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.

Yesha Desai

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. Gandhari was the Princess of Kandahar, now in modern day- Afghanistan. When she was of age, she was married to the&nbsp;Prince of Hastinapur,&nbsp;Dhritarashtra.Dhritarashtra was the cousin brother of the King of Hastinapur. He was blind from birth.She chose to not see because her husband could not and that is why after marriage she always tied a cloth around her eyes.She gave birth to a hundred Kauravas and also a daughter called Dussala.After years of not using her vision she achieved Siddhi.When Bheema was going to fight a duel of mace with her only living son Duryodhana, Gandhari asked Duryodhana to visit her without any clothes so that she can strengthen his body parts.Duryodhana covered his waist part of the body and went to visit his mother. As Duryodhan’s body below the waist was covered, this part remained weak. Bheema hit that area breaking the rule of mace fight. After feeling severe pain, Duryodhan died.

This is a story of Gandhari and Dhritarashtra.

How Gandhari gave up her eyesight

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.” Mahabharata means the story of the descendants of Bharata. The regular saga of the epic of the Mahabharata, however, starts with king Shantanu. Shantanu lived in Hastinapur and was known for his valor and wisdom. One day Shantanu went out hunting in a nearby forest. So while hunting, king Shantanu reached the banks of the river Ganga and there he saw a very beautiful lady appearing out of the water and walking on its surface. Her grace and Divine beauty struck Shantanu at the very first sight and he was completely spellbound. When the king inquired who she was, the lady curtly asked, “Why do you wish to know that?” Shantanu admitted that he was captivated by her Divine beauty and wished to marry her. He also introduced himself stating that he was Shantanu, the king of Hastinapur.The lady said, “I can accept your proposal provided you are ready to abide by two conditions.” The king asked her anxiously, “What are they?” “Firstly, you will never ask anything about my personal life, like who I am or where do I come from? Secondly, you will never stop me from doing anything or ask the reason for anything I do.” Shantanu was so fascinated by her beauty that he immediately accepted the conditions. She was known as Ganga. They instantly got married and returned to Shantanu’s palace. In the beginning everything was very smooth. But Ganga kept drowning all her seven sons one by one, to which Shantanu couldn’t say anything as promised earlier. Shantanu lost his patience and as soon as the queen was about to drown the eighth son, Shantanu stopped her. “I have lost seven sons like this and am left with no heir. I can no longer stand to see my flesh and blood decimated before my eyes.”Queen Ganga turned around and said, “Oh King, you have violated your pledge. I will not stay with you any longer. However before leaving you, I will open the secret that led to the death of your seven sons. Once it so happened that the saint Vashishtha got offended with eight gods known as Vasus (Deities of directions). He cursed them to be born as human beings on earth and undergo the mental torture of being a human. Hearing this, seven of the Vasus implored the saint to be excused but the eighth one, who was the most mischievous; Ganga said she would take her eighth son to heaven to train him properly for the King's throne and status. With these words she disappeared along with the child while Shantanu was struck with grief thinking about spending the rest of his life without her.

Shantanu and Ganga’s Wedding

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.”Both the Pandavas and Kauravas grew up with dislike towards each other. The Pandavas, with their physical strength, positive attitude and good deeds, became popular among the subjects of the country. When they were children, Bhima was the most powerful among them. Bhima would throw Kauravas around, he would hold them under water, he would kick them with his feet. Kauravas couldn’t do anything to Bhima as they were no match to his strength. This bullying by Bhima led Kaurava to hate Pandavas in childhood. On the other hand, the Kauravas were seen to be jealous and wicked.The eldest Kaurava, Duryodhana, teamed up with his younger brother Dhusyasana, close friend (and the Pandavas’ step brother) Karna and maternal uncle Shakuni to shun the Pandavas out of their kingdom.

This is a story of Kauravas, Pandavas and Shakuni.

The Story of Hatred between Pandavas and Kauravas

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”.Arjuna was one of the five Pandava brothers and was married to Subhadra. They both had a son named Abhimanyu. When Subhadra was pregnant with Abhimanyu, Arjuna decided to tell his wife about the Chakravyuh war technique. Chakravyuh is a maze formed by armed soldiers to trap the enemy. He narrated to Subhadra how to break the Chakravyuh. Abhimanyu who was inside the Subhadra’s womb memorized the entire process while it was narrated by Arjuna.While Arjuna was telling about the strategy of the Chakravyuh, Subhadra fell asleep. As a result, Abhimanyu only learned about entering the mazebut could not learn the way out from the Chakravyuh. After years when Abhimanyu reached his youth, he had to fight in the Kurukshetra War of Mahabharata. In the war, he had to confront the enemy’s Chakravyuh Formation. He entered the formation as he knew the strategy but was not able to get out of it. Abhimanyu didn’t lose hope and fought vigorously with the enemies. He fought with the enemies by a chariot wheel. He didn’t give up and fought bravely till his last breath. Moral:Never Give Up on something and try your best until you succeed. Always stay determined and focused even when the situation is not in your favour.

This is a story of Abhimanyu, Arjun and Subhadra.Moral(s) of the story: bravery and determination.

The Brave Abhimanyu

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.” Ganga had drowned her seven sons in the river Ganges, but took away her eighth son with her to heaven. The secret behind her drowning her seven sons was that once the saint Vashishtha got offended with eight gods known as Vasus (Deities of directions). He cursed them to be born as human beings on earth and undergo the mental torture of being a human. Hearing this, seven of the Vasus implored the saint to be excused but the eighth one, who was the most mischievous. ” Many years later, when Shantanu visited the river Ganga, Goddess Ganga emerged out of the river with a young boy. She said, "Oh King ! Here is your eighth son, Devavrata. He has mastered the art of wielding arms, and has unparalleled skills, equalling those of Sage Parshuram. Rishi Vasishtha has imparted the knowledge of the Vedas and the Vedanta, arts and sciences to him. This is your child, the finest archer and master statesman. King Shantanu was getting old and so he decided to step down from his throne. He was lonely and always missed his wife Ganga. One day while he was taking a stroll on the bank of the river Ganga, he was attracted towards a charming maiden, Satyavati. She was the daughter of the chief of the fishermen tribe. She was blessed with a son Vyas, earlier. Shantanu did not know anything about Satyavati’s past. He was charmed by her beauty. He went to her father, the fisherman chief, and asked for Satyavati's hand in marriage. The chief agreed to the proposal but laid down a condition. He told the king that the son born to Satyavati should be the successor to the King and not Devavrata. Shantanu was shocked to hear the condition and returned home disappointed and unhappy. Devavrata later discovered the cause of his father's unhappiness and went to Satyavati's father and requested him to allow his father, king Shantanu to marry Satyavati. In return he promised to give up his right to the throne for Satyavati's son.Satyavati's father thought for a while and said, "We believe in a noble prince, but what about your children? What if they covet the throne?" Hearing this, Devavrata took the grave vow that he will never marry in his life, for he would remain celibate. From then on he was known as Bhishma, the firm. Bhishma respectfully brought Satyavati to Shantanu's palace. Shantanu was elated to see Satyavati but was shocked when he heard about Bhishma's vow. He blessed Bhishma with the power to choose his time of death.

This is a story of BHishma and Shantanu

Devavrata becomes Bhishma

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.” The King of Panchal (Drupad) had organised the swayamvar of his beautiful daughter Draupadi. The Pandavas who had heard of Draupadi’s celestial beauty, too wanted to participate in the swayamvar. So, the Pandavas, disguised as Brahmins, travelled to Ekachakra to attend the swayamvar ceremony of Draupadi. At the swayamvar assembly, the Pandavas sat next to other Brahmins, away from the royal dignitaries as they did not want to reveal their identity. No one in the assembly recognized the Pandavas. Lord Krishna was also present as an honoured guest. Arjun picked up the bow and an arrow. He looked at the reflection of the fish in the oil pan and drew the bowstring and shot the arrow. The arrow darted with a twang and pierced the eye of the fish. Duryodhana, who was also present, guessed that the winner must be Arjun, and the four other Brahmins must be the Pandava brothers he had planned to kill. The mighty Pandavas easily defeated all the princes and took Draupadi with them. When they reached their hut, the Pandavas called out to their mother, Kunti, "Look, Mother, what we have brought." Kunti replied from inside the hut, "Share it among yourselves," thinking that they had brought food. When she saw the bride and was told that she was Arjuna's wife, Kunti was very unhappy at what she had said. As a custom, the Pandavas would have to obey every word that she had said and Draupadi would have to become the wife of all five brothers. Just then Krishna came to their hut. He told Kunti that in her previous life Draupadi had worshipped Shiva to get a husband with five qualities. But Shiva had given her a boon that in her next life she would marry five men each having one quality. On hearing this Kunti felt satisfied and Draupadi became the wife of all five Pandavas.

This is a story of Pandavas, Arjun, and Draupadi.

Draupadi’s Swayamvar

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

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.” The Pandavas were superior to the Kauravas in every respect, both in strength and intelligence. They were greatly appreciated for their innate noble qualities. Bhishma advised Dhritarashtra to declare Yudhishthira as the crown prince of Hastinapur since he was the eldest and was endowed with all the qualities necessary in a king. Duryodhana’s jealousy of the Pandavas increased after learning that Yudhishthira would be declared the crown prince. Out of anger, Duryodhana hatched a plan to kill the Pandavas so that he could ascend the Hastinapur throne. One day Duryodhana approached his father, Dhritarashtra, and requested him to send the Pandavas to the annual Pashupati fair in Varnavat, a place far away from Hastinapur. Ignorant of any foul play, Dhritarashtra asked the Pandavas to attend the fair. Duryodhana, on the other hand, secretly ordered his trusted aide and architect Purochana, to make a special palace, with highly inflammable materials, specially for the Pandavas (Lakshagriha – house of lacquer). His wicked plan was to burn the Pandavas alive while sleeping. The Lakshagriha was to be burnt on an Amavasya night. When that night finally reached Purochana, not knowing that the Pandavas were simply sleeping assumed them to be dead. To celebrate this Purochana began drinking and within hours was drunk. Utilizing this opportunity the Pandavas set fire to the palace and escaped through the tunnel that Vidura helped them build for emergency purposes.

mahabharat 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.

How Gandhari gave up her eyesight

Shantanu and Ganga’s Wedding

Durvasa Muni and cooking pot of Draupadi

The Story of Hatred between Pandavas and Kauravas

The Brave Abhimanyu

Devavrata becomes Bhishma

Draupadi’s Swayamvar

Krishna's concern for the Devotees

Escape from Lakshagriha

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