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

Krishna grew up to be about six years old and had become so heavy in his fondness of butter that he would team up with his friends whenever he could to get the creamy goodness.Due to this, Gopis would hang the pots of the butter high up from the ceiling so that Krishna and his friends could not catch the pot. Krishna, Balarama- his elder brother and other kids would remove the roof tiles for entry to the containers to touch the bowl. They would go up on each other's back at other moments, creating a human ladder.If these tricks did not work, they would throw stones and the pot would break and they all would stand below it with open mouths. At times, the pot would crash down the floor and they would just sit on the floor and eat the butter.All the Gopis knew who the main culprit was. Thus, they all went to Yashoda to complain about Krishna. Yashoda felt very bad and apologized. Yashoda scolded Krishna and restricted him from playing with his friends for a few days.Krishna was very angry and decided to teach a lesson to Gopis for complaining to his mother. He stole the clothes of Gopis from the bank of the river as they went to the river for a bath. Krishna agreed to return their clothes only if they agreed that they will stop complaining about him to his mother.However, the tale reached the ears of Yashoda and she decided to teach a lesson to Krishna by tying him to a strong big stone. Assuming that no one would come to release, little Krishna brought the strong and huge stone to the river where he thought that his mates would rescue him.He went through the forest along with the stone and suddenly it got stuck between the two large trees and the force was so strong that the trees fell above him. After some time Yashoda got the news and she went to look for him. She was shocked to see that even after the large trees fell above him, Krishna had not a single injury. It truly made her believe that his son was different and not ordinary.

This is a story of Gopi, Krishna, Yashoda and Butter.

Stealing of Butter

Pallavi Hota

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”.After the incarnation of Lord Vishnu as Rama in Tretayug, the next one called Dwaparayug entered in which Lord reincarnated as Krishna. Before this, Sheshnag has made another request to the Lord Vishnu that he wants to be an elder brother this time and would like to instruct the lord. As wished, he was born as Balram, Krishna’s elder brother.Laxman was the incarnation of Sheshnag, Lord Vishnu’s seat. Laxman had complained all his life being born as the younger brother who he had to obey all the commands of Ram. His wish to be the elder brother was fulfilled when he was born as Balram.

This is a story of Balram, Krishna, Laxman and Ram.

Laxman’s Wish to be an Elder Brother

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” 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’

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.Sri Krishna and Arjuna once were guests of a widow. The widow had no children, nobody. She was all alone. But she had a cow. This cow was her only means of support. She used to sell milk, and by selling milk she used to sustain her life. At the same time she was a great devotee of Sri Krishna.When Sri Krishna and Arjuna visited her in disguise, she was so happy to see the two divine guests. She fed them with whatever she had in her house. Sri Krishna was extremely pleased with her surrendering attitude and her devotion. On their way back, Arjuna said to Krishna, ìYou were so pleased with her. Why didn't you grant her a boon? Why didn't you tell her that she would be prosperous soon, now that you are pleased with her?îìI have already granted her the boon that her cow must die tomorrow, replied Krishna. ìWhat? Her only means of support? She has only the cow, and nothing else. Without the cow how can she live on earth? asked Arjuna. Krishna answered, You don't understand me, Arjuna. She always thinks of the cow. The cow has to be fed, has to be milked, has to be bathed and so forth.ìI want her only to think of me, and when the cow is gone, she will think of me all the time, twenty-four hours. Then soon the time will be right for me to take her away from this world, and after a few years I will give her a better and more fulfilling incarnation. When she has nobody on earth, not even the cow, she will try and spend all her time, day and night, devoting herself to me. Otherwise, this way she will linger on earth and constantly think of the cow and not of me.

This is a story of Arjun and Krishna.

Krishna, Arjuna, the widow and her cow

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.” In Mahabharata, Bhishmacharya addresses Lord Krishna as ‘Damodara sahah’ which means Lord Damodara - the one who is very tolerant. In Mahabharata, the Lord is called by many names such as Krishna and Vasudeva repeatedly, but the word Damodara is used only in 2 or 3 instances. One such instance is related to the birth of Sishupala, Lord Krishna’s cousin. When Sishupala was born he had three eyes and 4 hands. And as soon as he was born, he screamed and brayed. His parents were scared and they wanted to abandon him. However at that time there was a celestial voice which spoke, “Do not abandon this child. He will be very superior in strength and power and a very fortunate person. You can’t slay him now. That person who will slay him is already born.” Then his mother folded her hands and asked the corporeal voice, “Please tell me who will slay my son.” The voice replied, “When your son sees that person, his additional eye will disappear and when you keep the son on the lap of that person his additional two hands will fall off. That person will be the killer of your son.” This news spread across like wildfire and when kings of different provinces heard about this, they were astonished and they came to see the child. When they came, Sishupala’s mother kept the child on their lap to see if the eyes and hands were disappearing. Even after thousands of kings saw the child and put him on their lap, the change which the celestial voice said did not happen. One day Lord Krishna and Balarama visited Sishupala’s place to see the child. As soon as the child was placed on&nbsp;Lord Krishna’s lap, the additional eye and the additional two arms disappeared. Then Sishupala’s mother became anxious and asked, “Please forgive all the offences of my son Sishupala for my sake.” The Lord was called by the name Damodara here. He was addressed by this name because He tolerated all the offences of Sishupala till Sishupala’s time came in the Rajasuya sacrifice, a yagna performed by ancient kings to be declared the King of Kings, which was done by Maharaja Yudhishtira. Lord Krishna slaughtered Sishupala’s throat with his chakra after his deeds became intolerable.

This is a story of Krishna and Sishupala.

Lord Damodar and Sishupala’s deliverance

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 ìThe Mahabharata.On the ninth day of Mahabharata war, Duryodhana approached Bhishma in his camp. He was suspicious of the grandsire's dedication to the fight. Duryodana felt that Bhishma was not doing his best , as he was carried away by his affection for the Pandavas. Duryodhana felt anxious about the result if Bhishma continued to fight half-heartedly. So Duryodhana wanted to rouse Bhishma to his full fury, even if it meant hurting the old man.Approaching Bhishma, Duryodhana remarked that Bhishma was waging a half-hearted fight. Stung by these remarks, Bhishma gave his word that he would rout the Pandava army and kill all the Pandavas. When Draupadi heard this, she was afraid. She prayed to her Lord Krishna. As soon as she thought of Krishna, he appeared before her. Krishna asked her to follow him. He took her through the battlefield. The battlefield was an awful sight with bodies scattered everywhere. They finally reached a tent.Suddenly, Krishna told Draupadi, ìSister, please remove your sandals. They are making a lot of noise.î Draupadi removed her sandals. Just at the entrance to the tent, Krishna whispered to Draupadi, ìPlease go in and fall at the feet of the old man whom you can hear pacing up and down inside.She did so accordingly. Bhishma was surprised to see a lady fall at his feet and he blessed her, ìMay you live long with your husband. Who are you? What can I do for you? Why are you here at this hour?îDraupadi got up asking Bhishma to promise protection to her husbands. When she got up, Bhishma recognized her. He was stunned, ìDraupadi, Is it you? How did you come here?î Draupadi replied, ìKrishna brought me here. I came here to seek your blessings.î Bhishma recognized Krishna at the door. ìKrishna, please come in. What is it that is hanging on your shoulders? It looks like sandals.î Krishna replied quietly, ìOh yes, they are Panchali's footwear. They were making a lot of noise. So I took them with me.îDraupadi was mortified to see this. She said, ìOh Lord! Great calamity will fall on me by this act of yours.î Krishna replied, ìWhat is wrong with a brother carrying his sister's sandals? By the way, did you take his blessings?îBhishma replied, ìShe did not ask for it. I gave it on my own. Krishna, why do you worry about your devotees? You do not even mind carrying their footwear. Who can equal you in protecting the devotees? When you are with the Pandavas, what do they have to fear?îDraupadi replied, ìGrandpa, we were terrified to hear your promise to Duryodhana.î Bhishma said, ìWhat can the oath of this insignificant person do before Krishna, the God incarnate. He is on your side. No harm can befall you.î Thus succeeding in their mission, Krishna and Draupadi took leave of Bhishma.

This is a story of Draupadi and Krishna.

Krishna's concern for the Devotees

Blue is one aspect of the legend of Krishna that has remained unchanged through time and geography. We look at what this blue magic is all about, and why even Krishna's sworn enemies were irresistibly drawn to it.Blue is the color of all-inclusiveness. You will see in the existence, anything that is vast and beyond your perception generally tends to be blue, whether it is the ocean or the sky. Anything which is larger than your perception tends to be blue because blue is the basis of all-inclusiveness.Krishna being blue-bodied need not necessarily mean his skin color was blue. Maybe he was dark-skinned, but people who were aware saw the blueness of his energy, so they described him as blue. There are many disputes about who Krishna is and what he is but his all-inclusiveness is one thing that no one can deny. So the theme of blue remained common, and in every corner of the country, Krishna is seen as blue.

Why Is Krishna Blue?

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

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.