright yellow umbrella. She gave the umbrella to him and opened the front door for him. The rain was pouring down. Puddles were all over the grass, streets, and sidewalks. Robbie went outside and opened the umbrella and stood in the rain. The water fell all around him, bouncing off the umbrella. He enjoyed splashing in the deep puddles. Water flew everywhere.Robbie’s mum stood at the window and watched her son having fun. She remembered her childhood days when she was a little girl. She loved to splash in the puddles when she was a little girl. She dressed in her yellow raincoat and rubber boots and opened the front door and went outside. Robbie was shocked to see her mother. His mother asked him, “Can I splash in the puddles with you?” He was very excited and happy to see his mother. He replied immediately, “Yes, Mum. Come and play with me.”They both enjoyed the rain and played for a long time. They jumped in the puddles and splashed on each other. They had the best time together. Robbie was glad that it rained so that he got a chance to play with his mum in the rain.

This is a story of mother, rain and son.Moral(s) of the story: happiness

Fun in the rain

Pallavi Hota

Butterfly, butterfly, where do you fly? sang the little girl whom she kept as her pet. The girl took care of her butterfly just as a family member, but never allowed her the freedom to fly.One day the butterfly tried her best and got out of the cage. She felt as if she was born again. She flew here and there amidst the beautiful flowers with rain drops falling on her wings. The next day the little girl waking up to this, cried. She insisted her parents get her that butterfly back. But they could not find the butterfly. She tried to find the butterfly everywhere and called out for her. She also waited for her to fly back to her.After some time, she realised that one cannot stop anyone from having their own freedom, and cannot possess anything forcefully just because of his or her own happiness.Moral:Forceful things are not real.

This is a story of butterfly.Moral(s) of the story: happiness

The Caged Butterfly

Ravina Sewani

There was once a boy who was very rich and clever. He had practically everything a boy could ever want, so he was only interested in the most rare and curious of objects. This happened to him in relation to a very old mirror, and he convinced his parents to buy it from a mysterious old man. When the mirror arrived home, the boy went to see his reflection in it. His face looked very sad indeed. He tried smiling and making funny faces, but his reflection continued with its sad expression.Surprised, the boy went off to buy sweets. He came home as happy as can be, to look in the mirror, but his image was still sad-looking. He bought all kinds of toys and old junk, but forever looked sad in that mirror. Fed up, the boy stuck the mirror off in a corner."Crikey, what a terrible mirror! It's the first time I've seen a mirror that didn't work properly!"That same afternoon he went into the street to play and to buy a few toys, but on his way to the park he saw a little boy who was crying his heart out. The boy was crying so much, and looked so lonely, that the rich boy went over to help him and to see what had happened. The little one told him that he had lost his parents.Together the two boys set off in search of them. As the little boy wouldn't stop crying, our boy spent his money on buying him sweets to cheer him up. Finally, after much walking, they found his parents who were out looking for him, very worried.The rich boy said goodbye, and walked off towards the park. But, seeing the time,he decided to turn round and head for home, without having been able&nbsp;to play, without toys, and without money. At home, he went to his room, and noticed a shining light in the corner; the same corner he had left the mirror in. Seeing this, he went over to the mirror,and realised that the light was coming from his own body, so radiant with happiness he had become.And so he understood the mystery of that mirror, the only mirror which could faithfully reflect the true joy of its owner. He realised it was true; he felt genuinely happy at having helped that little boy.And since then, each morning when he looked in that mirror and failed to see a special shine, he already knew what he had to do to bring it back. Moral:Kindness brings real joy. It is when you be kind to others, do you feel the most satisfaction.

This is a story of mirror.Moral(s) of the story: happiness, helpfulness and kindness

Mirror with a Malfunction

Yesha Desai

Once upon a time, there was a small dog that used to sneak in the royal shed to eat some food that was kept for the royal elephant. Since the royal elephant lived alone throughout the day in the shed, he also did not mind the dog visiting him daily and gladly let him eat his leftover food. Soon, the elephant and the dog became very good friends. They ate together, slept together and played together. A time came when they were almost inseparable from each other.Then one day, a farmer who came to visit the elephant-keeper, saw the dog. He liked it very much and asked the elephant keeper to sell it to him. Although the elephant keeper did not own the dog, He took some money from the villager and gave it to him. The king’s elephant became very sad after this incident. He missed his friend a lot and stopped eating, drinking and even bathing.Three days had passed and the elephant had not moved an inch from his place. The elephant keeper had to report the matter to the king. The king asked his wisest minister to look into the matter and find out what was wrong with his elephant. The minister went to the stable and checked the elephant. He could make out that there was nothing physically wrong with the elephant. He then arrived to the conclusion that the big animal was perhaps missing something or someone. He asked the elephant keeper, “ I think that the royal elephant is grief stricken, possibly due to the loss of a dear friend. Do you know if this elephant shared a close friendship with any person or animal?”The elephant-keeper hesitantly said, “Yes, Sir! There was a dog that used to eat, sleep and play with the elephant. A stranger took him away three days ago, but I do not know where he went.” The minister went to the king and told him, “Your Majesty, the royal elephant is fine but he is lonesome without his dear friend, the dog. Some stranger has taken away the dog and nobody knows his whereabouts.”The king was concerned about the well being of his elephant. He asked the minister, “How can we bring back the dog and make my elephant happy again?” The minister suggested, “Your Majesty, make a declaration, that whoever has taken the dog that used to live at the royal elephant’s shed shall be penalised.” The king did the same and the farmer who had taken the dog, quickly let him loose.Once freed, the dog found his way to the elephant’s shed easily. The elephant was so delighted to see the dog that he picked him up with his trunk and made him sit on his head. The king was content to see his elephant happy once again and suitably rewarded the minister for his wise judgement. Moral:True happiness is based on the relations you keep.

This is a classic story from Jataka tales.This is a story of dog and elephant.Moral(s) of the story: happiness

The elephant and the dog

Long long time ago, all the feelings: Happpiness, Sadness, Knowledge, Love, Hate, Anger, and many others, lived on an island. One day, due to flood, the feelings realised that they would sink and so all of them made boats and left the island, all, except Love.Love decided that I would hold on till the very last moment but it soon realized that if it did not leave, it might sink. So at the very last moment, love decided to ask for help.Love saw Richness pass by in a grand boat and so it asked, “Richness, can you take me with you?”Richness answered, “No, I can’t. There is a lot of gold and silver in my boat. There is no place here for you.”Love requested Pride who was also passing by in a beautiful boat. “Vanity, please help me!” “I can’t help you, Love. You are all wet and might damage my boat,” Vanity answered.Sadness also passed close by, so Love said, “Sadness, let me go with you.” “Oh . . . Love, I am so sad that I need to be by myself!”Happiness passed by but she was so happy and lost that she did not even hear when Love called out.Suddenly, Love heard a voice, “Come, Love, I will take you.” It was an elder. Love felt so blessed and overjoyed, that it forgot to ask the elder where they were going. When they arrived at dry land, the elder without saying a word just went on his own way. Love realized that if it had not been for the elder, it would have drowned. Love asked Knowledge, who was another elder, “Who helped me?”“It was Time,” Knowledge answered. “Time?” asked Love. “But why did Time help me?” Knowledge smiled and answered, “Because only Time is capable of understanding how valuable Love is.” Moral:Always tell people how you feel and how much you love them before it is very late and before time passes by.

Moral(s) of the story: happiness, love, pride, sadness and knowledege

 Love and Time

Once, a little mouse who lived in the country village invited his cousin mouse from the city to visit him. When the city mouse sat down to have dinner, he was surprised to see that the village mouse had nothing to offer him except barley and some grain. He said scornfully, “Dear cousin, is this what you eat every day? I beg your pardon for saying so, but you do not live well at all here in the village. You must come to visit me once and see how I live!” The city mouse bragged further, “I have all sorts of fine things to eat every day. If you see my royal lifestyle there in the city, you would never want to come back.”The village mouse was very impressed to hear about his cousin’s way of life and thus, he decided to visit him. The city mouse warmly welcomed his cousin and the first place that he showed him was the kitchen. There were myriad delicious food items lying in the kitchen cabinets. There was bread, cheese, fruit, cereals and all sorts of grains. The village mouse could not believe his eyes as he had not seen so much of food in one place ever back in his village.Then the two mice went to the dining area to have their lunch. A lavish meal, including delicious cakes, dessert and wine was laid out on the dining table. When they were just about to start their lunch, they heard a distinct ‘Meeeeow’ coming towards them. It was a cat that was about to pounce on them. The two mice left whatever they had in their hands and scampered off to safety.The village mouse was very frightened and asked his cousin, “Who is she? Does she also live here in this house?” The city mouse replied, “She is Snowy, the cat. The owners have kept her to rid the house of the mice. I have to daily deal with her in order to savour all those delicious meals.”The cat looked for them for some time and then left. Both the mice came out again sat down to have their lunch but, just then the owners of that house also came to have their lunch. The mice had to run for their lives again and remain hungry till the night.In the night, the city mouse took his cousin to the cellar to find something to eat. The village mouse saw a big piece of cheese lying on the board and was just about to grab it when he heard his cousin yelling from behind, “Stop! That is a trap! You may get killed.”The little village mouse looked at the trap, and he looked at the cheese, and then he looked at the little city mouse. He said, “I think I will go home. I would rather have barley and grain to eat, and eat it in peace and comfort, than have cakes and desserts and cheese and be frightened to death all the time!” The city mouse had nothing to say. Moral:The luxuries and riches are not the sources of peace and happiness but being satisfied with what we already have is.

This is a classic story from panchtantra.This is a story of cat and mouse.Moral(s) of the story: happiness and peace

Village mouse and the city mouse

Mogu, a panda lived on the hills with his family. He was always a happy lad. His favourite festival was Christmas. Every year he eagerly waited for Santa to get him gifts. And his favourite time of the year was back.He went to the market and got every possible thing to decorate the house. This time, he got a huge Christmas tree out of excitement. With that, he bought a new pair of socks to write his Christmas wishes and put them inside the socks. He decorated the entire house and baked cakes. It was time now, so he went to sleep and waited for Santa to deliver his gifts. He woke up in the middle of the night and found no gift around him. He became really sad and went to his dad and sulked. His dad realised that he had forgotten to keep the gifts under his bed and felt upset. He asked Mogu to wait for a while and assured him that Santa had not forgotten but a little late in delivering the gifts. He then dressed up and appeared in front of Mogu singing, ìHo! Ho! Ho! Merry Christmas! and handed him all the gifts that he had wished for. To Moguís surprise his dad was Santa and delivered him gifts every year. He was happy and rejoiced knowing that his dad loved him so much.

This is a story of panda, Santa Claus and Christmas.Moral(s) of the story: happiness

Christmas Wish

Many, many years ago everyone was strong and healthy. They ate a very varied diet, and especially loved fruits, vegetables, and fishes. Everyone took daily exercise, and they enjoyed themselves playing and leaping about. The Earth was the healthiest place you could imagine.All that made the dark witches furious. They only ever wanted to do harm and make problems for people. One day, they cast a spell and turned into tiny ants. They entered human bodies like virus and destroyed their health. They started with a little boy and soon changed his likes and dislikes.Soon, the boy had a funny feeling in his mouth and tongue and he no longer wanted to eat vegetables, fruits, or fishes. All he wanted to do was eat ice cream, pizza, burgers, and candy. Then he felt a nibbling feeling all over his body and he no longer enjoyed playing and running about with his friends. He now just wanted to stay in the house, sitting or sleeping. His life got boring, he started feeling ill, and had no desire to do anything.The witches then targeted other people and caused the most contagious disease-disease of wasting life.After a long time, Doctor Fitton-Helthie discovered that the little witches were causing all this disease. No tablet or syrup could cure this. He found out the best cure was to make a strong effort to live a healthy, joyful, and happy life. When a person became healthy, the little witches would leave that body through a sneeze.From then on, everyone slowly started eating fruits, vegetables, and fishes, and started some exercise. Whoever came to see Doctor Fitton-Helthie to take his, ended up totally well, being cured of the waste-of-life disease. Moral:A healthy mind and a healthy body is the key to a life full of joy.

This is a story of burger, doctor, ice cream, pizza and witch.Moral(s) of the story: health hygiene

Swarm of "health-destroying" Ants

There was once a clown whose name was Shaggy. He was always sad as he thought he did not entertain people. One day before his show he ate a lot of jalebis. Food and sweets made him happy.That day there was a huge crowd that had gathered to see him perform. He was very nervous as he had a stomach ache due to the jalebis that he overate. He still gave his best and started to perform all the acts to make the audience happy. While dancing and jumping, there was a loud sound and the audience started laughing loudly. He realised it was the sound of his fart and he himself started laughing. From that day onwards he started remaining happy and found happiness in small things.

This is a story of clown.Moral(s) of the story: happiness

happiness 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.

Fun in the rain

The Caged Butterfly

Mirror with a Malfunction

The elephant and the dog

Love and Time

Village mouse and the city mouse

Christmas Wish

Swarm of "health-destroying" Ants

The Happy Clown

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