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 there was a little boy who became very ill. He had to spend all day in bed, unable to move. Because other children weren't allowed to come near him, he suffered greatly, and spent his days feeling sad and blue.There wasn't much he could do except look out of the window. Time passed, and his feeling of despair just grew. Until one day he saw a strange shape in the window. It was a penguin eating a sausage sandwich. The penguin squeezed in through the open window, said "good afternoon" to the boy, turned around, and left again.Of course, the boy was very surprised. He was still trying to work out what had happened, when outside his window he saw a monkey in a nappy, busy blowing up a balloon. At first the boy asked himself what that could possibly be, but after a while, as more and more crazy-looking characters appeared out the window, he burst out laughing and found it hard to stop.Anyone wanting to stop laughing would never be helped by seeing a pig playing a tambourine, an elephant jumping on a trampoline, or a dog wearing a pair of glasses and talking about nothing except politics. The little boy didn't tell anyone about this because who would have believed him? Even so, those strange characters ended up putting joy back in his heart, and in his body. Before long, his health had improved so much that he was able to go back to school again.There he got to talk to his friends, and tell them all the strange things he had seen. While he was talking to his best friend he saw something sticking out of his friend's school bag. The boy asked his friend what it was, and he was so insistent that finally his friend had to show him what was in the bag:There, inside, were all the fancy-dress suits and disguises that his best friend had been using to try to cheer the little boy up!And from that day on, the little boy always did his best to make sure that no one felt sad and alone.Moral: True friends never give up on us even though everyone else has.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

Morals of this story are friendship, caring and kindness.

A sick boy and his friend

Once, there was a poor boy who made a living by selling various objects from door to door. This was the way he earned money to pay for his school. One day, as he was selling the objects, he felt very hungry and weak. He felt that he couldn’t walk even a few steps. He decided to ask for food at a house. He knocked on the door and was stunned to see a beautiful young girl open the door. With much hesitation, he asked the girl for a glass of water.The young girl understood his condition and offered him a huge glass of milk. With an astonished look, the boy drank the milk very slowly. “How much do I owe you for this milk?” he asked her. The girl replied, “I do not want any money for this.” The boy thanked the girl from the bottom of his heart and left the place.Years passed by. The young girl grew up. In her youth, unfortunately, she fell ill and was diagnosed with the rarest kind of nervous disorder. Many experienced doctors were baffled at her condition, and she was admitted in the city hospital with the most advanced facilities. Dr. Kevin, a renowned neuro-specialist was called in by the hospital to examine her. Even with his extraordinary expertise, Dr. Kevin found the girl’s illness very hard to cure. However, with perseverance and hard work that lasted months, he was finally able to get the disease under control. With careful medication and monitoring, the girl was completely cured in the end.Everyone praised the doctor, but the girl was quite worried about how much the hospital bill would come to. Her family had just a little money kept away in the bank, which was by no means enough to pay for such a long treatment in that reputed hospital. The girl was given the hospital bill finally. With trembling hands, she opened it. She was stunned to see that the bill had been crossed out and cancelled, and there was a note underneath signed by Dr. Kevin.“Bill paid years ago with a glass of milk!” Moral:One good turn begets another.

This is a story of karma,Moral(s) of the story: benevolence, helpfulness and kindness

A glass of Milk

Sunny was upset today and was walking down the road when he saw an old man sitting on a chair. He was a seller of second-hand shoes. Sunny thought he looked at least 70 years old. The old man seemed so tired and nobody was buying his shoes. Sunny wanted to give him something but he had not brought anything with him.Then, a little girl came towards the old man. Sunny heard the child say, "Grandfather, may I polish your shoes?" That old man took pity on her, smiled and he gave her a shoe to polish.The girl said, "I polish the shoes because I need money to buy a new school uniform for my brother”.Sunny heard this and tears came to his eyes. The old man answered, "Oh, little girl. Just stop doing this. Come with me and I will buy you a uniform." Then they walked to a market and Sunny followed them. The old man bought her a uniform. The girl was so happy. She said, "Thank you so much for doing this. May God bless you." Then she left, leaving the old man smiling.The old man walked away from the market, but Sunny stopped him. He whispered in the old man's ear, "You are a hero! Thank you for your kindness!" As Sunny walked away, he glanced back and could see the old man still smiling.Sunny was blown away by the kindness he had just seen. Someone who had so little themselves, was able to show such incredible generosity! Amazing! Sunny's sadness had completely disappeared, chased way by the light of this kind act.Sunny began realizing that he had a lot to be thankful for. He hoped, that some day even he would be ableto show his appreciation for what he has by following the example of the old man who only had a little, but shared it so beautifully with someone who had nothing. Moral:One act of kindness inspires many others. It does not matter how much you have. If you choose to give, you are wealthy by your heart.

This is story of shoe, girl. sailor and school.Moral(s) of the story: generosity and kindness

A shoe seller walks in the shoes of kindness	

Shina Utavani

There was once a boy who was mischievous and ill-mannered. He used to always misbehave with others and disrespect them. His behaviour was very bad, and it was annoying for the people around him. His behaviour was such that one day, the Chief Fairy of the land had to come to punish him. The fairy turned the boy into a monster. The boy could only escape from being a monster if he managed to seriously frighten someone. At first, the boy thought that this would be easy, but he realized that the children in his area were difficult to scare.Many days passed by, but the monster failed in scaring anyone. So, he decided to look for an easy target. There was a boy who was well known as an easy target for anything. The monster started studying the behaviour of the boy for some time. He followed him wherever he went. The boy used to go to give charity to people, helped people in need and played with the children in the hospital. The boy did all the good work.The monster finally prepared himself to scare the boy. However, when he went to scare the boy, the images of people whom he had helped came into his mind. The monster did not want to scare someone who had done so much good work for others. The monster decided to leave him alone. Because the boy did all the good work without any price, the monster did not do any damage to the boy because then he would be responsible for him not being able to help more people.The Chief Fairy appeared in that moment and was impressed by the kind gesture of the monster. So, she rewarded him by turning him back into a normal boy. And the boy with the bad behaviour finally became a kind and generous person. He even became best friends with the boy he had planned to scare. Moral:Always be kind to others. Do good for others and good things will come back to you.

This is a story of fairy and monster.Moral(s) of the story: kindness

Forever a Monster

Following is a story about Mahatma Gandhi. Gandhi is known as the “Father of the Nation”. He led the non-violence movement in India and helped India in getting freedom from the British rule.&nbsp;Once a monk visited Gandhiji’s Sabarmati ashram. His name was Swami Satydev and he spent the entire day at the ashram. He expressed the wish to stay there for the rest of his life.The monk told Gandhiji that he liked the work he was doing in the Ashram. He then said, “I would like to stay here in the Ashram and do the work.” Gandhiji replied, “You can stay in the ashram but you will have to put away your saffron robes and have to dress like others in the ashram.”The Swami did not like the idea to change his attire. He said, “But I am a Monk (sanyasi)!” Gandhiji explained, “I am not asking you to leave sanyas. You can continue with it. Sanyas is a state of mind and dress has nothing to do with it.”“The problem with wearing orange robes in the ashram is that the people will not allow you to do work out of respect for your robes, instead they will serve you, and that would be contrary to the principles of this ashram. We are here to serve, not to be served,” said Gandhiji. The swami was lost in deep thoughts. After some time, he decided to join the ashram. Moral:Serving everyone is the best way to live.

This is a story of Mahatma Gandhi and his life's philosophy.Moral(s) of the story: empathy and kindness

We are here to serve, not to be served

There lived a bear named Winnie the Pooh. He lived with his friends in the Hundred-Acre Wood. One day, it was very windy and Winnie decided to visit his thinking spot. Whenever he wanted to think of something, he used to go to his thinking spot. The fluffy bear took all of his things and happily went to his thinking spot. He happily exclaimed that the day was very windy.Winnie quickly went to his thinking spot. After reaching there, he sat down quickly and tried to think of something. He quietly tried to think of something. He whispered to himself, “Think, Pooh, Think.” He tried very hard but could not think of anything. While he was busy thinking, Gopher, the beaver came out of the ground. The beaver said, “Why are you sitting here on a windy day? If I were you, I would have quickly gone back to my home. It’s Windsday, you know?After listening to beaver, pooh excitedly asked, “Windsday?” The pooh surprisingly looked at the beaver and an idea came to his mind. He decided to wish everyone a “Happy Windsday”. The fluffy bear quickly left his thinking spot and went to the piglet’s house.When he reached the piglet’s house, he was sweeping away the fallen leaves on a windy day. Piglet almost swept off the leaves and suddenly a huge gust of wind brought back all the leaves again. “Happy Windsday, Piglet”, pooh said with full of excitement. Another strong gust of wind blew and this time it took piglet along with the leaves. The poor piglet cried and said, “This is not a happy day for me.”&nbsp;Pooh saw piglet floating away with the wind and asked, “Where are you going piglet?”. The piglet said, “I do not know. Please Help Me, Pooh!” The pooh quickly grabbed onto a piglet scarf before he could fly out of reach. The wind was blowing so heavily that pooh also flew along with the piglet. Whenever piglet floated, pooh ran after him. Pooh and piglet went right through the rabbit’s carrot patch. They carried carrots along with them everywhere due to the wind and that made the rabbit very angry.The wind started blowing even stronger and with that, pooh and piglet were thrown at the Owl’s window. Looking at both of them, owl happily said, “What a pleasant surprise.” The Owl opened the window and invited them inside. As soon as the Owl opened the window, a strong gust of wind entered and his entire house was brought down.Everyone from the Hundred-Acre Wood came to help them but no one knew what to do. In the end Eeyore, the donkey said it’s time to look for a new house. Sadly, everyone agreed and the donkey gave the job of finding the new house to the Owl.When the night came, it was still windy. Poor pooh tried to sleep but he could not sleep. Pooh heard some strange voices and that made him uncomfortable. He decided to investigate and see who was there. He got up, opened the door and with trembling hands due to the wind, he asked, “Who’s out there?” Pooh prayed for no reply.At that very moment, pooh saw a strange-looking animal. The animal was orange in colour with black stripes all over its body. The animal said, “My name is Tiger.” Pooh said, “Oh, you scared me.” Tiger said, “Everyone is scared of Tigers.” And he laughed. Pooh curiously asked, “What is a Tiger?” tiger jumped around showing all he could and said, “I am hungry”. The pooh sadly said, “I hope not for honey.” Fortunately, the tiger hated honey. So, he left.The windy night turned into a rainy night. It rained heavily that night. The next morning, Hundred-Acre Wood was flooded with water all around. Pooh was scared that due to the water all his honey pots would go to waste. So, he decided to eat them all. But as he was licking the last pot, the water was flowing so heavily that it took pooh and his honey pot along with it.Everyone was struggling because of the flood. Piglet was also suffering in the water. The water entered his house through the window. He had no one to help him. So, poor piglet wrote a note asking for help and put it in a bottle. Then, he threw the bottle in the water. He thought someone would surely come to help him.All the people from the Hundred-Acre Wood gathered around Christopher Robin. Christopher Robin lived on a high hill and water could not reach there. He found the piglet’s note and sent Owl to find the piglet. Owl went to find a piglet. While flying he saw two objects. The two objects were Pooh the bear and the piglet. Owl shouted, “Pooh, Piglet! Christopher Robin is planning a rescue for you two.” Pooh was still stuck in his honey pot and the piglet stood firmly clinging onto a chair. They finally floated to Christopher Robin’s hill. After seeing Pooh and Piglet, Christopher said, “Pooh, you rescued Piglet! You are a hero. I must throw a Hero party for you, pooh!”Christopher threw a grand party for everyone and everyone started coming to the party. When Eeyore arrived, he announced, “I have found a new house for Owl.” Eeyore wished to show everyone Owl’s new house. Everyone followed Eeyore and to their surprise, Eeyore stopped in front of Piglet’s house. Before Pooh could say anything, Piglet gave up his house to Owl. Pooh happily said, “Piglet, you shall stay with me then.”Christopher Robin was very happy seeing the kind gesture of the Piglet. He said, “Piglet, that was a very kind gesture. So, the hero party was thrown not for one but two heroes. Pooh rescued little piglet and piglet saved Owl by giving him his home.”

This is a story of bear, owl and Winnie Pooh.Moral(s) of the story: kindness

Winnie and the Pooh

Once upon a time, there was a little kid named Shankar. He belonged to a very poor family. One day, he was passing by the forest carrying some woods. On his way, he saw an old man who was very hungry. Shankar wanted to give him some food, but he did not have food for himself. So, he continued on his way. Further, he saw a deer sitting under a tree. The deer was very thirsty. Shankar wanted to give him some water, but he did not have water for himself. So, he continued on his way. Then, he came across a man who wanted to make a camp but did not have enough woods. Shankar decided to give him some of his woods. In return, the man gave him some food and water. Instead of keeping the food and water for himself, Shankar went to the old man and gave him some food. He then rushed to the thirsty deer and gave him some water. The old man and the deer were very happy. Shankar then happily went back on his way. However, one day Shankar was walking by, and he suddenly fell down from the hill. He was in pain and it was difficult for him to even move. There was no one around to help him. After some time, an old man saw Shankar. He was the same man whom Shankar had helped before. The old man quickly came and pulled him up the hill. He had many wounds on his legs. The deer whom Shankar had given water saw his wounds. He quickly went to the forest and brought some herbs. The herbs helped Shankar to cover his wounds. All were happy that they could help each other. Moral:&nbsp;If you help others, they will also help you. The more you want to help others, the more they will want to help you.&nbsp;

This is a story of deer.Moral(s) of the story: helpfulness and kindness

An act of Kindness

Yesha Desai

Once upon a time, there lived a skilful archer in a city. Though he was short in height and had a hunched back, none could beat him in archery. One day he thought, “I am good enough to join the king’s army, but he would never take me in because of my short stature and hunched back. I must look for someone tall and powerful, and then I can enter the king’s army as his page.”One day, the little bowman found the kind of man he was looking for. He was a tall and powerful man and used to dig ditches to earn his living. The bowman approached him and said, “The days of your misery are over! I am the best archer of this country and worthy of being a part of the king’s royal army. But, I may get rejected because of my height and crooked back. So, I need your help. You will immediately be recruited in the army because of your physique and you can then introduce me to them as your page. I will do the work that you will be given to do and we shall divide the pay between us. This way both of us will be able to live comfortably.”The tall man gladly agreed. Together they reached the king’s palace and sent word to the king that a famous bowman was there to meet him. The king met the bowman and being impressed by his towering personality, inducted him in the royal army. The little man’s dream had come true. He was now a part of the royal army, though disguised as the page of the big man.In those days, there was a man-eater tiger on the loose in the jungle. The king sent for the big man and ordered him to kill the tiger. The big man told the little bowman what the king had said. They went to the forest together and soon, the little bowman shot the tiger dead. The king was extremely impressed by the heroic act of the big man and rewarded him with expensive gifts.Some days later, a mad buffalo let itself loose on the city roads and started killing the people with its horns. The big man was asked to go and kill the buffalo. The big man carried the little bowman on his shoulders and as always, the little bowman hit his target and killed the buffalo. The king was full of praise for the big man and gave him a big bag of money as a gift.The big man slowly started to think that he deserved all the credit and the little bowman had no right to share the prize money or any praise. He started treating the little man as his servant and spoke to him very rudely. The little bowman was very sad.A few days later, the king of the neighbouring country attacked the kingdom. The king at once sent his army. The big man was mounted on a majestic elephant and was wearing shining armour. The little bowman knew that the big man could not shoot, so he also took his bow and arrow and quietly sat behind the big man on the elephant.When the big man saw a huge enemy army in front of him, he started to shake with fear. The little bowman asked him to keep sitting quietly, but the big man was so nervous that he jumped off the elephant and ran back to the city from the battle field.The little bowman led the elephant fearlessly into the battlefield and killed many of the enemies with his unmistakable shots. All the soldiers were motivated by the little man’s act of bravery and they soon forced the enemy army to withdraw itself. The king now understood that it was the little bowman who was the real hero. He made him the chief of his army and also rewarded him with rich gifts. Moral:Bravery and kindness are always rewarded.

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

The brave little bowman

One hot day, an ant was searching for some water. After walking around for some time, she came to a spring. To reach the spring, she had to climb up a blade of grass. While making her way up, she slipped and fell into the water.She could have drowned if a dove up a nearby tree had not seen her. Seeing that the ant was in trouble, the dove quickly plucked a leaf and dropped it into the water near the struggling ant. The ant moved towards the leaf and climbed up onto it. Soon, the leaf drifted to dry ground, and the ant jumped out. She was safe at last.Just at that time, a hunter nearby was about to throw his net over the dove, hoping to trap it.Guessing what he was about to do, the ant quickly bit him on the heel. Feeling the pain, the hunter dropped his net. The dove was quick to fly away to safety. Moral:One good turn begets another.

This is a story of ant, dove and karma.Moral(s) of the story: benevolence, helpfulness and kindness

kindness 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.

A sick boy and his friend

A glass of Milk

A shoe seller walks in the shoes of kindness

Forever a Monster

We are here to serve, not to be served

Winnie and the Pooh

An act of Kindness

The brave little bowman

The Ant and The Dove

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