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

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

07 Must Read Short Moral Stories For Children

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

Yesha Desai

Ajay is the only child of rich parents who have worked very hard to get where they are but growing up in the lap of luxury, he barely understands the struggles.He heavily relied on the house help to get his daily chores done. He had a maid who would clean his room, to fold his clothes, to wash his clothes, to make his bed. He had a chef who would cook food for him and serve his food. He had a driver who would drive him everywhere, even if it was just nearby, so he did not have to walk or use his cycle.In short he rarely did any work on his own.More than that, he seemed to not respect the house help either. He often degraded the trash collector, who collected trash from his house and helped in keeping the city clean, as he thought that he was more superior than the worker.This really bothered his parents because they did not want Ajay to grow up to be a brat.So one evening her mother asked every worker to take a few days of paid leave. When Ajay woke up in the morning, he asked for someone to make his bed but no one came.He asked for someone to bring his clothes, but no one came. He asked for someone to pack his lunch but no one came to help him do this either. He asked his mother, “Ma? Where is everyone? I am getting late for school.” His mother replied, “I have sent them home for a few days. You will have to do your chores by yourself now. Come on, get to it.”Ajay frowned but did not say anything. That day, he packed the wrong books, he forgot his tie, his bed was unmade. He had tried to do all his chores but he realised that he was truly lost and would not survive without help.Ajay realised that he should do his own work by himself instead of handing it off to others otherwise he would never learn. Moral:We must not be totally dependent on others for our tasks and learn to do it ourselves.

This is a story of chef, driver, house help, maid, parent and trash collector.Moral(s) of the story: gratitude and responsibility

Ajay’s lesson

Shina Utavani

The festival is celebrated on Full moon day of the Ashadha month. The festival is celebrated by Hindus, Jains, and Buddhists to honour their spiritual leaders or teachers. On this day, people express gratitude towards their Gurus.Story:The festival of Guru Purnima was first celebrated by the Buddhists to honour their Guru, Gautam Buddha. Lord Buddha delivered his first sermon (a lecture by a preacher) on this day.Vyasa Muni was one of the greatest Gurus in ancient Hindu traditions. He was also the author of the Hindu epic ‘Mahabharata’. Hindus follow this festival by paying tribute to Vyas Muni.The day is also celebrated as the birth anniversary of Veda Vyasa. Therefore, Guru Purnima is also known as Vyas Purnima.The main purpose behind celebrating the festival is to follow the teachings of our Gurus and to pay tribute to them. People worship and show gratitude towards their Gurus, teachers for guiding them. It is a festival of honouring Gurus/ mentors of our lives. Moral:Always respect your Gurus in life and be grateful to them.

This is a story educator, Guru Purnima and student.

Guru Purnima

Once upon a time there lived a very pious saint. He had many disciples and was very well loved.One day while taking a walk with his disciples in the beautiful mountains of Tibet, he listened to his students talk about their dreams and lives. He considered himself extremely blessed to have such passionate students. However, they were also very competitive.“What qualities do we need to get success in life?” He asked his students.“Talent.” One replied.“Good luck.” The other replied.“Favourable circumstances.” Said another.He sat down with them around a tree and asked them to watch the two farms in front of them.The children obeyed and looked at two farms where farmers were ploughing the land. In one farm, the farmer had seven oxen and in the other, the farmer only had two.In the first farm, work was getting done very easily as compared to the other.In the farm where the farmer had better equipment, the land was ploughed faster and soon enough the farmer was done with his work. In the other farm, even though it took more work, the farmer did not stop and worked harder.As evening fell, the farmer was done with his work too.Both the farmers succeeded.The saint turned to his disciples and said, “Some people have to work harder than others to achieve something, some have natural talent while others have to practice for it, some people have better luck than others but in the end even if the playing fields are uneven you succeed only if you are hardworking and disciplined.” Moral:Discipline and work ethic are the key to success.

This is a story of disciple, farm, farmer and saint.Moral(s) of the story: discipline

The key to success

A long time ago, there was a farmer who had a donkey. The farmer used to take the donkey every day to the marketplace with a huge heap of wheat on its back.One day while walking the donkey accidentally fell into an empty well. The poor donkey cried loudly for hours. The farmer tried to figure out what to do. The farmer after hours of waiting, finally decided that the donkey was old and the well needed to be covered up anyway. To retrieve the donkey was not worth it.He decided to cover them well with the mud. He invited all his neighbours to come and help him cover the well with the dirt. They all grabbed a shovel and began to shovel dirt in the well. When the donkey saw the mud, he cried miserably and loudly. But after some time, he stopped crying.After a few shovels, the farmer decided to look down in the well. He was surprised by what he saw in the well. The donkey did something amazing by every shovel of dirt thrown at him. the donkey would shake off the dirt and would take a step up. With each shovel of dirt, he would shake it off and take a step up.After some time, everyone was amazed when donkey stepped up over the edge of the well. Moral:Don’t give up easily. Shake it off and take a step ahead. Life is going to shovel dirt on you, all kinds of it. But all you need to do is shake it off and step up.

This is a story of donkey and farmer.Moral(s) of the story: smartness

The donkey in the well

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”.In ancient India, nearly 5000 years ago, there lived a young prince of Nishada (a tribe of hunters) named Ekalavya. Even though he was a hunter by birth, he aspired to become a great archer and a brave warrior. He wanted to to learn archery from the great Guru Dronacharya. Dronacharya was the greatest teacher of the art of archery and the science of warfare in the kingdom. He was the royal teacher of the Pandavas and the Kauravas. Ekalavaya approached Dronacharya but he refused to teach him because he belonged to a lower caste.Ekalavya felt very bad but he did not give up his will to become an archer. He collected the soil on which Dronacharya walked and made an idol out of it. He believed that if he practised faithfully in front of his Guru, he would be able to master the art of archery. So, every morning he would pray in front of the idol and practise throughout the day. After years of practising, he became a skilled archer, even surpassing the best archer in the kingdom- Arjuna.One day, Dronacharya came to know about Ekalavya’s skill, he visited him to know about his Guru. Ekalavya then showed him the idol and said, “You are my Guru.” Dronacharya was worried that Ekalavya would become a better archer than Arjuna, his favourite student. Therefore, Dronacharya asked Ekalavya to pay him Guru Dakshina. Ekalavya was overjoyed with this and said, “I am blessed that you ask me for guru Dakshina. I would never refuse anything that you ask.” Dronacharya then said, “You have to give me your right thumb as Guru Dakshina.”Ekalavya looked steadily at Dronacharya. Without any further questions, he said, “I will never disobey your wish, sir.” Saying this he took out a knife and cut off his right thumb and placed it at his Guru’s feet.Later Ekalavya learned to shoot with his forefinger and middle finger and remains an example of an ideal student till today. Moral:This story teaches us to be determined and stay dedicated to our goal. It teaches us to respect our teachers.

This is a story of Dronacharya, Eklavya, educator and student.Moral(s) of the story: dedication and hard work

Ekalavya’s allegiance to his teacher

One day, a bear was sleeping in the forest. A farmer saw the bear sleeping and sneaked into him and cut off one of his paws with an axe. The farmer brought the paw home. He said to his wife, “Boil some soup from the flesh, and knit some warm gloves from the wool.” Her wife took off the skin, threw the flesh into the pot to boil, and sat down to spin the wool. When the bear woke up, he found out that one of his paws was not there. There was no one to help him so, he cut a bit of wood and tied it instead of his leg. After that, we went into the village. On his way, he sang: Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! I am stumbling with the tree wood on my leg,The water’s asleep, and the earth’s asleep, the whole village is asleep,only one woman is awake, and she is boiling my flesh,sitting on my skin and spinning my wool!” The farmer’s wife got scared by hearing the bear’s voice. She saw him coming and she quickly hid in the cellar under the floor. The bear went into the house and there was no one. He then took the bit of his skin, took the flesh out of the pot and left the place. Moral:Attacking someone when they are not aware is easy. The strength is when both the parties are equally aware and armed.

This is a story of bear and farmer.Moral(s) of the story: cheating and strength

The bear’s paw

Ravina Sewani

A small boy called Johnny was always eager to show his wit. One morning he decided to play a trick on the barber. He went to the barber's shop and sat in the chair against the mirror.The barber asked, "Yes, Johnny?" Johnny said in a stern voice, "Will you please shave my beard?" The barber saw through the game. But he politely said, "I will surely do so, young master."The barber then put a piece of cloth around Johnny's shoulders. He also applied soap on his face. Then he got busy with some other work. Johnny waited for quite a long time. Waiting with soap all over his face was difficult. He shouted at the barber, "Why do you keep me waiting?"The barber smiled and coolly replied, "I'm waiting for your beard to grow." Moral:When you play a joke on someone, keep in mind that someone can play a joke on you too.

This is a classic story from Vikas books.This is a story of barber.Moral(s) of the story: wisdom

Johnny and the barber

An old farmer had three sons. They were young and strong. But they were all very lazy. They wanted money to spend. But they did not want to work to earn money.One day the farmer said to them, “I have buried some treasure in our field. Dig out the treasure and share it among you.” So the next day the young men eagerly went to the field and started digging it. They worked hard for several days. They dug each and every inch of the field but found no treasure anywhere.They went to their father and told him that they had failed to find the treasure. The father said, “Never mind. Now that you have dug the field so well, let us sow it with corn.”So they sowed the field with corn. Luckily for them, it rained very well that year. The corn ripened and the field looked beautiful with the rich crop. The young men showed the field to their father with great pride.The farmer said, “What a bumper crop! This is the very treasure I wanted you to share among you. If you work hard, you will get such treasure year after year.” Moral:Hard-work pays off in every way.

This is a classic story from Vikas books.This is a story of farmer.Moral(s) of the story: hard work

The Hidden Treasure

In a dense forest, there lived a fox and a wolf. They both were good friends. They both enjoyed each other’s company. The fox depended on the wolf for many things. The wolf would go for hunting and fox would always go with him. He would sneak the spoils of the hunt left behind by the wolf. He used to get the meal easily as the wolf would do all the hard work.The fox used to always follow the wolf and would eat without doing much hard work. One day the wolf became aware of fox’s deceiving nature. The wolf started ignoring him. He would go hunting without his friend. The wolf decided to stay away from the fox as he was using him for his benefit. He thought that the fox was not a good friend and he was very selfish. The wolf did not call fox for the hunt after that.As the winter season started, the wolf began hunting and saved his meat for the season. He would hunt for the meal and would store it in his house for the winter. To avoid any difficulty in the winter, he stored as much food as he could. The wolf worked hard and searched for his food. The fox rested all around and did nothing. He thought that the wolf would take him for the hunt. He waited for the wolf to go for hunting.Many days went by and the wolf did not call the fox. So, the fox decided to look for the wolf. For many days, the fox managed to eat little food which he got nearby but he wanted to eat some good meat. He went to the wolf’s cave. The fox did not want to directly ask the wolf why he was not going for the hunt. So, he shouted, “Wolf, my friend. Are you fine? I have not seen you for a long time.” After this, the fox sneaked inside the cave to look for the wolf. Inside the cave, he saw a huge pile of meat. The wolf was inside the cave and was surprised to see the fox.The wolf coughed and said, “I was sick for a while. I will come to meet you when I feel better.” The fox asked the wolf to take care and left his cave. The wolf was happy that the fox left, he did not want to be friends with him. The fox felt very bad that the wolf was ignoring him and went for the hunt without him. Instead of realizing his mistake, he thought that the wolf was very mean to him. He decided to take revenge from the wolf.The fox went to a shepherd and took the shepherd to the wolf’s den. The shepherd was shocked to see his sheep inside the den. As they were easy to hunt, the wolf had killed many of shepherd’s sheep. The shepherd got very angry and started beating the wolf. “How dare you hunt my sheep? Now, you will not be killing my sheep anymore” said the shepherd and killed the wolf. Then he took off the wolf’s skin and left.The fox was very happy that the wolf was killed. He said, “This is what you get when you are mean to others. You are dead now and I will eat all your meat.” The fox did not realize what he had done and it was obvious that the selfish fox would never realize his mistake. As the fox was dancing and jumping, a hunter saw the fox and caught him. The hunter killed him. In the end, the fox was punished by God, for betraying his friend. Moral:One should always be loyal to their family and friends.

This is a story of farmer. fox and wolf.Moral(s) of story: selfishness

service provider 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.

Ajay’s lesson

Guru Purnima

The key to success

The donkey in the well

Ekalavya’s allegiance to his teacher

The bear’s paw

Johnny and the barber

The Hidden Treasure

The Fox and the Wolf

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