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

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

07 Must Read Short Moral Stories For Children

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

Ravina Sewani

A Porcupine was looking for a good home. At last he found a little sheltered cave, where lived a family of Snakes. He asked them to let him share the cave with them, and the Snakes kindly consented.The Snakes soon wished they had not given him permission to stay. His sharp quills pricked them at every turn, and at last they politely asked him to leave.“I am very well satisfied, thank you,” said the Porcupine. “I intend to stay right here.” And with that, he politely escorted the Snakes out of doors. And to save their skins, the Snakes had to look for another home.Moral: Give a finger and lose a hand.

This is a story of Aesop fables, porcupine and snake.Moral(s) of the story: helpfulness and regret

The Porcupine And The Snakes

Long ago, a youth named Brahmadatta lived in a village. One day, Brahmadatta had to go to the city for some important work. His mother was anxious about her son going alone, so she called him and said, “My dear son, I would advise you not to travel alone. You must take a companion with you so that he can help you if required.”Brahmadatta replied, “Mother, I am a grown man. I can take good care of myself. Besides, I do not have any companion to take with me.”“Not to worry! I will arrange a good companion for you,” said Brahmadatta’s mother. She then fetched a crab from the nearby pond and put it into Brahmadatta’s travelling bag. As Brahmadatta did not want to hurt his mother’s sentiments, he kept the crab in a camphor box and set out on his journey.The journey was long and Brahmadatta got very tired by evening. So, he decided to take some rest under a big banyan tree and soon he went to sleep. In the hollow of that banyan tree, there lived a snake. Seeing Brahmadatta fast asleep, the snake came down and hid himself in Brahmadatta’s travelling bag.The smell of camphor seemed very nice to the snake and thus, he slithered his way into the camphor box. As soon as he entered the camphor box, the crab sitting inside caught hold of the snake’s neck and killed it.When Brahmadatta woke up, he was astonished to find a dead snake lying beside him. In his heart, he thanked his mother for giving him the sage advice of taking a companion with him. Moral:You should listen to your parents’ advice as they mean the best for you at heart.

This is a classic story from panchtantra.This is a story of crab, mother, snake and son.Moral(s) of the story: family value

Brahmadatta, crab and the snake

Yesha Desai

Here’s another great story from the Hitopadesha tales. A long time ago, there lived an old snake named Mandavisha. He had become so old that he was unable to hunt for his food. One day, he was resting on the bank of a lake. A small frog spotted him lying there. The snake did not move an inch even after seeing the frog. Out of curiosity, the frog asked the snake, “Why are you not hunting for food?”Mandavisha was a cunning snake. A diabolical plan struck him and he said, “O frog! Please leave me alone to my fate. I am reaping the fruits of my wrong doing. Few years back, I bit a pious brahmin’s son. The brahmin was full of sorrow and grief to see his dead son. He threw the blessed water on me and cursed me, “Soon the frogs will use you as a vehicle to ride on.” Thus cursed, I am waiting for the frogs to ride me.”The frog went running to his king, Jalapada and told him about the cursed snake. The king of frogs immediately left to meet the snake and made him his royal ride. Mandavisha was happy to see his plan working. He gladly allowed Jalapada to climb his back and carried him to and fro, thus pleasing him.The following day, the snake pretended that he was unable to move about. The king of the frogs asked him, “What happened to you, my royal ride? Why are you so sluggish today?”“I am feeling very weak as I had nothing to eat since morning. I won’t be able to take you for a ride today.” said the snake. The king wanted to go on a joyride with his wife, so he said, “Well! We need our royal ride to be fit and healthy. I permit you to eat one frog from my kingdom every day.”This was all that the snake wanted to hear! He started eating up the frogs one by one and in the end, he came to eat the king of frogs as well. As his end was near, the king of frogs said to himself, “What a fool I have been to get carried away by the oily talks of this treacherous snake.” Moral:We should not be influenced by pitious talks and flattery. Instead we should think clearly with our heads before making a decision.

This is a classic story from Hitopadesha tales.This is a story of foolishness, frog and snakeMoral(s) of the story: foolishness

The Serpent And The King of Frogs

Once upon a time a king had a son named Prince Wicked. He was very cruel and used to hurt everyone by his actions and words. Nobody in the kingdom liked him and feared the day he would take over the reins of the kingdom. One day, when the prince was swimming in the river, suddenly a fierce storm rose in the sky. It started raining heavily and a flash flood came in the river. A big wave came out of nowhere and took away the prince with it. The servants saw the prince getting washed away into the river, but deliberately did not do anything to save him. They thought that it was better for all of them to let such a diabolical prince die. They went to the king and told him that the prince went missing somewhere in the storm.In the meanwhile, Prince Wicked was trying to save himself from drowning in the flood water. Luckily, he came across a wooden log and climbed upon it. The prince, along with the log started floating farther down the river.Because of the flood, some water had also rushed into the homes of a rat and a snake that lived near the river bank. In order to save their lives, the rat and the snake caught hold of the wooden log on which the prince was lying. The storm had also destroyed a tree on which a young parrot lived. The young parrot was thrown into the river with a strong gust of wind. He was unable to fly because of his tender and wet wings. When he saw the wooden log, he also perched himself on it. Now there were four of them on the log, floating down the river together.Just around the bend in the river, a certain poor man lived. He heard the cries of the prince and jumped into the river to save him. With much effort, he was able to drag the wooden log to the shore. Now the prince and the animals were safe.He built a fire to keep them warm and also gave them some hot milk to drink. The poor man, however, first attended to the animals as they were weaker and needed instant care. This made the young prince angry, and he said to himself, “Instead of taking care of a prince, this man is looking after these worthless animals.” This made the prince turn against the poor man.A few days later, the storm subsided and everybody decided to go back to their homes. First of all, the snake bid farewell to the poor man saying, “Father, you have been very kind to me! I know a place where there is abundant gold hidden. Whenever you need it just come to my home and call out, “Snake!” and I will show you that place.”The rat also knew about some hidden money. He bid adieu to the poor man and said, “If ever you want money, come to my home and call out, “Rat!” and I will take you to a place where a lot of money is hidden.”Then the parrot came, saying, “Father, I do not know of any treasure. But if you ever wish to eat the best quality of rice, then come to the place where I live and call me out. Together with my family, I will gather the choicest of rice grains from the fields for you.”Now it was the prince’s turn to take the poor man’s leave. He was not at all grateful to the poor man for saving his life but he had heard all the animals conveying their words of gratitude, so he also pretended to be as thankful and said, “Come to me when I become the king, and I will give you great riches.” So saying, he returned to his kingdom.Sometime after this incident, the poor man decided to visit all those whom he had saved and to find out whether they were still true to their words or not. First of all, he went to the snake, and standing near his hole, called out, “Snake!” At once the snake came out and said, “Father, I am so happy to see you. You may take all the gold that is buried here.” The poor man was happy to know that the snake was willing to keep his promise. He said, “When I need it, I will come and collect it.”Then, the poor man went to meet the rat. The rat was also very happy to see the poor man and wanted to take him to the place where the money was hidden. The poor man said, “When I need the money, I will come back to you.”Going next to the parrot, he called out, “Parrot!” The bird flew down from its nest as soon as he heard the call. He welcomed the poor man and asked if he wanted the fresh rice grains from the fields. The poor man thanked the parrot and promised to avail the parrot’s offer some other time.Lastly, the poor man went to visit the price, who had now become the king. When the king saw the poor man, he was filled with hatred. Instead of rewarding him, the king thought of punishing the poor man for insulting him. So, the king ordered his men to arrest him and march him up on the streets. He instructed them to beat the poor man at every corner of the street and then finally chop off his head.The king’s soldiers reluctantly carried out his orders. While they were marching him on the street, the poor man cried over and over again, “It is better to save poor, weak animals than to save a prince.”The poor man told the story of their king’s ungrateful act to each and every person on the street. The crowd was filled with rage to hear about their king’s atrocity and thanklessness. They decided that he did not deserve to be their king anymore and with the help of his own soldiers, killed him. The crowd decided to choose the poor man as their king and the poor man ruled them with compassion and wisdom.He also invited his friends, the snake, the rat and the parrot to live with him. The animals kindly consented and also brought the gifts that they had promised him. The king got a tube of gold made for the snake to live in, a glass box for the rat and a cage of gold for the parrot. All the animals lived happily ever after with the king. Moral:Acts of cruelty are always paid back tenfold.

This is a classic story from Jataka tales.This is a story of parrot, rat and snake.Moral(s) of the story: gratitude

Prince wicked and the grateful animals

Shina Utavani

The Forest God one day created an animal and named him Snowball. The animal was very beautiful. He was round and had beautiful white fur. All the other animals liked and adored him.The snowball looked very nice but by nature, he was very mean and nasty. He was very rude and mean to other animals. One day, he was roaming in the forest. While roaming, he met Piggy. After seeing Piggy, Snowball said, “Your nose is so funny! It looks like your nose is looking at the sky” and started laughing. Piggy felt very bad and he started crying.The snowball went further on his way. He met squirrel on his way. The squirrel was happy to see the snowball and said, “Snowball, come play with me.” Snowball replied, “I will never play with you, you are very small.” The squirrel became very sad. Further snowball met the deer and said, “You have sticks on your head, it looks very strange.” The deer too got upset.Snowball went ahead and he was humming a song. On his way, he saw a hen. The hen said, “Hey Snowball, Let’s be friends.” The snowball started laughing and said, “No ways, look at your ugly red hat.” The hen was very embarrassed and felt very bad. Snowball kept saying mean things to everyone in the forest. No one in the forest liked him anymore. Everyone started hating him.All other animals of the forest had a meeting and decided to ignore Snowball. One of the animals said, “He is so mean! Why he is so beautiful? It is not fair.” The other one said, “He is very rude, I am not going to be his friend.”The Forest God saw everything and called Snowball. He said, “Snowball, stop being mean to others, otherwise your fur will fall out.” The snowball did not listen to the Forest God and kept teasing everyone. Soon, his fur started falling out. He was left with no fur. He cried and went to the Forest God and said, “I will not tease anyone. Please give me my fur back.”The Forest God appeared after seeing him cry. The god said, “Go to the forest, make new friends. Only then your fur would grow. If you fail to make new friends, your body will grow.” Snowball immediately went to the forest. He first went to piggy but the piggy ignored him. So, the body of snowball grew.On his way he saw the squirrel, he tried talking to her but she too ignored him. Snowball’s body grew longer. Snowball saw the rabbit and the bear but they too ignored him. So, his body grew longer and longer. The snowball cried and said, “No one will become my friend.”Snowball’s fur did not grow at all. Snowball’s body grew so long that his legs disappeared. The other animals laughed at snowball now. They used to tell him, “You have no fur. You look so ugly.” Snowball felt very bad and was ashamed of himself. He hid inside the cave and was all alone.“I was so mean,” he cried. The snowball realized his mistake but it was too late. Slowly time passed and snowball forgot about his beauty. He slid across the cold ground. All the animals forgot about the snowball. He had a new name now. He is called snake since then. Moral:Never be rude to others. Do not make fun of others.

This is a story of forest, snake and snowball.Moral(s) of the story: mean

The snowball and his forest friends

A long time ago, there lived a poor farmer named Haridatta. He used to work very hard in the fields, but his fields never had a profitable yield. One day, while watering his fields, he saw a frightful snake coming out of an anthill. He thought that perhaps the snake was the guardian of the field and since he had not paid homage to the snake, his fields never yielded the desired harvest.He rushed home to bring some milk and offered it to the serpent in a bowl. While offering the milk respectfully, he addressed the serpent, “O, Guardian of this field! I was not aware that you lived here, that is why I never offered you anything. I will not make this mistake again. Please forgive me.”The next day, when the farmer came to plough the field, he found a gold coin in the bowl near the anthill. Feeding the snake became a regular feature of the farmer’s life. Every day he served milk to the serpent and found a gold coin in the empty bowl the next day.&nbsp;Soon all the financial problems of the farmer disappeared.One day the farmer had to go to the town for a few days for some urgent work, so he asked his son to take care of the serpent. The son brought the milk to the anthill and offered it to the serpent. Next day, when he came back to collect the bowl, he found a gold coin in it. He thought, “This anthill must be full of gold coins. I can kill the serpent and take them all.” Next day, he offered the milk to the snake and as soon as the serpent leaned down to drink the milk, he struck the serpent’s hood with the stick. The snake escaped the blow of the stick and bit the boy to death.When the farmer returned to his village and came to know about the death of his son. He was full of grief but did not discontinue his daily practice. He went near the anthill and called out to the serpent.The serpent came out of the anthill and replied, “My dear man, I know that you have come here just driven by your greed. Your greed has brought you to feed the serpent who bit your son to death. Neither can I forget that stick’s blow nor can you forget the pain that I have caused you. So, it is best for us to part ways.” After saying this, the serpent gave him a diamond and said, “Never come to me again.” Then the serpent disappeared into the anthill and the farmer never saw it again. Moral:Greed harms us more than does any good.

This is a classic story from panchtantra.This is a story of farmer and snake.Moral(s) of the story: greediness

The gold giving serpent

A long time ago, there lived a Brahmin by the name of Deva Sharma with his wife. They were blessed with a son. The baby used to be alone for most of the time as the Brahmin went out to conduct religious rituals and the Brahmini got busy with the household work. The Brahmin, thought of buying a pet animal for the baby who would not only protect the child but also give him company when both the parents were busy. The Brahmini was reluctant but agreed to have a pet later. The next day, the Brahmin bought a mongoose for their child from the market. Soon, the Brahmin couple started loving the mongoose as their own child. Yet, the Brahmini sometimes feared that the mongoose could harm her son. After all, it was just an animal!One day, the Brahmini had to go out of the house to fetch water from the nearby pond. The Brahmin had also left early for the temple. With a little apprehension, she left the child with the mongoose. Soon after she left, a cobra entered the home. The mongoose sensed the danger to the Brahmin’s son and attacked the cobra. It fiercely fought the cobra and killed it.When the mongoose heard the footsteps of the Brahmini, it joyfully went out to greet her. The Brahmini was terrified to see the blood stains all over the mouth of the mongoose. She concluded that the mongoose had killed the child.Without a second thought, she threw a heavy box on mongoose which killed it instantly. The Brahmini stormed into the house to see the condition of her child. To her great surprise, she found her child peacefully sleeping in the cradle.Then she saw a snake torn into pieces lying near the cradle, she realized that the mongoose had saved her child. The Brahmini was full of sorrow and repentance at her hasty action. Moral:You must never act in haste. You will always have to repent for your action taken in haste. You must think twice before taking any action that cannot be undone.

This is a classic story from panchtantra.This is a story of mongoose and snake.Moral(s) of the story: repentance

The mongoose and the brahmin’s wife

One upon a time, there was a lake near the forest. In the lake, there lived a crab. The crab had a best friend Swan who also lived near the lake. They both were great friends and lived happily in the forest.One day, the snake came to live near the lake. The snake would eat the swan’s egg and would create many problems for the swan. The swan was very scared. So, he went to Crab and said, “My dear friend, I am facing trouble because of the arrival of the snake. It eats all my eggs and I cannot even fight with him. I am very scared, please help me.” Near the lake, there also lived a mongoose. The crab had a plan. He said, “I have an idea, my friend. We will get some fish from the lake and throw them one by one from the snake’s house to the mongoose’s house.”Swan and Crab collected some fish from the lake and scattered them in a row from the snake’s house to the mongoose’s house. After throwing the fish they immediately went to their home. They waited for the mongoose to step out of his house. As soon as the mongoose came out, he saw fish on his door. He took the fish in his hand and started eating them. He started eating all the fish and followed the trail. As soon as he went ahead to eat the fish, he reached closer to the snake’s house. After some time, he reached the snake’s house.He said, “My enemy is here, I must kill it.” The snake and mongoose got into an ugly fight and in the end, the snake was killed. The swan and crab were very happy.The next day, the mongoose was very hungry, so he decided to eat more snakes. As soon as he reached near the lake, instead of snakes, he saw Swan’s eggs. The mongoose immediately grabbed the swan’s egg and started eating them. He liked them and decided to come there every day. The swan and the crab became helpless. By their foolish action, they had invited a new enemy which was more dangerous than the previous one.They were left with no option but to leave their homes. They always remembered the lesson that mongoose had taught them. Moral:Thoughtless actions lead to disaster.

This is a story of crab, egg, forest, lake, mongoose, snake and swan.Moral(s) of the story: foolishness

The crab, swan and the snake

Near the mountains in the north, on a fig tree on the banks of the river Amravati, lived a pair of herons. A wicked black serpent also lived in a hole of that tree. Whenever the heron couple had babies, he used to slither up the tree and eat the herons’ young ones. Once, when the female heron was lamenting over the loss of her babies, another heron who lived on the nearby tree approached her and advised, “Dear sister, I can understand your pain. I will tell you a way to get rid of the diabolical serpent forever. Next time, when you have your babies, scatter some pieces of fish meat from the mongoose’s burrow to the serpent’s hole in your tree. The mongoose loves to eat fish. He will certainly follow the trail and reach the serpent’s hole. I am sure when the mongoose will see his mortal enemy, the black serpent, he will kill him.”The next time the female heron had her babies, she did what her neighbour had told her to do. As foreseen, the mongoose followed the fish trail, happened to see the serpent and killed him. However, the mongoose also got the smell of the heron’s newly-born young ones. He quickly climbed up the tree and ate them all. The neighbouring heron felt miserable and guilty for giving advice without a thought. Moral:When you think of a plan, you should also think of its consequences.

This is a classic story from panchtantra.This is a story of heron, mongoose and snake.Moral(s) of the story: wisdom

snake 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 Porcupine And The Snakes

Brahmadatta, crab and the snake

The Serpent And The King of Frogs

Prince wicked and the grateful animals

The snowball and his forest friends

The gold giving serpent

The mongoose and the brahmin’s wife

The crab, swan and the snake

The heron, the serpent and the mongoose

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