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

Once in a dense forest, there lived a group of crows on a tree. The crows were self-obsessed and did not like outsiders. They were all busy on their own and did not like anyone else. They were very rude to other birds and animals.A little bird, while flying in the forest, lost her way. It started getting dark so she decided to stop over a tree. She saw a tree where the group of crows lived. She decided to rest there. But they all were very arrogant. One of the crows shouted, “Go away from here.” The little bird requested them to allow her to stay for a while as it might rain but the crows did not listen to her. The bird pleaded them but they did not agree. Finally, the little bird decided to fly to another tree.The bird went to another tree and there she found a nice hole to rest in comfortably. After some time, it started raining. It rained heavily with hailstones falling. The crows sitting on that tree faced difficulties. Many of them were hurt and some of them even died. On the other hand, the little bird took rest for the whole night.The next day, the little bird came out and decided to fly towards her home. One of the crows saw her and asked, “How come you are not hurt?”. The little bird said, “God helps humble creatures and lets arrogant ones like you suffer.” The crows realized that they were punished for their selfish nature. Moral:One should never be arrogant because God punishes those who are arrogant.

This is a story of crow, forest and tree.Moral(s) of the story: arrogance and selfishness`

The vain Crows

Yesha Desai

On a chilly winter morning, Gaurav wakes up in his cozy bed, stretches and looks at the clock which marks seven in the morning. "Seven!" He realises with a jolt that he is half an hour late. Oh God, I slept through my alarm. Again. “What am I going to do now?” He wonders. He hurriedly moves across his room to get ready. He places the bread in the toaster, brushes his teeth and showers at a record speed. While combing his hair he accidentally drops the hand mirror and then curses to himself. “Oh no!” He says, “What a start. I broke a mirror, this day is definitely going to be very bad. What do I do now?” Just as he says this, the toaster pops and the smell of burned food fills the air. “The bad luck has started.” He whispers to himself and wonders just what he did to have this all happen to him. As he locks his house and moves to open his car, he realises that he has forgotten the car key. He opens his house again and turns it upside down trying to find the car key…. only to find the key in his dress shirt pocket. This makes him late for work. Worse, he gets stuck in heavy metropolitan traffic. “All because of that stupid mirror.” He says to himself. Not only does he reach the office late, his boss stands right in front of Gaurav’s little cabin and Gaurav receives a scolding just as he arrives. He again blames the mirror for everything that is happening to him. It doesn’t get any better during the entire day and Gaurav comes home tired and annoyed. As he is entering his house, his neighbour notices his sour mood and asks, “Hey, Gaurav! Is everything alright?” Gaurav sighs and explains the problem with the mirror. Gaurav’s neighbour looks at him with a frown. She doesn’t understand how Gaurav, a well educated grown up man, can believe in such superstitions. The next day as Gaurav leaves for his office, he encounters the neighbour’s little black Persian kitten. He pets the little feline and waves at his neighbour before going to work. He has a very amazing day at work and is very happy when he comes home. Seeing his jolly mood, the same neighbour asks him. “Hello, Gaurav! How was your day?” He replies, “It was very good. Thank you!” “Really?” The neighbour says, “Even though a black cat crossed your path?”“Huh?” Gaurav asks.“Didn’t my black kitten pass by you today morning? There is a superstition that black cats crossing your path can cause bad things. How come you had a good day?”“Oh,” He says, “ I did not know about that.”“So, if you do not know about a superstition then does it mean that it doesn’t affect you? It only clearly means that superstitions aren’t real.”“But if superstitions aren’t real, how come I had a horrible day yesterday?”“You had a bad day yesterday because you messed things up in your hurry.” Gaurav realises his mistakes and stops blaming other factors.

This is story of broken mirror and the cat. Moral:Believing in superstitions does not lead to a content life.

The broken mirror!

Ravina Sewani

Akbar’s court was famous for the witty question answer sessions between the Emperor himself, and his clever minister Birbal.On one such occasion – Akbar asked his courtiers whether they could tell the difference between truth and untruth within three words. All the courtiers started racking their brains to search for the three most appropriate words in which they could tell the difference between the truth and the untruth. But, enough time passed and none of them could come up with an answer.Birbal was also present in the court, but kept mum. The Emperor asked him, “What about you, Birbal? Why are you so silent?”“Your Majesty!” Birbal politely replied, “I was giving a chance to others first. In my opinion, the right answer would be: Four fingers.”The Emperor asked Birbal, “How is that, Birbal? Explain it to all!”“Yes, Your Majesty, four fingers is the difference between truth and untruth. What your eyes see is truth, and what your ears hear, may be false.”“I agree with that, but why did you say that the difference between truth and untruth is four fingers?” Akbar said.Birbal bowed and said, “Four fingers is the distance between one’s eyes and one’s ears, Your Majesty!” Akbar was very astonished to hear Birbal’s well thought reply. Moral:Never believe on what you hear from several mouths. Often times, the things we hear turn out to be mere rumours. It is better to trust our eyes than anyone else’s words.&nbsp;&nbsp;

This is story of Akbar Birbal.Moral(s) of the story: honesty and lying

Truth and Untruth

Lohri is a harvest festival celebrated every year on 13th January. It is an important festival for Punjabis. The festival is widely celebrated by people living in North India.&nbsp; For the festival, huge bonfires are organised in various places and people gather around it to offer their prayers. They throw puffed rice, sweets, popcorn into the flames of the bonfire and offer their prayers. The festival is celebrated to observe the new harvest season. It is termed as the festival of farmers in north India. On this day, agriculturists show their gratitude towards Almighty for a good harvest season and seek blessings for their future. The festival is celebrated with much pomp and show. In this festival, it is a tradition to eat Gajak, Sarson da saag with Makki di roti, ground nuts and jaggery. It also a tradition to eat ‘til rice’. The important food item of Lohri is radish which can be harvested between October and January. In some of the places of Punjab, about 10 to 15 days before Lohri, groups of young and teenage boys and girls go around the neighbourhood collecting logs for the bonfire.&nbsp; Women sing folklore named ‘Sunder Mundriye’ on this day. The song is associated with a story from Akbar’s rule. It is a tale of a man named Dulla Bhatti, who lived in Punjab during the Akbar’s reign. The man used to rescue girls from being taken forcibly to be sold in slave markets. He saved those girls and arranged their marriages to the boys of the villages. Among all the girls, two of the girls’ names were Sundari and Mundri. The folklore Sunder Mundriye came from their names. The song is sung to commemorate this story. The celebrations are accompanied by traditional Punjabi dance forms - "gidda and bhangra".

Lohri

In the middle of a dry land, there once was a huge tree with a broad trunk and innumerable branches. The tree gave rest and shelter to hundreds and thousands of travellers. The tree was located near four towns and many villages so, it was an ideal meeting point for the travellers.One day, two travellers came across the tree after walking for a long time. The travellers wanted to go to one of the nearby towns. The travellers were happy to take rest under the tree as it was a hot and sunny day. The travellers slept while enjoying the cool shade of the tree.One of the travellers was hungry. They did not have any food with them. The hungry traveller looked up at the tree, to see if there were any fruits. But the tree did not have any fruits on it. The hungry traveller said that the tree was useless; it had nothing to feed them, not even fruits or nuts.The other traveller comforted him and asked him to stay cool. The hungry man continued cursing him. The tree could not hear the words of the traveller and spoke with the sad voice, “You cannot tell me that I am useless. When you reached here in this hot and sunny weather, I offered you a cool and comfortable place to rest and sleep with a soothing breeze. If I was not here, you would have died now! I protected you from the Sun, but you humiliate me!” The traveller realized his mistake and apologized to the tree. Moral:All of God’s creations have a purpose. We should never belittle God’s blessings.

This is a story of traveller and tree.Moral(s) of the story: gratitude

The Tree and the Travellers

Navratri is a nine-day-long festival celebrated in various parts of India to worship the nine forms of Goddess Durga. It is the biggest Hindu festival which falls in the months of Spetember/October/November. The festival is celebrated with great mythological significance. The reason behind celebrating the festival is to worship Goddess Durga and to celebrate the victory of good over evil. Goddess Durga killed the demon Mahishasura in a battle of nine days. The Goddess killed the demon king effortlessly in nine days. To celebrate the victory of good over evil, this period of nine days is celebrated as ‘Navratri’. The nine days are celebrated to worship Goddess Durga for her power and strength. The nine nights of the festival are divided into three phases. The first three days of the festival are dedicated to Goddess Durga. The next three days are dedicated to Goddess Lakshmi (the Goddess of prosperity). The final three days are dedicated to Goddess Saraswati (Goddess of wisdom and art). This festival is celebrated differently in different states of India. In Gujarat, the festival is celebrated with great pomp and show. The state is famous for its celebration of Navratri. For all the nine nights, people perform Dandiya Ras and Garba to celebrate the festival. People wear colourful traditional dresses- Chanya Choli (girls) and Kediyu (boys). Every evening of the festival, an aarti is performed in front of the idol of the Goddess. Before the puja, people indulge in traditional dance. It is the longest dance festival celebrated in Gujarat. In West Bengal, Odisha, Assam, Bihar, Navratri is known as Durga Puja. It is celebrated with great enthusiasm. Bengali ladies wear their conventional red saree and traditional outfits. People offer their prayers to the idols of Goddess Durga.

Navratri

Once upon a time there existed a magical mirror which was said to show horrific images to the viewer. Sometimes the mirror’s reflection would be so horrific that people would pass out or die from the horror.Luckily, this sadistic object was captured by a very strong sect and people were freed from its torture.But the sect leader was now growing old and he needed to select a hier from the sect’s disciples. The disciples were all very talented, clever, kind and respectful. They had all the qualities that a decent sect leader should have. So how to choose the correct person?One day, an idea struck his mind. He invited all the disciples into the training hall and tells them, “Children, as you all know that I am growing old and cannot carry out my responsibilities properly. So I need to choose another person to be the sect leader. Since all of you demonstrate the needed qualities, this makes my work harder. I will choose the person who can look into the magic mirror and tell me what they see.”This sent chills down all the disciples’ spines. They had all heard the horror stories about the mirror ever since they were little children. Some were already scared and didn’t even attempt. Some looked into the mirror and screamed. Some fainted. Some cried.Everyone questioned why the sect leader, who was such a peace loving and kind person, would put people through such stress.In the end only one disciple is left. She looked into the mirror and her eyes widened, her face broke into a sweat but she kept looking.In the end, the vision she sees disappeared and she looks away from the mirror towards the sect leader.“What do you see?” The sect leader asked.“Me.” The girl says.The sect leader selected this girl as his heir. The mirror shows the true self of a person, their good and their bad sides and one can only survive it if they accept themselves. Any one who can accept themselves and understand their flaws and qualities is appropriate for being a leader.Moral:Any one who can accept themselves....being a leader.

This is a story of mirror.Moral(s) of the story: acceptance and

The mirror of horrors

Joy loved his birthday. He was always very excited to receive presents and be the centre of attention.Every year he patiently waited for his birthday to get gifts from his parents and friends. This year, in particular, he was excited to open his gifts because he had gifts from his new friends at school.He had been expecting the latest toy car in gift. However, he didn’t get good enough gifts and ended up lashing out at his friends and spent the rest of his day visibly upset. His parents pulled him to the side and his mother told him, “Joy, I am angry at you.” Joy frowned, “Why?” “Because you are not wearing a white t-shirt.” Joy frowned further. This was no reason to be angry so he asked again, “But why?” “I expected you to wear a white t-shirt and you are not wearing one. So I am angry at you.” “But Ma, that is no reason to be mad at someone. I did not know what you wanted.” “Exactly, Joy, just like your friends did not know what you wanted. You need to be thoughtful of people’s feelings and understand their choices. They got you gifts that they thought you needed, so what if it did not turn out to be what you liked.” That was how Joy realised he could not have tantrums because he expected something and did not get what he wanted. Moral:Before reacting, we must understand the situation completely.

This is a story of birthday.Moral(s) of the story: understanding

Joy's Birthday

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

rani laxmibai 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 vain Crows

The broken mirror!

Truth and Untruth

Lohri

The Tree and the Travellers

Navratri

The mirror of horrors

Joy's Birthday

The crowded home

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