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.

Pallavi Hota

There was a panda who suddenly forgot his name and decided to go out and ask everybody around him if they knew his name.He asked the old lady, Oh dear grandma, do you know my name? She said, No dear, go and ask my son. He went to her son and asked, Son of grandma, do you know my name? He replied. No, ask my axe. He asked the axe, Grandma’s sons axe, do you know my name? It said, No, go and ask the tree I just cut. He asked the tree, Tree that the axe cut, do you know my name? It replied, No, ask the birds that sit on me. He asked the birds, Dear birds on the tree, do you know my name? The birds said, No, go and ask the river we drink water from. He asked the river, Dear river the birds drink water from, do you know my name? The river replied, No, go and ask the fish that swims in me. He asked the fish, Oh fish swimming in the river, do you know my name? It replied, No, go and ask the boy who tries to catch me. He asked the boy, Oh boy trying to catch the fish, do you know my name? He replied, No, go and ask the horse that I ride. He asked the horse, Dear horse that the boy rides, do you know my name? It said, No, ask the baby horse in my womb. He asked the baby horse, Dear baby horse in the horses womb, do you know my name. It fumbled and said, Pa-pa-pa It suddenly remembered and screamed in joy, Hurray! My name is panda.

This is a story of panda, horse, and river.

The Panda Who Forgot His Name

Ravina Sewani

Once, there was a king who had a beautiful daughter. In the forest next to the kingdom, there lived a giant. This giant was in love with the princess. But he could never come close to the princess as she always wore an amulet that kept all evil away from her. Nevertheless, the giant would frequently appear before her and embarrass her. The princess was fed up with this.One day, the giant was hiding behind the curtains of the princess’s room when he heard the princess talking to her friends. She was saying, “A very powerful giant keeps pestering me. Please suggest some way of getting rid of him.” On hearing about a ‘powerful giant’, the giant thought that this must be some other giant, more powerful than him. He wanted to know who this other giant was so that he could kill him. To find out more about the powerful giant, he transformed himself into a horse and started living in the palace stables with the other horses.One night, a thief entered the stable with the mind to steal a horse. He looked at all the horses and thought that the ‘giant horse’ was the finest. So, he mounted him and started running away. The giant, however, thought that this man must be the other ‘powerful giant’. He got scared and started running wildly. The thief whipped him and he ran even faster in fear. When the thief pulled the reins to stop the horse, the giant did not stop. He was so scared that he kept on running. Finally, in an attempt to get off the horse’s back, the thief caught hold of a Banyan tree’s branch above and clung on to it while the ‘giant horse’ just kept running ahead.On this Banyan tree, there lived a monkey who was the giant’s friend. He figured out that the giant must have mistaken the thief for a more powerful giant and called out to him, saying, “This is just a human being. Why are you afraid of him?” Now, things became clear to the giant and he headed back towards the thief to kill him and eat him. Just then, the thief who was hanging from the branch, saw that the monkey’s tail was dangling quite close to his face. He bit it hard and the monkey screamed out in pain.This again convinced the giant that the thief was no ordinary human but a very powerful giant who would kill him. So, he ran away into the forest as fast as he could. Moral:A fool is misguided by the smallest of things and thoughts.

This is a classic story from panchtantra.This is a story of horse.Moral(s) of the story: foolishness

The giant and the horse thief

Shina Utavani

Once upon a time, there lived a wolf in the jungle. One day, he was very hungry, and he had nothing to eat. He went to find something to eat for dinner. After a while, he saw a boy feeding in a field, so he went up to him and said, “Hey boy, I am going to eat you!” The boy was surprised and asked him, “Who are you?” The wolf said, “I am a wolf, and I am looking for a good dinner.” The boy asked, “Which type of wolf are you? Because you look like a dog!” To which the wolf said, “No, I am not a dog. I am a wolf.” Then, the boy said, “Well, if you are a wolf then stand at the bottom of the hill and open your jaw wide. Then I will run down the hill and jump straight into your mouth.” The wolf agreed. So, the wolf stood at the bottom of the hill and opened his mouth wide. The boy climbed to the top of the hill. The boy ran down the hill rapidly and hit the wolf as hard as he could. The wolf rolled over and was knocked with the blow, while the boy ran off for home. The wolf was fooled. He then realized that why would anyone jump into his mouth with his own will. He went ahead to look for his dinner. Then, he saw a horse walking in a field, chewing the grass. The wolf went to the horse and said, “Mr. Horse, Mr. Horse, I am going to eat you!” The horse asked, “Who are you?”. “I am a wolf”, replied the wolf. The horse said, “You look like a dog.” The wolf denied and said, “I am not a dog, I am a wolf.” The horse then said, “If you think you are then it is fine. I am not very fat yet so you can start eating me from my tail meanwhile I will be eating some more grass.” The wolf excitedly went up to the horse from behind. As soon as he tried to jump on the horse from behind, the horse knocked him with his leg as hard as he could. The wolf rolled over, while the horse ran off. The wolf again thought, “Well, I was a fool. Who eats a horse from his tail?” He further saw a pig coming towards him. He went to the pig and said, “Mr. Pig, Mr. Pig, I am going to eat you.” The pig asked him the same question, “Who are you? I would like to know before you could eat me.” The wolf replied, “I am a Wolf and not a dog”. This time the wolf clarified before only that he was not a dog. So, the Pig said, “Okay, you sit down on my back. First I will give you a ride and then you can eat me.” The wolf sat down on the pig’s back. The pig carried him straight into the village. All the dogs in the village saw the wolf and rushed towards them and started teasing him. The dogs started laughing at him and made fun of him. The wolf felt very bad and he started crying and went back into the forest. The silly wolf was never seen again. Moral:﻿You do not need to prove yourself to anyone. Know your worth.

This is a story of dog, horse, pig and wolf.Moral(s) of the story: self worth

The Hungry Wolf

Yesha Desai

The story is of the time when Raja Birbal did not have a personal horse or a carriage to bring him from his home to the Emperor’s court. One day, Akbar saw him coming on foot and promised to give him the fastest horse from his royal stable. Accordingly, he instructed the in-charge of the royal stable to give a horse to Birbal. But, just to have some harmless fun with Birbal and see his reaction, Akbar asked the stable man to select a weak and sick horse for Birbal. The stable man carried out the Emperor’s orders and delivered an old and sick horse at Birbal’s house. The horse was in such a bad shape that it died on the same night that it was delivered.Next day When Akbar saw Birbal coming on foot again, he asked in a surprised tone, “What happened to the horse that was arranged for you from the royal stable? It was our fastest horse! Were you afraid of riding it?”Birbal bowed and replied, “Jahapanah, it indeed was the fastest horse of all. He was in fact, so fast that he crossed the distance from earth to heaven in one night.”Akbar smiled at Birbal’s witty reply, and got a healthy horse arranged from the royal stable for Birbal. Moral:Our wit and humour can brighten our days and make them enjoyable.

This is a classic story from Akbar Birbal.This is a story of horse.Moral(s) of the story: wisdom

Fast Horse

Chetak was the most well groomed, obedient and good looking horse in the locality. His owner Ram Singh was extremely proud of him. He took very good care of Chetak and never missed a chance to show him off in front of his neighbours and associates. “There goes my young boy,” exclaimed Ram Singh each time he opened the gate to Chetak’s stable. Chetak would immediately come out galloping and would run around the whole ground. His sparkling eyes, light brown mane and shiny brown coat looked very attractive.Ram Singh would then ride him all around the farm. The crowd would look at them admiringly and he would feel extremely proud of Chetak. “Whenever I ride him, it’s like I am flying in the air,” said Ram Singh gladly.Chetak’s old groom had to quit for some reason, so Ram Singh hired a new groom for him. Ram Singh loved Chetak to pieces, so he hired the best groom in the town to take care of Chetak. Baloo, the new groom was very famous and supposedly all the horses groomed by him always ended up looking way better than they had ever done before. Chetak too became very handsome and even more attractive under Baloo’s grooming.Early every morning, Baloo would start with his grooming process. He would bathe Chetak carefully and comb his tails and brush his coat till it started shining. Hours passed this way and Chetak looked well groomed every day.But for some reason, Chetak was not happy. His beautiful eyes lost their sparkle and he became very inactive. Earlier, he would jump and gallop out of his stable as soon as the door was open. However, these days he almost had to be coaxed to get up and run. “What exactly is wrong with him?” thought the worried owner, and decided to find out for himself.One day, he went inside Chetak’s stable to investigate the reason behind the drastic change that had came upon his most loved companion. While walking through the stable, Ram Singh suddenly stumbled upon a stack full of oats. He was taken by surprise as those oats were meant for Chetak. Ram Singh had instructed Baloo strictly to feed them to Chetak thrice a day. Later, he found out that Baloo, instead of feeding Chetak with the oats, was actually saving them to sell them off at a lower price in the market.Ram Singh got very angry and asked Baloo, “Why did you keep the oats aside, while they are meant to be fed to Chetak?” Baloo was absolutely unrepentant and replied, “So what? He does not need to eat that much. Moreover, I do everything possible to make him look good—I rub oil on him and brush his coat to make him look this nice.”Ram Singh lost his temper. He shouted, “I appointed you to take care of him and keep him in good condition. I don’t care if you are grooming him nicely when he is starved and unhappy.” Saying this, Ram Singh dismissed Baloo immediately and started taking care of Chetak personally. Moral:All that glitters is not gold. Sometimes, what our eyes see is not the reality.

This is a classic story from panchtantra.This is a story of horse.

The groomed horse

The Ramayan is an ancient Sanskrit epic written by the famous sage Valmiki. It describes Lord Rama's effort to rescue Sita from the demon king Ravana. It also describes the challenges faced by Lord Rama, Laxaman, and Sita when they were exiled from the kingdom for 14 years. Following is a story from “The Ramayana”.When Rama was ordered to leave the kingdom by Kaikeyi, Sumantra took them in the chariot riding the horses. Lord Rama met Guha, the king of Nishaadas at the banks of the Ganges River. Guha helped Rama and Sita to cross Ganges river near Shringverpur, brought sumptuous food, comfortable beds and articles of worship to give Lord Rama a royal reception.Lord Rama was pleased to see this and embraced Guha saying, “I accept all that you have offered me with all my heart.” However, since I have taken a vow to wear only kusha grass, tree bark and deer skin and eat only fruits and roots, I cannot utilize these gifts. Therefore please take away what you have brought, except for the food, which I can use to feed my horses, for they are the favourite steads of Maharaja Dashrath.”

This is a story of Horse, Ram and river.

Rama showed gratitude even to the horses

A Farmer was driving his wagon along a country road after a heavy rain. The horses could hardly drag the load through the deep mud, and at last came to a standstill when one of the wheels sank deep in the mud.The farmer climbed down from his seat and stood beside the wagon looking at it but without making the least effort to get it out of the mud. All he did was to curse his bad luck and call loudly on Hercules to come to his aid.Hercules, the Greek God appeared saying, “Put your shoulder to the wheel, man, and urge on your horses. Do you think you can move the wagon by simply looking at it and crying about it? Hercules will not help unless you make some effort to help yourself.”And when the farmer put his shoulder to the wheel and urged on the horses, the wagon moved very readily, and soon the farmer was riding along in great content and with a good lesson learned. Moral:God helps those who help themselves.

This is a story of farmer, horse and hercules.Moral(s) of the story: self worth

Hercules and the Wagoner

Charlie was a rich boy and had way more toys than he could take care of. His parents were very rich and would keep buying new toys for him. Charlie had no idea how much everything costs and would never put efforts in taking care of his things. He did not even realise that not all children get to play with the kind of toys he had.&nbsp;One day, he lost all interest in the toys he had and wanted something unique. Charlie’s uncle found a horse and gifted it to him. Charlie was very happy with his gift and learned to ride the horse. But he was still careless about his horse and would not clean or feed the horse regularly. In no time, the horse started losing weight and looked sick. Charlie, for the first time in his life, was upset about this and was not happy about the fact that his parents were ready to exchange his old horse for a new one.One day while riding, he saw a girl with her horse. Her horse was in perfect health and looked happy. He followed the girl and noticed that the girl never hit the horse with a whip while riding. When she reached the stable, she fed the horse and cleaned it. Charlie did not know how to do all this and so went up to the girl and asked her to teach him everything.Charlie, from that onward, put all his efforts in taking care of his horse. When his horse was in good health again and ready to ride, Charlie went on a ride with the girl. This made him the happiest. Charlie realized that take care of things brings happiness but it also requires time, efforts, and dedication.&nbsp;Charlie then stopped asking for new toys. He gave some toys to his new friend and distributed other toys to several children in the village. The toys that he kept with himself, he took great care of them too. Moral:No one is going to take care of our things. It is us who have to take the responsibility and look after our belongings.

This is a story of a story and his owner.Moral(s) of the story: caring and sharing

Charlie and the horse

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

horse 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 Panda Who Forgot His Name

The giant and the horse thief

The Hungry Wolf

Fast Horse

The groomed horse

Rama showed gratitude even to the horses

Hercules and the Wagoner

Charlie and the horse

The Rich Mohan and the Poor Sohan

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