Do you remember the stories that you read as a child? Moral stories can needn’t be serious, but they can be funny at the same time help your child learn something. We have compiled a list of 07 short moral stories that are inspirational, from India, and from around the world. <h3>1. The Boy Who Cried, Wolf</h3><img src="https://bee-assets-production.s3.amazonaws.com/image/the_boy_who_cried%2C_wolf.webp_image_1638188646554.webp" width="359">There was a young boy whose father, a farmer, had asked him to take their herd of sheep grazing every day.One day, the boy was extremely bored as he watched over the sheep and so he cried: “Wolf! Wolf!”On hearing his cries, the villagers rushed to help him chase the wolf away and save the sheep.When they saw the grinning boy and realised he had cried wolf for his amusement, they scolded him and told him to not cry wolf!The next day, the boy cried out that the wolf was there. The villagers came, scolded him again, and left.Later that same day, a wolf came and terrorized the sheep.The boy cried, “Wolf! Wolf! Please help me.”But, the villagers assumed that he was pulling a silly prank again and did not come to his rescue. The sheep ran away and the boy cried.Moral of the story: Don’t lie or engage in foolish pranks, for no one will believe a liar even when he is telling the truth! <h3>2. The Golden Touch Of Midas</h3><img src="https://bee-assets-production.s3.amazonaws.com/image/the_golden_touch_of_midas.jpg_image_1638188804006.jpg" width="365">A long time ago, there lived a king in Greece named Midas.He was extremely wealthy and had all the gold he could ever need. He also had a daughter whom he loved very much.One day, Midas saw a Satyr (an angel) who was stuck and was in trouble. Midas helped the Satyr and asked for his wish to be granted in return.The Satyr agreed and Midas wished for everything he touched to be turned to gold. His wish was granted.Extremely excited, Midas went home to his wife and daughter touching pebbles, rocks, and plants on the way, which turned into gold.As his daughter hugged him, she turned into a golden statue.Having learnt his lesson, Midas begged the Satyr to reverse the spell who granted that everything would go back to their original state.Moral of the story: Stay content and grateful for what you have. Greed will not get you anywhere. <h3>3. The Foolish Thief</h3><img src="https://bee-assets-production.s3.amazonaws.com/image/the_foolish_thief.jpg_image_1638188856227.jpg" width="362">Once, a wealthy merchant came to King Akbar’s court to seek help from Birbal. He suspected that one of his servants had robbed him.On hearing this, Birbal thought of a clever plan and summoned the merchant’s servants.He gave each servant a stick of the same length. He told them that the thief’s stick would grow two inches by the next day.The next day, Birbal summoned the servants again. He noticed that a servant’s stick was two inches shorter than the others.He knew who the thief was.The foolish thief had cut the stick shorter by two inches as he thought it would grow two inches. Thus, proving his guilt.Moral of the story: Truth and justice will always prevail. <h3>4. Two Frogs With The Same Problem</h3><img src="https://bee-assets-production.s3.amazonaws.com/image/two_frogs_with_the_same_problem.png_image_1638188962564.png" width="346">Once, a group of frogs was roaming around the forest in search of water. Suddenly, two frogs in the group accidentally fell into a deep pit.The other frogs worried about their friends in the pit.Seeing how deep the pit was, they told the two frogs that there was no way they could escape the deep pit and that there was no point in trying.They continued to constantly discourage them as the two frogs tried to jump out of the pit. But keep falling back.Soon, one of the two frogs started to believe the other frogs — that they’ll never be able to escape the pit and eventually died after giving up.The other frog keeps trying and eventually jumps so high that he escapes the pit. The other frogs were shocked at this and wondered how he did it.The difference was that the second frog was deaf and couldn’t hear the discouragement of the group. He simply thought they were cheering him on!Moral of the story: People’s opinion of you will affect you, only if you believe it to be so. It’s better to believe in yourself. <h3>5. The Milkmaid and Her Pail</h3><img src="https://bee-assets-production.s3.amazonaws.com/image/the_milkmaid_and_her_pail.jpg_image_1638189037353.jpg" width="348">There was once a milkmaid named Patty.She milked her cow and carried the two pails of milk she fetched on a stick and set out to sell the milk at the market.As she was walking to the market, she began to daydream about what she would do with the money she fo for the milk.She thought of buying a hen and selling its eggs and she planned on becoming wealthy.She dreamt of buying a cake, a basket of strawberries, a fancy dress, and even a new house with the money she would make selling the eggs and the milk!In her excitement, she forgot about the pails she was carrying and began to skip.Suddenly, she realised that the milk was spilling down and when she checked her pails, they were empty.Moral of the story: Don’t count your chickens before they hatch! It is important to focus on the process of achieving success and not just success alone. <h3>6. The Elephant Circus</h3><img src="https://bee-assets-production.s3.amazonaws.com/image/elepahnt_circus.jpg_image_1638189224771.jpg" width="361">Once upon a time in a circus, five elephants performed circus tricks. They were kept tied up with weak rope that they could’ve easily escaped, but did not.One day, a man visiting the circus asked the ringmaster: “Why haven’t these elephants broken the rope and run away?”The ringmaster replied: “From when they were young, the elephants were made to believe that they were not strong enough to break the ropes and escape.”It was because of this belief that they did not even try to break the ropes now.Moral of the story: Don’t give in to the limitations of society. Believe that you can achieve everything you want to!<h3> </h3>7. The Elephants And The Mice<img src="https://bee-assets-production.s3.amazonaws.com/image/1_xvfat_v8xumqnkx7-3jcka.png_image_1638189285226.png" width="350">In an earthquake-hit village abandoned by humans, a colony of mice lived. Near the village was a lake, which was used by a herd of elephants.The elephants would have to cross the village to go to the lake. Thus, one day, as they walked through, they trampled a lot of mice.The leader of the mice met with the elephants and requested them to take a different route to the lake. He promised them that their favour would be returned in the time of their need.The elephants laughed. How could such small mice help these large elephants in any way? But then, they agreed to take a different route.Not so long after, the mice heard that hunters had caught the herd of elephants and were tied in nets.Immediately, they rush to rescue the elephants. They gnawed through the nets and ropes with their sharp teeth.The leader of the elephants repeatedly thanked the mice for their help!Moral of the story: A friend in need is a friend indeed. Make sure you help your friends out whenever they need it. They should always be able to count on you. That’s all folks!We hope children like these short yet interesting stories with morals that we have read growing up!There are more and more stories with morals on <a href="https://www.beeparenting.com/s/moral-stories" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Bee Stories</a>.

Short stories with moral values will teach your children some important lessons which they will remember always.

07 Must Read Short Moral Stories For Children

Short stories with moral values will teach your children some important lessons which they will remember always.

Ravina Sewani

Once upon a time, a large falcon used to live on a high mountain. One day, the falcon was looking for his prey. He saw a rabbit scampering about on the ground below. The falcon suddenly swooped down, caught the rabbit in his sharp talons and, in an instant, flew back to his nest high up in the mountain rocks.A crow who used to live in a tree on the ground, saw the falcon perform this thrilling act and was highly impressed. He thought of imitating this act. So, the crow flew up high into the sky. From high above, he located a rabbit on the ground and swooped down with great force to catch the rabbit. But the crow’s aim was not sharp enough and he missed his target. Instead of catching the rabbit, the poor crow dashed against some jagged rocks. He broke his neck and cracked his skull and died immediately. Moral:Never imitate others foolishly. Everyone has their own uniqueness and we should embrace that.

This is a classic story from panchtantra.This is a story of crow, falcon and rabbit.Moral(s) of the story: foolishness and uniqueness

The falcon and the crow

Yesha Desai

A long time ago there lived a partridge, in a safe and warm hollow in a tree. Unfortunately, there was no proper source of food available near his home. So, he decided to go out in search of a good source of food. He soon found a field where there was ample supply of food, so he did not come back to his home for a few days and ate to his heart’s content every day. While the partridge was enjoying himself in the field, a hare happened to see the partridge’s old home. He liked it very much and started living in it. One fine day, the partridge decided to go back to his old home again. He had now grown very fat because of consuming a healthy diet. When he saw the hare comfortably living in his home, he asked him to move out immediately.They had a long verbal argument, but could not arrive at any decision. So one day, they decided to approach someone else who could solve their problem. There lived a cat nearby, when the partridge and the hare approached him, he decided to take advantage of the situation. He slyly said, “My dear friends, I am so sorry, I am old and hard of hearing. Both of you come close to me and tell me your problem. I will do my level best to help you out.” As soon as the partridge and the hare came near the wicked cat, he killed them both and had a lavish meal.This story teaches us that whenever two people have a fight, a third, the mediator often takes advantage of the situation. Moral:Someone else can always benefit from your trifle so you must be careful.

This is classic story form Jataka tales.This is a story of cat and rabbit.Moral(s) of the story: smartness

The cat, partridge, and the hare

Once upon a time there lived a ferocious lion in the forest. It was a greedy lion and started killing animals in the forest indiscriminately. Seeing this, the animals gathered and decided to approach the lion with the offer of one animal of each species volunteering to be eaten by the lion every day. Every day one of the animals would willingly sacrifice self and in the end came the rabbit’s turn.The rabbits chose an old rabbit among them. The rabbit was wise and old. It took its own sweet time to go to the lion. The lion was getting impatient on not seeing any animal come by and swore to kill all the animals the next day.The rabbit then strode along to the lion by sunset. The Lion was angry with him. The wise rabbit was calm and slowly told the lion that it was not his fault. He told the lion that a group of rabbits were coming to him for the day, when on the way, an angry lion attacked them all and ate all the rabbits but him. Somehow he escaped to reach safely. He said that the other lion was challenging the supremacy of his lordship the lion.The lion was naturally very enraged and asked to be taken to the location of the other lion.The wise rabbit agreed and led the lion towards a deep well filled with water. Then he showed the lion his reflection in the water of the well. The lion was furious and started growling and naturally its image in the water, the other lion, was also equally angry. Then the lion jumped into the water at the other lion to attack it, and so lost its life in the well. Thus the wise rabbit saved the forest and its inhabitants from the proud lion. Moral:Chance favours the prepared mind. The wise rabbit took a chance and exploited lion’s foolishness into saving his own life as well as the life of other animals. Lion, though mighty, lost because of his foolishness.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

This is a story of lion, rabbit and panchtantra.Moral(s) of the story: foolishness, smartness and wisdom

The Lion and the Rabbit

Shina Utavani

Once upon a time in a jungle, there lived a dog and a rabbit. One day, they were sitting and talking about a new tiger that had come to live in the jungle. The dog told the rabbit, “The new tiger is very strong and smart. He catches every animal and eats them.” After listening to this, the rabbit was very scared.The rabbit was very scared of the new tiger. He did not know enough tricks to save himself from the tiger. He said to the dog, “I know only one trick to save myself from the deadly animal. I have to learn more tricks.” The dog replied, “I know many tricks to save myself from the tiger. I can run fast, I can hide, I can dig and bury myself. I know many of it, I can easily save myself.”The rabbit was amazed by the dog’s tricks, he requested to teach a few of the tricks to him. The dog replied that the tricks were for the intelligent animals and he was not an intelligent animal. So, he will not teach the trick to him. The rabbit felt bad when the dog denied to teach him the tricks.Suddenly, the rabbit saw the tiger was coming towards them. The tiger was slowly approaching them. The rabbit said, “Dog, see the tiger is coming. I am going to use my trick and climb the tree. You use your trick and save yourself. We will meet afterward.”The rabbit quickly climbed the tree. When the tiger came near the dog, the dog started running here and there. Then he hid under the portion but the tiger found him. The tiger saw the dog and immediately attacked him.If the dog would have shared his knowledge with the rabbit, then the rabbit would have somehow saved him. The rabbit had saved his life by climbing the tree but the dog did not know that trick. So, if they had shared each other’s thoughts, they would have stayed together for their lives. Moral:When you give, you receive more of it.

This is a story of dog, forest, rabbit and tiger.Moral(s) of the story: sharing

The Dog And The Rabbit

Once upon a time, a large herd of elephants lived in a jungle. Their king was a giant and impressive tusker. He looked after all the members of the herd with utmost love and care. Once, a severe drought hit the area. All the birds and the animals started dying out of thirst. The elephant king knew that he had to find water as quickly as possible. He asked the members of the herd to go in different directions to look for water. One of them found a large lake full of water in the woods far away. The king was very happy and ordered all the elephants to make their way to the lake. The elephants started clearing up the way to the lake for all the members of the herd. There was a colony of rabbits also on the way to the jungle. In their excitement of reaching the lake as soon as possible, the elephants trampled many rabbits under their feet. All the elephants were very happy to reach the lake. They had fun and frolicked in the water the entire day in the lake and once they were thoroughly satisfied, they left. The rabbits were in a state of panic as they knew that the elephants would return soon. Their king called a meeting. He said, “A herd of wild elephants has homed in on the lake near our colony. They have already killed or injured thousands of us. I am sure, they will come back soon. So, we must think of a way to stop them and prevent more deaths.” One little rabbit stood up and said, “I do have a plan to drive away the elephants from this forest. I will go to meet the king of the elephants when he will come again this side.”The next day when the rabbit saw the herd of elephants coming towards their side again, he climbed up a huge rock and shouted at the top of his voice, “O king of the elephants, hear me, please.” The king heard his voice and turned towards him. “Well, who are you?” he asked. “I am a messenger of the moon,” replied the rabbit. He further added in a firm tone, “I have come here to tell you that the moon is mighty upset with you as you have spoiled his lake. He is thinking of punishing you strictly for your deed.” Upon hearing this, the elephant king got frightened. He said, “Please take me to God Moon. I will seek his forgiveness.” The clever rabbit said, “All right! Meet me alone tonight at the lake.”That night, the king elephant as told by the rabbit, reached the lake alone. The rabbit and the elephant both stood near the edge of the lake. It was a moonlit night and a mild breeze was blowing. The rabbit asked the elephant to look carefully into the water of the lake.When the king elephant looked into the water he saw the reflection of the moon. Just then a mild breeze blew and created ripples in the water of the lake. With the ripples, the reflection of the moon in the water also became wavy and disturbed. Pointing to the disturbed reflection of the moon, the little rabbit said, “Look for yourself, how annoyed God Moon is with you! He may even curse you to death, if you do not ask for his forgiveness.”The king elephant was extremely frightened and promised that he or any member of his herd would never visit the Moon’s lake again. The clever trick of the little rabbit worked and all the rabbits lived happily, thereafter. Moral:Intelligence can overpower strength.

This is a classic story from panchtantra.This is a story from elephant and rabbit.Moral(s) of the story: smartness and strength

The moon lake

Once upon a time, a sparrow lived on a tree. He had a beautiful and comfortable nest in the tree and used to live in it happily. Each day, the sparrow would go out in search of food and return to the nest in the evening. One day, the sparrow as usual went out to look for food but it started raining heavily so the sparrow had to take shelter in another tree’s branches. The sparrow kept waiting for the rain to stop so that he could go home but the rain did not stop all night.In the morning, when the sky cleared, the sparrow returned to his nest. He was shocked to find a rabbit in his nice and comfortable nest. The sparrow became angry and said, “This is my home. Please leave at once and go back to wherever you have come from.” “Don’t be such a fool,” the rabbit replied. “Things like trees, rivers and lakes don’t belong to anyone. They are only yours as long as you are living in them. If, in your absence, your place is acquired by someone else, then it belongs to them. So, this place is now mine. Don’t disturb me now.”But the sparrow did not see any logic in the rabbit’s statement. He wanted his home back. He said, “Let us go and seek the advice of some wise person who can help us to settle this matter. Now it so happened, that a wild cat who used to live at a little distance from the tree overheard the conversation of the sparrow and the rabbit. He thought of taking advantage of the situation. So he quickly took a dip in the river and then sat like a priest chanting the name of God loudly. When the sparrow and the rabbit heard the chanting and saw the cat sitting there like a priest, they thought that he must be a very wise person. So, they went to consult him hoping that he provide them with impartial justice.The cat was very happy to see the sparrow and the rabbit. He pretended to listen with interest as they told their story and put forth their arguments. As soon as the time was right, he pounced upon them and killed both of them and ate them for his meal. This is how tussles over little, insignificant matters may sometimes lead to disaster. Moral:When you fight among yourself over little things, some third person gains from that usually.

This is a classic story from panchtantra.This is a story of cat, rabbit and sparrow.

The cunning judge

jThere once was a speedy Hare who bragged about how fast he could run. Tired of hearing him boast, the Tortoise challenged him to a race. All the animals in the forest gathered to watch.The Hare ran down the road for a while and then paused to rest. He looked back at the tortoise and cried out, "How do you expect to win this race when you are walking along at your slow, slow pace?"The Hare stretched himself out alongside the road and fell asleep, thinking, "There is plenty of time to relax."The Tortoise walked and walked, never ever stopping until he came to the finish line.The animals who were watching cheered so loudly for Tortoise that they woke up the Hare. The Hare stretched, yawned and began to run again, but it was too late. Tortoise had already crossed the finish line. Moral:Slow and steady wins the race.

The Hare and The Tortoise: A Tortoise asks the Hare of the jungle to race against him. The hare being the faster one reaches ahead and rests for awhile. Meanwhile, the tortoise continues at his slow pace and crosses the finish line and wins the race.

The Hare and The Tortoise

Alihusen Momin

This is an interesting story about the Ahmedabad city. Towards the beginning of the fifteenth century, the state of Gujarat was ruled by the Muslim Muzaffarid dynasty. Once Sultan Ahmed Shah was standing on the banks of river Sabarmati and noticed a tiny hare chasing a strong ferocious dog. He kept thinking about this strange situation. He approached a spiritual leader and asked for an explanation about the same. This learned man said that it is the uniqueness of this land that cultivates such rare qualities in its people. After having heard this, the Sultan got so impressed by the words of the spiritual leader that he decided to set up the new capital of Gujarat over here and called this land Ahmedabad. Moral: A place is defined by of its people.

This is a story of rabbit, dog, and Ahmedabad city.Moral(s) of the story: courage, uniqueness

The story behind Ahmedabad City

Bunny rabbit lived in the forest. He had many friends. He was proud of his friends.One day Bunny rabbit heard the loud barking of wild dogs. He was very scared. He decided to ask for help. He quickly went to his friend deer. He said, “Dear friend, some wild dogs are chasing me. Can you chase them away with your sharp antlers?”The deer said, “That is right, I can. But now I am busy. Why don’t you ask bear for help?”Bunny rabbit ran to the bear. “My dear friend, you are very strong. Please help me. Some wild dogs are after me. Please chase them away,” he requested to the bear.The bear replied, “I am sorry. I am hungry and tired. I need to find some food. Please ask the monkey for help.”Poor Bunny went to the monkey, the elephant, the goat and all his other friends. Bunny felt sad that nobody was ready to help him.He understood that he had to think of a way out by himself. He hid under a bush. He lay very still. The wild dogs did not find the bunny. They went chasing other animals.Bunny rabbit learnt that he had to learn to survive by himself, not depending on his unhelpful friends.

This is a story of friend and rabbit.Moral(s) of the story: confidence

rabbit 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 falcon and the crow

The cat, partridge, and the hare

The Lion and the Rabbit

The Dog And The Rabbit

The moon lake

The cunning judge

The Hare and The Tortoise

The story behind Ahmedabad City

Bunny and his Unhelpful friends

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