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

One day Nasiruddin Hodjaa loaded a heavy bag of vegetables on his donkey and set out for the market to sell them. After walking a small distance, the donkey stopped and refused to budge an inch from his place. Nasiruddin Hodjaa was in a hurry; at first he coaxed the donkey to start but when he did not respond to his persuasive words, he started beating it.Soon, many people gathered around them. One man asked Hodjaa, “Why are you beating this poor animal?” Another man said, “You are a merciless man who is beating a speechless animal.” The third man said, “You must be arrested and flogged for beating this poor creature.”Hodjaa was enraged on hearing the people’s continuous comments and he said to the donkey, “If I knew that you had so many relatives around, I would have never beaten you. I can see that you have a large family here.”Hearing this, the people sheepishly went their way, leaving Hodjaa with his donkey. Moral:Poking nose in others’ matters leads to self insult. We should leave others to their matters without interfering. Interference often leads to our own insult.

This is a story of donkey and Mulla Nasruddin.

The donkey’s relatives

One day, Mulla Nasiruddin was talking to his neighbour. The neighbour was looking so miserable that Nasiruddin asked him what was bothering him. The man started to complain about the lack of space in his house and said, “It is such a small house, Mulla. And me, my wife, my three children and my mother-in-law–all have to live together in the same little cottage. It is very cramped and there is hardly any space to move around.” He asked Nasiruddin for some advice on how to deal with this problem.Nasiruddin said, “Do you keep chickens in the yard?” “Yes, ten of them,” replied the man. “Good. Bring them inside the house and keep them there,” said Nasiruddin. “But, Mulla!” the man exclaimed. “My house is already overcrowded.” “Just do as I say,” Nasiruddin replied.The man was really very troubled and wanted to find a solution to his problem. He decided to give the Mulla’s advice a try. So the man went home and brought all the chickens into the house. Next day, he went to meet Nasiruddin again. He said, “Mulla, I followed your advice and took the chickens into the house. But it did not solve anything. In fact, it has made matters worse. My house is even more cramped now.“I see,” said Nasiruddin. ” Now take your donkey and keep it inside your house. The man did not think much of this idea but Nasiruddin managed to convince him to do it.The next day, the man came to Nasiruddin, looking very distressed, and said,”Now, it’s six humans , ten chickens and a donkey inside my house. It is so crowded that one can hardly move.” Nasiruddin replied, “You own a goat too, don’t you?” “Yes, I do,” said the man. “Great,” Nasiruddin said. “Take it inside the house too.” The man objected, “How is that going to solve anything?” but Nasiruddin once again convinced him to do as he had said.The next day, the man walked up to Nasiruddin in a state of anger and distress and said, “Your plan has made our lives miserable. The house is now so crowded that we are finding it difficult to even breathe. My family is upset and everyone is complaining about the lack of space.”“Don’t get so upset, friend,” said Nasiruddin. “Go back home and take all the animals back outside.” The man did as he was told.Next day, when the man came across Nasiruddin, he was beaming. He said, “I must thank you, Mulla! Your plan has worked wonders. Now that all the animals are outside, there is enough space in the house for all the family members. Everyone is happy and content with the house now.” Moral:Satisfaction is the key to a content life. Complaining about the situation leads to nowhere.

This is a story of house and Mulla Nasruddin.Moral(s) of the story: family value, satisfaction and smartness

The crowded home

One day Mulla Nasiruddin was going somewhere when he met a man who was carrying a large milk can. The man wished Mulla Nasiruddin and said, “Mullaaji, I have a problem. Would you be kind enough to provide me a solution?” Mullaa Nasiruddin willingly consented to hear him out as he was eyeing his big container of milk.The man said, “Whenever I get up in the morning, I feel intoxicated. My head spins around and I feel as if I have a hangover. I don’t understand what could be the problem.”Mullaa Nasiruddin asked, “Hmm! This is a serious problem, indeed! Let me think. What do you generally eat or drink before you go to sleep?”The man said, “I drink a big glass of milk.”The Mullaa said, “Now, I have found your problem! The milk that you drink in the night causes the intoxication.”The gullible man asked, “How is that, Mullaaji?”Mullaa explained to him, “You drink milk before sleeping. In your sleep, when you toss in your bed, the milk gets churned. It turns into butter. When butter gets churned, it turns into fat. Fat gets churned, it turns into sugar. Then the sugar gets churned and turns into alcohol. So, finally you wake up with alcohol in your stomach in the morning, and that is why you feel intoxicated.”“So what do I do?” asked the man in simplicity.The clever Mullaa said, “The solution of your problem is very simple. Don’t drink milk! Here, give it to me.” Mullaa took away the milk can from the man and walked away from there.The poor man stood there bewildered. Moral:A gullible mind cannot see through the wickedness.

This is a story of Milk and Mulla Nasruddin.Moral(s) of the story: foolishness

Milk for the Mullah

One day, a man climbed up a tree. While climbing up, he did not realise how tall the tree actually was and kept climbing up. On reaching the top, when the man looked down, he realised that climbing down from the tree would not be as easy as climbing up. He could not think of any way of getting down without injuring himself seriously.He asked the people who were passing by to help him. But nobody could think of a way of bringing him down safely. Soon, quite a few people gathered around the tree and tried to help the man, but no one knew what to do. The man remained stuck on top of the tree.Just then, Nasiruddin, who was walking by, saw this scene and wondered what was going on. The people standing around the tree told Nasiruddin about the situation. “Oh!” Nasiruddin said, “I’ll get him down in no time.” He took a long rope and threw one end of it up to the man telling him to tie the rope around his waist.Everyone wondered what Nasiruddin’s plan was. When one of them asked him, Nasiruddin replied, “Just leave it to me. It’s a foolproof plan.”When the man on the tree had tied the rope tightly around his waist, Nasiruddin pulled the rope with all his force. As soon as Nasiruddin did this, the man fell down from the tree and hurt himself badly. The bystanders were shocked at this. They turned to Nasiruddin and asked, “What were you thinking? What kind of a silly plan was that?”Nasiruddin replied, “Well, once I did exactly the same thing and saved someone’s life.”One man asked him, “Is that true?”“Absolutely!” replied Nasiruddin, “The only thing I cannot remember is whether I saved him from a tree or from a well.” Moral:To act without putting much thought often ends up causing more damage than good.

This is a story of men, tree and Mulla Nasruddin.Moral(s) of the story: foolishness

The man on the tree

One day, Nasiruddin was at the king’s court when the king turned to him and said, “Mulla Nasiruddin, you are always boasting about your wisdom and cleverness. So tell me, can you teach your donkey how to read?”Nasiruddin replied, “Of course! That’s quite an easy task.”“I don’t believe you,” said the king.“I mean it and I can prove it to you,” said Nasiruddin.The king said, “Would you take it on as a challenge, then?”“Absolutely,” replied Nasiruddin. “If you give me fifty thousand dollars right now, I guarantee that by the end of eight years, I will have taught my donkey how to read.”The king said, “Fine, I agree. But my condition is that if the donkey is unable to read by then, I will have you put in prison where you will be tortured every day.”Both of them agreed to this deal and Nasiruddin left for home.The next day, Nasiruddin told his friend about what had happened at the king’s court. His friend said, “Nasiruddin, how could you ever agree to such an impossible task? You cannot even control your donkey enough to make it stand still, and now you have guaranteed that in eight years you would have taught him how to read? There is no way you can escape that prison sentence.”“Relax,” replied Nasiruddin calmly. “Eight years is a long time, my friend! By then, our king will probably be dead or he will not be in power anymore. And even if he is still the king at the end of eight years, chances are that my donkey would be dead by then. Worse come to worse, if by the end of seven years, both the king and my donkey are alive, I will still have one whole year to devise a plan to escape punishment. Moral:Taking measured chances result in our favour quite a few times. Nasiruddin was smart enough to take a chance and trick the king to get things worked in his favour. Such chances don’t always end up the way we have assumed.

This is a story of donkey, king and Mulla Nasruddin.Moral(s) of the story: smartness and wisdom

The guarantee

Yesha Desai

Once, Mulla Nasruddin was lying on his bed with his eyes closed when his brother-in-law approached him. ‘Are you asleep?” the brother-in-law asked Nasruddin. Nasruddin replied, “Why? What is it?”The brother-in-law said, “I wanted a loan of three hundred dollars. I was wondering if you could lend me the money.”Nasrudin replied, “Oh, in that case, let us return to your first question, ‘Are you asleep?’ and the answer to that is ‘Yes, I am asleep, so go away and don’t bother me.” Moral:It is important to learn when to say no and deflect from a situation you do not wish to be in.

This is a classic story from Mulla Nasruddin.Moral(s) of the story: samrtness

mulla nasruddin stories

Kids moral stories help in improving their imagination & relate to real-world life. Here are age-specific bedtime stories for children by renowned storytellers.

The donkey’s relatives

The crowded home

Milk for the Mullah

The man on the tree

The guarantee

Are you asleep?

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