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 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

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.” King Shibi, a descendant of king Bharata of the lunar dynasty, was famous for his truthfulness, justice, and keeping his word. The king of righteousness, Yudhisthira, himself decided to test the strength of the character of Shibi Rana. Once when the king was alone on the terrace of his palace, he saw a dove coming towards him with great speed. An eagle was after him, and to escape from the clutches of the chasing eagle, the dove made frantic efforts to hide somewhere. Seeing the king on the terrace, the frightened dove took shelter in his lap. The dove said, “O king, save my life, I have come under your shelter.” The king had vowed to protect anyone who took his shelter. Thus the weak and deprived could not be exploited by the rich and strong. However, this was a new experience for Shibi Rana. Was he in any way obliged to protect a bird who seeks his refuge? Contemplating for a while, the king decided that even trees, animals, and birds require protection and help as do human beings. Therefore, the king said, “Have no fear my son. That eagle would not be able to touch even your feather. Relax in peace, have no worries.” The king readied himself to face the rapidly approaching eagle. The eagle landed in front of the king and said, “O king, you have hidden my prey. Please release him so that I can appease my hunger.” The righteous king saw the point in the eagle's demand. He faced a peculiar dilemma of protecting the dove, and at the same time not to deprive the eagle of his rightful prey! He decided to resolve the issue by offering the eagle an equal amount of meat from his kitchen. But the eagle insisted on having his prey, the dove as his food. After some discussion the eagle agreed to set the dove free on two conditions. The eagle said, “O King, I shall let the dove go, if equal weight of flesh from your body is offered to me as food.” Shibi Rana was quite pleased with the adjustment. He thought that a pound (or two) of flesh from his body would not kill him and the life of the dove in his shelter would also be saved. Thus he was happy that he was saved from a great sin of ‘inability to protect the weak’. The eagle then put his second condition, saying, “O king, if a single tear drops from your eye I shall be constrained to accept you flesh as my food.” The king agreed and called for the knives and the balance. In one pan of the balance, the dove was kept and on the other side a large chunk of flesh from the right thigh of Shibi Rana. But strange as it might seem, the pan with the dove always weighed more even as additional flesh was added! Thus almost the whole of the right half of the king’s body was cut. Still the weight could not be equalled. At this juncture a drop of tear appeared in the left eye of the king. The eagle objected to this saying, “O king, I cannot accept the food given in distress. The tear in your eye shows that you are unhappy. So give me my prey back and you shall regain your normal health.” With a faint smile on his lips, Shibi Rana said, “Behold, O eagle, the left eye is not crying out of grief; this is a tear of joy. Now my left half of the body will also be used to honour the word I have given to you. Otherwise, if only right had satisfied you, the left half of the body would have been denied this great opportunity of sacrifice! Therefore, my dear friend, the left eye cries out of joy!” This ultimate sacrifice of Shibi Rana was unparalleled in history. The eagle and the dove disappeared and in their places stood the King of righteousness -Yudhisthira and the king of heavens –the Indra. Gods from the heavens showered flowers, perfumes, and praise on the king. They granted many boons to this noble king. King Shibi had passed the ultimate test to uphold dharma, a true duty of every king. It is said that this king ruled for many years and after his death went directly to heaven to enjoy the fruits of his righteous karma.

This is a story of Shibi and Karna.

Glories of King Shibi

Ravina Sewani

In a small village of GeneroCity, there lived a granny. Her family visited her after a long time and they decided to go out for brunch. Her toddler granddaughter was the centre of all the attention. The little girl had never eaten a pancake before so the entire family was excited about it. They went to a fancy restaurant and ordered every kind of pancake available at the restaurant.Each of the family members took turns digging in and also feeding it to the baby, who loved them. There was a lovely environment at the table and lots of smiles. There was a gentleman sitting at a nearby table and he was eating his breakfast alone quietly, in the corner. He frequently looked over and smiled at the lovely family.&nbsp;Suddenly, the granny of the family had a great idea. She dug out a smile card and snuck up to the waitress. She explained to her that she wanted to pay that man’s bill anonymously and that instead of the bill could the waitress please give him the smile card.After the gentleman left, the waitress came over and told the granny that he had passed the smile card on and paid for another table before he left. How great!Not only that though the waitress then came back later and told them that the second table had now paid for someone else and passed the smile card on too! The granny couldn’t believe it when the waitress came back and told her that the third table had done the same thing.What was really amazing though was that by the time the family had left, half the room had ended up paying for a different table!&nbsp; Moral:One good turn begets another.

This is a story of family, grandmother and pancake.Moral(s) of the story: generosity and kindness

 Pay it forward

Granted that all elephants have giant ears, but Elly had the giant ones.Her ears were larger than her mother’s, larger than her father’s, even larger than her grandfather’s ears!Such large ears? But Elly was such a small and delicate little elephant. She was always tired due to the weight of her ears. Tired and hungry due to carrying her heavy ears everywhere, she comes home with a frown.“Maaaaa!” She shouts. It was a particularly gruelling day at school, they had volleyball selections, and Elly was more than stressed. She wanted to vent about it to her mother. So she told her mother that she was stressed about the match.The next day at the volleyball event, Elly feels very insecure about her large ears in front of the audience. This disturbs her performance.She comes home crying again and shouts for her mother, “Maaaaa!”Her mother doesn’t know how to make her daughter feel better. She tries to comfort her daughter, but it is all in vain.So she comes up with a new trick. She sits Elly down in front of the television and switches to a sports channel where a volleyball game is playing.Watching the game, Elly has already calmed herself. Her mother points to the amazing volleyball players and says, “Elly, look! Mon, the monkey’s nose is too big. Croc Crocodile’s mouth is too wide. But do you see anyone talking about it?”That is how Elly slowly realises that physical flaws hold no bearing in front of her talent.It takes a long time for Elly to understand this fully, but she slowly overcomes her insecurities. <h3>Moral Of The Story: Accepting your body is the first step towards self-love.</h3>

This is a story of Elephant's ears.Moral(s) of the story: Self-love

The Elephants Ears

Once, two friends called Dharambuddhi and Paapbuddhi lived in a village. Dharambuddhi was an intelligent and wealthy man while Paapbuddhi was a cunning fellow who was not satisfied with his wealth. He wanted to make more money. He made a clever plan of earning much wealth, with Dharambuddhi’s help. First of all, Paapbuddhi convinced Dharambuddhi to go with him to the city in order to make money. He told Dharambuddhi that he was wasting his talent in that small village and that if he was in a larger city, he could attain name, fame and wealth. Dharambuddhi agreed with Paapbuddhi and soon, both of them set out on their journey to the city.In the city, Dharambuddhi earned a lot of wealth as well as fame. After having earned much money, Dharambuddhi and Paapbuddhi decided to go back to their village. As they were on the outskirts of their village, Paapbuddhi said to Dharambuddhi, “Friend, I don’t think it will be wise to take all of our wealth to the village with us. Our relatives might ask for their shares and there will be the danger of thieves too. So, for now, let us carry only a little money and bury the bulk of it under this tree here.”Dharambuddhi thought that this was a good idea. They dug a pit under a huge, hollow tree and both of them put their money in it separately. They covered the pit carefully and went to their homes.But the next night, Paapbuddhi sneaked quietly out of the village and went to the place where the money was hidden. He dug up the pit and took all the money—his own as well as the money belonging to Dharambuddhi.After a few days, Paapbuddhi went to Dharambuddhi and said, “I have finished my money, friend. Let us go and take out some more.” So, Dharambuddhi and Paapbuddhi went to the hiding place together and dug up the pit. But they found that there was no money inside. Paapbuddhi immediately accused Dharambuddhi of having stolen all the money. Dharambuddhi was infuriated. A heated quarrel began and finally, both of them went to the court to sort this matter out. The judge heard both sides of the story. Paapbuddhi said to the judge, “My Lord, if Dharambuddhi denies stealing the money in my absence, the only witness is the tree under which the wealth was hidden. In my opinion, the court should question the tree about this matter.” The judge agreed. A date was fixed when the court would visit the tree and question it. In the meantime, Paapbuddhi went to his father and said, “Father, you must help me. You know that I stole Dharambuddhi’s share of the money. Please help me or I will get caught and be imprisoned.”Paapbuddhi’s father was also a dishonest man like Paapbuddhi. He replied, “I don’t want to lose all that money. Tell me what I will have to do.” Paapbuddhi explained, “We hid our wealth under a huge, hollow tree on the outskirts of the village. The court is going to question the tree about the thief. All you have to do is hide inside the hollow of the tree and when anyone asks who the thief was, say ‘It was Dharambuddhi’.” Paapbuddhi’s father understood and agreed. On the fixed date, the judge, Paapbuddhi and Dharambuddhi went to the tree in question. The judge asked the tree, “You are the only witness to this crime. Tell us who the thief is.” They heard a voice from inside the tree saying, “It was Dharambuddhi.”The judge was astonished on hearing this. But Dharambuddhi’s mind was working in another way. He laid dried leaves all around the tree and set fire to them. The onlookers could not understand what Dharambuddhi was up to. Soon, the flames leapt up and smoke filled the whole area. In an instant everyone saw Paapbuddhi’s father rushing out from inside the hollow of the tree, half-burnt and yelling for help.The judge understood everything. It was clear to him that all of this had been a part of Paapbuddhi’s evil plan. He charged Paapbuddhi with the theft and punished him. Dharambuddhi was given all his wealth back. Everyone was happy that Dharambuddhi got justice and Paapbuddhi was punished for his greed and dishonesty. Moral:Always believe in the truth. Truth will serve justice no matter what.

This is a classic story from panchtantra.Moral(s) of the story: justice

Dharambuddhi and Paapbuddhi

Yesha Desai

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

Once upon a time Sammy and his sister Marie visited their grandparents at their farm. Sammy picked up a slingshot to play with out in the woods. He practiced in the woods but he could never hit the target. Getting a little discouraged, he headed back for the lunch. As he was walking back he saw Grandma’s pet duck.Just out of impulse, he let the slingshot fly which hit the duck square in the head and killed it. He was shocked and grieved. In a panic, he hid the dead duck in the pile of woods. Marie had seen it all from the window but she said nothing. After the lunch, the next day Grandma said, “Marie, let’s wash the dishes.” Marie said,“But Grandma, Sammy told me he wanted to help in the kitchen.”Then she whispered to Sammy, “Remember the duck?” Sammy got nervous knowing his sister knew about the duck and if he doesn’t obey, she may tell his grandparents about it. So without saying anything, he did the dishes.Later that day, Grandpa asked if the children wanted to go fishing but Grandma said, “I’m sorry but I need Marie to help make a supper.” Marie just smiled and said, “Well that’s all right because Sammy told me he wanted to help.”She whispered again to Sammy, “Remember the duck?” So Marie went fishing and Sammy stayed to help. After several days of Marie taking advantage of Sammy, he finally couldn’t stand it any longer. He came to Grandma and confessed that he had killed the duck.Grandma knelt down, gave him a hug and said, “Sweetheart, I know. I was standing at the window and I saw the whole thing but because I love you, I forgave you. I was just wondering how long you would let Marie take advantage of you.” Moral:Always confess of your mistakes. It will take away a load of guilt from your heart and no one will take an advantage of your secret mistakes! Accept your mistake, apologize and seek forgiveness politely.

This is a story of brother, duck, grandfather, grandmother and sister.Moral(s) of the story: confession and honesty

Little Boy with a Slingshot

Arybhatta had always been a very curious child. He loved learning and he loved knowing about new things. That is why the sky boggled him so much. It was so vast and it was everywhere. It was there when you woke up, it was there when you went to sleep, it was there as you grew up and it stays there even after you are long gone from this planet.&nbsp; So then, why was it that we knew so little about the sky and what lies within. He was so restless to know. He was not just a curious little boy, but a very intelligent one too. He was very well aware that the answer to all his questions will only be found once he knows everything that has been found.&nbsp; That is why he worked hard and studied a lot. That is how his horizons expanded and he came to learn more. His findings were well ahead of his time. He found the concept of zero by thinking that even nothingness has a quantity, the lunar and the solar eclipse, rotation of the earth and much more. From this, we learn that if we are curious to know about something and are passionate about it, then we must work hard.

This is a story of Aryabhatta and his invention.

Aryabhatta and the invention of zero

It was raining heavily, and the glass was splattered with the huge drops of water. Robbie said to his mom, “I want to go outside and play, Mum.” His mom did not know how to answer Robbie’s question so, she said, “When is it going to stop raining?” Due to heavy rain, Robbie was not able to go outside and play. Her mother replied, “I am sure it will stop any time now, Robbie. Why don’t you come and help me make some cookies?”Robbie was tired of making cookies. He did not want to play with his toys anymore. He was bored watching television. He wanted to go outside and play. Robbie said to his mum that he did not want to make cookies and ran into the living room. He threw himself on the couch and sighed, “I just want to go outside.” His mum, seeing him sad said she had an idea. She said, “Robbie, why do not you go upstairs and put your rubber boots on and your raincoat and rain hat too.Robbiegot up and asked, “Has it stopped raining?” Her mum replied, “No, but there is no reason you cannot go outside and play in the rain. Would you like to do that?” Robbie replied, “Yes, Mum. I want to go outside and play, even in the rain.” He ran to his bedroom and put on his red rubber boots. They fit snugly over his tennis shoes and would keep the water out when he splashed in the puddles. He wore his raincoat. It was red just like his hat. “I am ready, Mum,” he said.Her mum said to him to wait and she opened the closet and picked up a bright yellow umbrella. She gave the umbrella to him and opened the front door for him. The rain was pouring down. Puddles were all over the grass, streets, and sidewalks. Robbie went outside and opened the umbrella and stood in the rain. The water fell all around him, bouncing off the umbrella. He enjoyed splashing in the deep puddles. Water flew everywhere.Robbie’s mum stood at the window and watched her son having fun. She remembered her childhood days when she was a little girl. She loved to splash in the puddles when she was a little girl. She dressed in her yellow raincoat and rubber boots and opened the front door and went outside. Robbie was shocked to see her mother. His mother asked him, “Can I splash in the puddles with you?” He was very excited and happy to see his mother. He replied immediately, “Yes, Mum. Come and play with me.”They both enjoyed the rain and played for a long time. They jumped in the puddles and splashed on each other. They had the best time together. Robbie was glad that it rained so that he got a chance to play with his mum in the rain.

This is a story of mother, rain and son.Moral(s) of the story: happiness

running 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 Dog And The Rabbit

Glories of King Shibi

Pay it forward

The Elephants Ears

Dharambuddhi and Paapbuddhi

The mirror of horrors

Little Boy with a Slingshot

Aryabhatta and the invention of zero

Fun in the rain

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