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

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

Yesha Desai

Chim loved dancing. It was not just a hobby for her or a way to spend her time, but even at her young age, she was sure that dance was her one true love.At her dance academy, she was one of the most talented students but she still could not perfect her techniques.One day, at her dance class, a new teacher appeared. He was just as talented as her other teachers, but the difference was that while the other teachers were young, he was 65.Chim watched her teacher dance while pouring his heart into it, performing with grace that many younger students could not perfect.She was enchanted by his hard work and decided to have a talk with him. She learned that her teacher’s last professional dance competition was well over twenty years ago and yet he had stuck to his gruelling training.When she asked him what drove him to work so hard, he said, “I love dancing. But the discipline is all in my mind.”She stopped and thought for a moment if discipline can drive a 65 year old man to train so hard and enjoy it, then how powerfully discipline could serve every single human being on the face of this planet?She realised that to reach where she wanted, she needed more than just passion. She needed discipline, control and a very strong work ethic. Moral:Being disciplined in your work can set you free of limitations that surround you in achieving your goals.

This is a story of dancing, educator and student.Moral(s) of the story: discipline

The dance teacher

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.

student 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.

Ekalavya’s allegiance to his teacher

The dance teacher

Guru Purnima

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