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

Mahabharata is an ancient Indian epic about the brothers, Pandavas and kauravas. It describes the battle between them in the Kurukshetra war for the throne of Hastinapura. It is an epic tale that combines war, religion, philosophy and Hindu history. Following is a story from “The Mahabharata” which describes the reason why we call Karna ‘Danveer’Karna was on his death bed amidst the battlefield and was gasping for breath in his last moments. Lord Krishna was confused about Karna’s generosity and wanted to check it. He went to Karna disguised as a beggar. Karna was on his death bed and seeing the beggar asked him what he needed. Lord Krishna as a beggar said, “Lord, I need some gold for my daughter’s marriage”. Karna showed his helplessness to the beggar and said, “I am sorry but I have nothing to give you as I am on my death bed. I feel worse that I am not able to give you anything. But you can ask gold from my wife in Angadesh.” Listening to this the beggar said, “I cannot travel so far for gold, Lord. I thought you are kind and generous and would help me.”Karna felt very bad and decided to give him the golden tooth he had. Karna took a stone and broke his golden teeth. The tooth was bleeding with blood and Karna did not want to give blood covered teeth to the beggar. He was injured badly and could not move. He took his arrow and bowed it towards the sky. The next moment rain broke out and then he gave the cleaned gold teeth to the beggar. Lord Krishna was shocked to see Karna’s sacrifice. He was proved that there was no one as generous and kind as Karna. Lord Krishna came into his real form and said, “You will live in the hearts of people. You will be remembered for your qualities Daan (Donation) and Veer (Heroic). You will be remembered as ‘Danveer.”That is how Karna got his name ‘Danveer”.

This is a story of Karan and Krishna.Moral(s) of the story: sacrifice

Karna as ‘Danveer’

Rathyatra festival is dedicated to Lord Jagannath (Lord Krishna), his sister Goddess Subhadra and his elder brother Lord Balaram. Significance of the festival: Rath Yatra commemorates the journey of Lord Krishna from Gokul to Mathura. The festival is organised in Puri. It is said that every year, Lord Krishna wishes to visit his birthplace Mathura. The yatra is conducted to fulfil his desire. It is organised from Jagannath temple to Gundicha temple in Odisha. The yatra is organised in a chariot. The chariots are the main attraction of the yatra. The trio of Lord Krishna, Goddess Subhadra, and Balaram spend a whole week in the Gundicha temple and then they are returned to their original places. This ceremony is called Badhu Yatra. All of them have a distinct chariot. Lord Krishna’s chariot is known as Garudadhwaja. Balaram’s chariot is called Taladhwaja. Subhadra’s chariot is named Padhmadhwaja. It is a great Indian festival with the utmost religious importance.&nbsp;&nbsp;

This is a story of Krishna and Rathyatra.

Rathyatra

Krishna’s childhood was filled with adventurous stories. Though filled with joy, each episode of his childhood shows one spiritual dimension or the other.Gokula was a land with pure cowherds (a person who tends to cows), the men were named 'Gopalas' and the girls were called 'Gopis'. Krishna was about three months old when his mother brought him to the place where people gathered for a festival with their relatives.Yashoda and other people had to prepare the afternoon meal and she left the sleeping child in the shade of a bullock cart. The food was consumed, people were busy with the music. Krishna woke up to the sounds of music while sleeping soundly.Playfully, wanting to join the party, the kid began to move his feet to the beat and pushed the cart's wheel. The cart fell with a thud, and everyone was surprised by the sound, and they ran to the place hoping for the worst. Together they raised the collapsed cart and were overjoyed to see the boy, appearing as happy as ever, and completely unharmed by the crash.&nbsp;That was indeed the first confirmation of his heavenly abilities, but this fact was not known by everyone around at that moment, but rather played off as a miraculous escape.

This is a story of bullock cart, Krishna and Yashoda.

Krishna’s Childhood

Mahabharata is an ancient Indian epic about the brothers, Pandavas and kauravas. It describes the battle between them in the Kurukshetra war for the throne of Hastinapura. It is an epic tale that combines war, religion, philosophy and Hindu history. Following is a story from “The Mahabharata”.Kauravas and Pandavas were trying to get support from various kings in order to prepare for the war. Duryodhana went to Krishna, the king of Dwarka, to ask for his support. He reached Krishna’s place but at that time Krishna was sleeping. So, Duryodhana went and took a seat beside Krishna’s head and waited for him to wake up. At that time, Arjuna also came to ask for Krishna’s support. Arjuna was very humble so, he sat near Krishna’s feet and waited for him to wake up.When Krishna woke up, he saw Arjuna first because Duryodhana was sitting behind him. Duryodhan said, “I have come to ask for your support in the war.” Arjuna also made the same request. Duryodhana said, “I came before Arjuna, so you should help me and not him.” Krishna said, “Due to your pride, you sat beside my head due to which I saw Arjuna first. So, he will be given the first chance.” Krishna said, “To one of you I will give my army and to the other, I will give my moral support.”Krishna asked Arjuna first what he wanted. Arjuna, without wasting a second chose Krishna’s moral support. He knew that with his support and guidance, the Pandavas would win the war.When Duryodhana heard Arjuna’s choice, he was happy. He thought Arjuna was very stupid to choose Krishna as he would not even fight in the war. So, he was happy that he got Krishna’s army.At the time of the Great War of Kurukshetra, Kauravas lost even though they had a large army. Pandavas won because of the righteousness and with Lord Krishna’s support. Moral:Always be modest and respect others.

This is a story of Arjun, Dronacharya, Kauravas, Krishna and Pandavas.Moral(s) of the story: modesty

Arjuna and Duryodhana seeking help from Krishna

Pallavi Hota

Mahabharata is an ancient Indian epic about the brothers, Pandavas and kauravas. It describes the battle between them in the Kurukshetra war for the throne of Hastinapura. It is an epic tale that combines war, religion, philosophy and Hindu history. Following is a story from “The Mahabharata.” Once Durvasa Muni, the ancient Rishi, who was known for granting boons to people who pleased him, visited the house of&nbsp;Duryodhana, the enemy cousin of Maharaja Yudhisthira. Duryodhana was&nbsp;intelligent enough to satisfy the brahmana by all means, and the&nbsp;great rishi wanted to give some blessings to Duryodhana. Duryodhana knew his mystic powers, and he also knew that the mystic brahmana, if&nbsp;dissatisfied, could cause some havoc. When the rishi asked Duryodhana, Duryodhana wished that he should visit the house of Maharaja Yudhisthira, who was the eldest and chief among all his cousins. He requested the rishi to go to Yudhisthira after he had finished his meals with his Queen, Draupadi. Duryodhana knew that after Draupadi’s dinner, it would be impossible for Maharaja Yudhisthira to receive such a large number of brahmana guests, and thus the rishi would be annoyed and would create some trouble for his cousin Maharaja Yudhisthira. That was the plan of Duryodhana. Durvasa Muni agreed to this proposal, and he approached the King in exile, according to the plan of Duryodhana, after the King and Draupadi had finished their meals. On his arrival at the door of Maharaja Yudhisthira, he was at once well received, and the King requested him to finish his noontime religious rites in the river, for by that time the foodstuff would be prepared. Durvasa Muni, along with his large number of disciples, went to take a bath in the river. Maharaja Yudhisthira was in great anxiety about the guests. If Draupadi had not taken her meals, food could have been served to any number of guests, but the rishi, by the plan of Duryodhana, reached there after Draupadi had finished her meals.Draupadi was thinking of Lord Krishna in that difficult situation. Lord Krishna arrived at the scene and asked Draupadi to give whatever food she might have in her stock. Draupadi apologised to Lord Krishna and told Him that the mysterious dish which she had received from the sun-god could supply any amount of food if she herself had not eaten. But on that particular day, she had already taken her meals.The Lord, however, asked Draupadi to bring up the cooking pots to see if there was any&nbsp;particle of food left, and on Draupadi doing so, the Lord found a few particles of vegetables sticking to the pot. The Lord at once picked it up and ate it. After doing so, the Lord asked Draupadi to call for her guests, the company of Durvasa. Bhima was sent to call them from the river. Bhima said, “Why are you delaying, sirs? Come on, the food is ready for you.” But the brahmanas, because of Lord Krisha’s accepting a little particle of food, felt sumptuously fed, even while they were in the water. They thought that since Maharaja Yudhisthira must have prepared many valuable dishes for them and since they were not hungry and could not eat, the King would feel very sorry, so it was better not to go there. Thus they decided to go away.

This is a story of Krishna and Draupadi.

Durvasa Muni and cooking pot of Draupadi

Mahabharata is an ancient Indian epic about the brothers, Pandavas and kauravas. It describes the battle between them in the Kurukshetra war for the throne of Hastinapura. It is an epic tale that combines war, religion, philosophy and Hindu history. Following is a story from The Mahabharata.After the end of the Mahabharata war, the Pandavs heard the sound of laughter. When they went near the source of sound, they could see Barbarika's head. Barbarika was none other than the grandson of Bhima and Hidimba. When he was a child, he was taught by his grandmother Hidimba that one would be liberated even if he is killed by Krishna.This lesson was engraved in his mind deeply and to fulfill this mission, he performed harsh actions for many years and obtained powerful weapons from various demi-gods. When the Mahabharat war was about to begin Barbarika decided to take the side of Kauravas. When Krishna did not approve of this, he told Krishna that he would kill the Pandavas at once and was about to shoot a weapon at them. Immediately he was beheaded by Lordís Sudarshan chakra and his wish of being killed by Krishna was fulfilled by the Lord.Then Barbarika offered prayers to the Lord and requested Krishna to allow him to watch the Lord in Mahabharat war. The Lord granted him spiritual vision. After watching all the pastimes of the Lord, Barbarika was laughing in ecstasy recollecting the same. When the Pandavas heard this from Barbarika, they were eager to know who fought more bravely in the war. Barbarika replied ñ ìIn reality, NO ONE FOUGHT. Everywhere it was only sudarshan chakra which was moving around actively causing Bhismadev, Dronacharya, Karna, Jayadrath and all the warriors to fall down.

Barbarika watching Mahabharata war

Mahabharata is an ancient Indian epic about the brothers, Pandavas and Kauravas. It describes the battle between them in the Kurukshetra war for the throne of Hastinapura. It is an epic tale that combines war, religion, philosophy and Hindu history. Following is a story from “The Mahabharata which describes how Dronacharya was defeated.Yudhisthir was the eldest of the Pandava brothers. He had always followed the path of dharma, his whole life. He had never uttered a lie. Due to his values, his chariot stayed 2 feet above the ground.Dronacharya, who was the Guru of Pandavas and Kauravas, had become the chief of the Kaurava army in the Kurukshetra war. He was a warrior and for the victory of Pandavas, it was necessary to defeat Dronacharya.Lord Krishna told Pandavas that it was impossible to defeat Dronacharya because he was very strong. He was the only warrior who had Brahmastra (a weapon with the power of universe) and Divyastra. Krishna told that Dronacharya can be defeated only when he is unarmed.Krishna then said that the only way to remove Dronacharya was to convince him that his son, Aswathama was dead. His son was his weakness. Krishna further said, “If Dronacharya believes that his son is dead, he will drop his weapons.” After listening to this, Arjuna was a little shocked. He disagreed to kill his own Guru.Lord Krishna headed towards Yudhisthir and said, “We have to follow our Dharma. And we have to do anything we can to stand against Adharma. You are the epitome of Dharma and Righteousness. Only you can help do the right thing.” Yudhisthir thought for few seconds and said, “If this is the only way, I will do it. I will carry the weight of this sin on my shoulder.”Lord Krishna then pointed towards an Elephant. He directed Bheem to kill the elephant. The name of the elephant was Aswathama. Bheem killed the elephant and went to the battlefield and announced, “I have killed Aswathama.”Dronacharya did not believe him and went to Yudhisthir to know the truth. Dronacharya asked, “Is it true that my son is no more?” Yudhisthir replied, “Yes Aswathama is dead. I do not know if it is a man or an elephant.”After listening to the words, Dronacharya was shocked. He was in grief and fell on the ground. He dropped all his weapons and sat down. And so Guru Dronacharya was defeated.At that moment Yudhisthir’s chariot touched the ground as he had told a lie.

This is a story of Ashwatthama, Dronacharya, Krishna and Yudhistra

Yudhisthir and Dronachrayaa

When Krishna grew up, he saw milk, curds, and butter all around in Gokula, the land of 'Gopalas' or cowherds (a person who tends to cows). He was always showered upon by the love by Gopis. He had watched them clean the greasy vessels using mud after they were emptied of the butter and always wondered if his stomach also needed to be similarly cleaned.He sat and started to put mud into his mouth and started eating it. His brother, Balarama, and other children around saw this strange sight and demanded to know what he had in the mouth. His mouth was filled with mud so he couldn’t say anything.His brothers took him to Yashoda. He kept shaking his head when Yashoda asked him if he had eaten more butter. Angrily, she took a stick and asked for his mouth to be opened. Krishna opened his mouth wide open, and Yashoda was unable to believe her eyes! What she saw was the entire universe, with Gokula in clear detail, and a glimpse of herself before the Krishna child.She closed her eyes to clear her own head and saw the little fellow seated in front of her as if nothing had occurred. That was when she discovered that he wasn't a regular baby. However, the innocent and amused look of Krishna made her keep this discovery to herself.

This is a story of Yashoda and Krishna when she discovers the truth about Krishna.

Yashoda Discovers about Krishna

Mahabharata is an ancient Indian epic about the brothers, Pandavas and kauravas. It describes the battle between them in the Kurukshetra war for the throne of Hastinapura. It is an epic tale that combines war, religion, philosophy and Hindu history. Following is a story from “The Mahabharata” about Karna and his generous nature.&nbsp;There was a boy named Karna who was very kind and generous. He Duryodhan’s (eldest Kaurava) best friend. Karna used to help people in need. He never denied helping anyone. Karna had a routine of going for a bath to the riverbank every morning and offer his prayers to Sun-God. While returning, if he met a needy person, he would always give something to that person.&nbsp;Lord Krishna was aware of the generous nature of Karna. Once Arjun and Lord Krishna were having a conversation about Karna. Lord Krishna was impressed by Karna’s kindness and he was praising his generosity. Lord Krishna even said that he had never seen anyone as generous and kind as Karna. Arjun was amazed to hear that. Arjun argued saying that his brother Yudhishthir was also very generous. Lord Krishna said, “Yes he is but not as generous as Karna. Let me prove it to you that Karna is the most generous.” Arjun agreed.They both went to Yudhisthir the next morning. It was a rainy season. Yudhisthir saw Lord Krishna and Arjun and welcomed them both. He said, “I am pleased to see you. What brought you here early in the morning?” Lord Krishna replied, “Actually, some important construction work has to be undertaken immediately and we do not have enough wood. We need some wooden logs for that.” Yudhisthir called his servants and told them to bring the best quality wood for construction. After a long time, one servant came back and said that due to monsoon, the wood had become wet and they cannot use that for construction. Yudhisthir was helpless and expressed his helplessness to Lord Krishna and Arjun. After that Arjun and Lord Krishna went to Karna.Karna welcomed Lord Krishna and Arjun with great respect and love. He also inquired about their well-being. Then, Arjun expressed their urgent need of wooden logs for the construction. Karna immediately asked his servant to fetch some wood for construction. The servant took a lot of time to return. Karna was waiting for his servant. After some time, the servant returned saying that due to rain, the wood had become wet. After hearing this, Karna went inside his room and did not return for a long time. Lord Krishna and Arjun decided to go inside as he did not return for a long time. When they entered Karna's room, they saw him cutting the legs of his bed. He had already cut many pieces of his furniture. Looking at him cutting his furniture, Arjun asked, “Karna, why did you cut off your artistic sandalwood furniture?” He replied, “There is no other greater gief for me than to send away a person in need, empty-handed. This furniture can be made again but it was important to fulfil your urgent need.”Arjun was surprised to see the generosity of Karna. He said to Lord Krishna, “Karna is really very generous, I have never seen someone as kind as him”. This is one of the examples of Karna’s sacrifice and generosity.&nbsp;&nbsp; MORAL:Friends, you just read about the generosity of Karna. Karna gave away his armour and earrings, which he had received as a blessing at birth. However, we are never willing to give even the smallest of our possessions to others. From this, we must learn that we too should be ready to sacrifice our things for the sake of the ones in need.

This is a story of Karana, Arjuna, Yudhisthira and Krishna.Moral(s) of the story: kindness and sacrifice

krishna 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.