Yesha Desai

Manu came from a poor family, they had enough money to meet their needs but not enough for unnecessary expenditures. Manu’s friend, Shanu was rich enough to enjoy his life.Lord Ganesha’s festival came near and everyone brought colourful idols in their home to welcome the Lord. Shanu brought a very big idol, it was decorated with flowers and crowns.Manu was in awe of the idol Shanu had bought. He asked his parents to get the same for him but they refused. They did not have the money to do so. Manu sat quietly in a corner, thinking God would not come to him because he could not spend enough.However, with as much as he could manage, he built a small clay idol to worship. That night, in his dreams Lord Ganesha appeared and said, “ Hello, Manu.”Manu was shocked before he finally remembered his manners and bowed. Lord Ganesha explained it to him that he was visiting because Manu’s devotion was real and God resides in hearts, not in fancy idols. Moral:God resides, not in rituals and clay idols, but in our heart and our devotion.

This is a story of Ganesh and idol.Moral(s) of the story: devotion

Where is God?

Nishita Sanghvi

A long time ago, the king of the jungle who lived in a cave was frequently irritated by a mouse who would climb up on him always at the time when he was sleeping. The lion tried very hard to kill the mouse but the mouse was too quick for him to get hold of. The moment the lion would try to grab him, the mouse would slip off. The lion was fed up and realized he had to trick the mouse somehow and so he thought of something very clever.The lion went to a nearby village and convinced a cat to come with him. The mouse was obviously scared of the cat and now was very careful in coming out of its hole. The happy lion could now sleep peacefully as the cat acted like the lions guard and the mouse would not want to leave his hole with the cat being around. Every day the lion would share his meal with the cat. Both the master and the servant were thus, passing time happily with each other.One day, the mouse came out of his hole looking for something to eat. The cat pounced on it and the mouse was dead. The lion was extremely happy to know this. Now the lion completely lost interest in the cat and stopped giving him any food as the cat was of no use to him and as a result the cat died of starvation.Therefore, we realize that people usually value things that are of use to them.Moral of the story -Unfortunately people only value things that are of use to them.

This is a story from hitopadesha tales of cat, lion and mouse.Moral(s) of the story: smartness

The Cat Who Served The Lion

Pallavi Hota

Bible is the collection of 66 books written by different authors describing the God's action and purpose with all creations. Bible contains life stories of Jesus. The bible gives the messages God has desired for us to understand. Following is a story from “The Bible”. Jesus us had been fasting forty days and nights in the desert. He was alone and hungry. The devil went to Him and tried to tempt Him into turning the stones into bread, but Jesus replied that man does not live on bread alone, but on the Word of God.Then, the devil took Jesus to the highest point in the Holy City. He told Jesus to throw Himself from there for the scriptures said that the angels would save Jesus. But Jesus replied to him that we should not put the Lord to the test.The devil then tried to promise all the kingdoms of the world to Jesus, as long as He bowed down and worshipped him.But Jesus rebuked the devil and told him that worship is meant for God alone. The devil then left Jesus, and the angels of the Lord came to attend to Him. Moral:If you hold fast to the Word of God, then nobody will be able to cause you to stumble.

Devil In the Desert

One day Birbal and his friend were coming back from somewhere.There was a small stream in the way. The bridge on that stream was very old, narrow and slippery. Birbal somehow managed to cross that bridge, but his friend could not do it. He lost his balance and fell into the water.Birbal immediately leaned down to help his friend. He stretched out his hand towards his friend in order to help him come out. His friend quickly grasped his hand and started to pull himself towards the shore.His friend felt so obligated that he hastily promised Birbal that he would give him twenty dinars for saving his life.Birbal stoically said, “Thank you!” and let him go into the water again. The man got the shock of his life and went back into the water with a splash.The man struggled to wade his way out of the water and when he finally reached the shore, he asked Birbal, “Why did you do that?”Birbal said, “To take my reward.”The man said, “Couldn’t you have waited for me to come out of the water safely?”.Birbal retorted, “Couldn’t you have waited till you came out of the water and stood on the ground?”The man realised that he had been hasty in offering the reward and friends do not help each other for material gains. He apologised to Birbal and thanked him for saving him and driving good sense into him. Moral:Hasty, emotional promises can have bad consequences / There is no need for material exchanges or rewards in friendship

This is a classic story from Akbar Birbal.Moral(s) of the story: friendship

Hasty reward

Bible is the collection of 66 books written by different authors describing the God's action and purpose with all creations. Bible contains life stories of Jesus. The bible gives the messages God has desired for us to understand. Following is a story from “The Bible”. Jesus, the Son of God, knew that his time as a mortal was nearly over. His job on earth was nearing completion. But there was still some work to do. He knew that his final gift to mankind would be his death on the cross.But before that, he had a few more things to share. So, on his last night alive, he called his apostles for the last supper. He spent the evening sharing his wisdom and knowledge because now it would be up to the apostles to spread the word of God.Then Jesus got down on his knees and washed their feet. This was a teaching on how to treat each other once Jesus was gone.Then all of them sat down for supper. Jesus shared food and drinks with them. He told the apostles that they must remember him whenever they had their supper.As they were eating their supper, Jesus told his friends that one of the 12 apostles would betray him. Though Jesus knew that it was Judas who would betray him, he did not confront him because he knew that it was all God's plan.Soon Judas left the table on some pretense and returned with soldiers to arrest Jesus. Peter tried to protect him, but Jesus told him not to. He knew that it was time for the final sacrifice. Moral:Love even those who betray you for they too are doing God's work.

This is a story of Bible, Apostles and Jesus Christ.

The Last Supper

Ravina Sewani

Once, a king had announced that anyone who wanted the post of personal assistant must meet him. Many people gathered in the palace. The king led them to a pond and said, "Whoever will fill this pond's water in this pot will be chosen for the post. But remember, there is a hole in the pot."So some people left without a single try. While some people tried for once and then said, "The king has already chosen someone else. Let's go."But one man kept filling the pot with pond water patiently. He filled the water in the pot from the pond and came out on the ground. But always within few moments, the water poured on the ground completely. He tried that uncountable numbers of times. At last the pond became empty. The man found a diamond ring in the empty pond and he gave it to the king. At this the king said, "This ring is a reward for your patience and hard work. You are fit for the job." Moral:Patience always pays.

This is a story king and ring.Moral(s) of story: patience

Pool of Patience

One day, Emperor Akbar said to Birbal, “Birbal, my people love me very much and that is why they are ready to carry out every order of mine willingly.”Birbal smiled and said, “This is true, but they fear you too, Jahanpanah.” Akbar did not agree with Birbal on this and that is why it was decided that Birbal’s statement should be tested.Next day, according to Birbal’s instructions, it was announced that the Emperor would be going hunting, and people should pour a pot of milk in a tub kept in the courtyard. The people thought that the Emperor was out and would not come to see the tub himself, so all they poured in the tub was some water. Next day, when Akbar returned from hunting, he found that there was not even a single drop of milk in the tub, instead there was just some water.Akbar got very disappointed when he saw this and asked Birbal about his next move.Birbal said, “Jahanpanah, once again announce that you are going for hunting and this time you will see the tub yourself after coming back.”The Emperor did as Birbal said. Once again, the tub was kept in the courtyard. This time, when the king returned from hunting, he was pleasantly surprised to see the tub overflowing with milk.Birbal said, “This proves the truthfulness of my statement, Huzoor! It is your fear which makes the people obey you. The first time there was no one to check the tub, so people poured the water, but the second time, they knew that you would check it yourself, that is why they brought the milk.”Akbar understood that it is indeed fear that keeps people disciplined. Moral:Fear keeps people in line and makes them agreeable.

This is a classic story from Akbar Birbal.Moral(s) of the story: fear

Fear is the key

Shina Utavani

The Ramayan is an ancient Sanskrit epic written by the famous sage Valmiki. It describes Lord Rama's effort to rescue Sita from the demon king Ravana. It also describes the challenges faced by Lord Rama, Laxaman, and Sita when they were exiled from the kingdom for 14 years. Following is a story from “The Ramayana”.Ramayan is the Hindu Epic tale of India which describes the struggle of Lord Rama in rescuing his wife from the demon king Ravana. Lord Rama decided to build a bridge to reach Lanka in order to rescue Sita. This particular story describes the efforts put by the little squirrel in building the bridge.When the entire army of monkeys was busy making the bridge on the sea to reach Lanka to take Sita, a small squirrel living in the area watched the entire scene. Seeing them, the squirrel also wanted to contribute to building the bridge. But the squirrel was too small to even carry the sand or stone. So, the squirrel thought of an idea. It went to the sea and had a dip. Then, the squirrel rolled over in the sand. With the sand all over its body, it went between the rocks and rolled over it. She continued doing the process from sunrise till sunset. She did this for days effortlessly. No one noticed her for days.One day, a monkey noticed her and started making fun of her. He told her to stay away otherwise the rock would crush her. Everyone started making fun of her. The squirrel was in tears. Lord Ram happened to watch the actions of the squirrel. The squirrel was tireless and went on doing its job without any break until the project was completed. Lord Ram described to the army how the squirrel has worked as the connector between the two rocks. Lord Ram was pleased with the efforts of this little squirrel. He explained to all others the relevance of the squirrel and its sense of duty. He took the squirrel on his lap and showed his appreciation by moving his three fingers from head to tail. It is said that those are the three lines which we see today in a squirrel.Since then, the squirrels have carried white stripes on their bodies. Moral:No work is big or small. It is not the type of work that matters, but what you learn from working that counts. Never listen to people who tell you that the work you are doing is demeaning or would undermine your prestige.

This is a story of monkey, Ram and squirrel.Moral(s) of the story: effort

The Story of a Squirrel

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.” When Jayadratha, the husband of Dushala, the only sister of the Kauravas, was killed by the clever plan of Krishna, Duryodhana was pacing up and down in the night and he was thinking, “What is this? The clouds just came and then went! I am not a weather-man. This Krishna is just too much.” Gandhari, his mother, was thinking, “I must protect my son. This is cheating. With Krishna on their side, Pandavas will get victory.” Gandhari thought, “I have my siddhi.” So she said, “My dear Duryodhana, come and see me in the night without any clothes. When you stand before my eyes, I will take off the blindfold and by the force of my siddhi over the years, I will make you so strong that no one can touch you.” So in the dead of the night Duryodhana went to see his mother.He saw Krishna. Duryodhana was thinking, “Of all the people in the world, why should I see this personality?” Krishna saw him and started smiling. Duryodhan became ruffled. He asked, “why are you smiling?” Krishna said, “Why do you think I am smiling? Grown up man with no clothes walking in the dead of the night. Are you mental?” Duryodhana was embarrassed and said, “No no. I am just going to see my mother.” Krishna then said, “Your mother! You are going to see your mother with no clothes on? Where have you learned your etiquette? Some decency is required. At least wear some gumcha or something and then go to see your mother. I know you have had a bad day in the battlefield but that does not mean you have to become mental.” Duryodhana thinks, “Yes, it is very bad. I am very embarrassed.” He thought to himself , “I will wear my gamcha and when I stand before my mother, I will take it off. Then everything will be alright.” So he went before his mother. Gandhari asked, “Are you ready son? Is everything as I told you?” He replied “Yes.” She opened her eyes and saw him. She went all the way down and she saw the gamcha. At the end, Duryodhana’s thighs could not be strengthened because they were covered. Gandhari tells Duryodhana, “I gave you a simple instruction to take off your clothes and stand.” He said, “I met Krishna.” Gandhari thought, “why of all people must my son meet Krishna? In the night, the Pandavas were very happy and they must have all gone to sleep. Why was Krishna roaming around?” She asked his son, “What did Krishna tell you?” He replied, “Krishna told me to wear a gamcha as it is not right to walk around without any clothes. Mother, I agreed to Him and I decided to remove the gumcha when I came to you.” But Gandhari realized with an air of resignation that no matter what she planned for her son, the truth is Krishna in a very simple and cheeky way was teaching her something that whatever plans she had for her son, were not within His line of vision. It was not going to help. She was only going to be disturbed. But till the end of the war, Gandhari could not accept this.

sikh leaders 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.