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

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

Ravina Sewani

There was once a teacher who gave his pupils some seeds so they could plant, and look after, their very own sunflower. One boy in the class, who loved sunflower seeds, was so excited that he planted the seed and looked after it with great care for many days.When the first shoot finally appeared, the boy, filled with impatience, went to see his teacher.-"Can I uproot it yet?" he asked, anxiously. The teacher answered that he would still have to tend the plant for quite some time before he would be able to collect many seeds from just one sunflower. The boy was disappointed, but he kept on looking after his sunflower.However, he grew increasingly impatient, and did little else but pester his teacher about wanting to take out the plant. Despite the teacher asking him to be patient, as soon as the boy saw the sunflower's first seeds, he cut the plant so he could eat them. But the plant was still green, the seeds were not ripe, and of course they couldn't be eaten.The boy was devastated: He had put so much effort into caring for the sunflower, but in the end he had squandered it all for a simple lack of patience. And he was even angrier when he saw how enormous his classmates' sunflowers grew. Ultimately, he resolved not to be so impatient in the future, and to listen to his teacher. Fortunately, he wasn't completely out of luck, and his friends were good enough to share their delicious sunflower seeds with him.Moral: Patience is the key to success.

This is a story of educator, flower and sunflower.Moral(s) of the story: patience

Sunflower which did not grow

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

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

Following is a story about Mahatma Gandhi. Gandhi is known as the “Father of the Nation”. He led the non-violence movement in India and helped India in getting freedom from the British rule. This is a particular incident from Gandhiji’s school days in South Africa.Gandhi was in his first year in high school. One day, the education inspector was supposed to visit the school. Generally, an educational inspector visits the school to see if the education of the school is proper or not. The education inspector, Mr. Giles visited the school. He came to Gandhi’s class and dictated five words in which every student had to spell it in their books. Gandhi had misspelled one of the words. The word was ‘Kettle’. The teacher of the class saw Gandhi’s mistake and signalled him to look from the neighbour’s book. Gandhi was a little surprised to see that because he thought the teacher was supposed to supervise against copying.Even though the teacher advised Gandhi to copy the spelling from the neighbour’s book, Gandhiji did not look in his. The result was that all the boys except Gandhi spelled all the spellings correctly. Only Gandhi was the one that could not spell it correctly. The teacher later even tried to make fun of him because he did not follow his instructions. Gandhi always followed his principles and copying from others was against his principles. He could never learn the art of coping. Even after the incident, Gandhi never disrespected his teacher. He always treated the teacher with respect and honour. For him, to respect elders was more important than to judge them due to their actions. Moral:Never change your principles by getting influenced by someone.

This is a story of educator, Mahatma Gandhi and school.Moral(s) of the school: cheating

Gandhi at school in South Africa

In a kingdom long lost, there lived a very old wizard in the woods located on the edge of the kingdom. In the small hut that was heavily guarded by magic spells, she created her own potions and spells.This wise wizard was known throughout the lands and was always present to help people. But the wizard was now growing old and she was worried about who will help the ordinary people after she is dead. So she decided to take on a student to whom she could teach and pass her knowledge.Soon, the wizard began searching for people who showed the potential to take on such a massive responsibility. For months and months she searched the kingdom and further but to no avail.Everyone would have one or the other flaws. Either someone was too stupid to cope up with her knowledge, or people were too greedy to work with her and would compromise their morals.At this rate, the wizard thought that she would never find someone.So the wizard came up with a plan. She spread the news in the kingdom that she lost her book of magic spells. She went to the town square and yelled with distress, “I have lost my book of magic spells. Oh, what am I going to do now. The book contained all of my spells— powerful and weak. It had all of my knowledge what should I do now?”The people surrounding her looked at her with worry. They all tried to comfort the wizard since she always helped them but they all also wondered what would happen now that the wizard had lost such an important book.The news of this lost book spread across the kingdom very quickly. In fact, it spread across the world and lots of people came to the wizard. Many young men and women came to the wizard and said that they will find the book for her.There were many other people who tried their best to find the book for their own gains. Lots of people wanted to find the book of magic spells to become powerful.Days passed and turned into weeks. Still no one had successfully found the book. Lot of people had already given up by now and others had turned even more aggressive. To get the people to search more she went to the town square and said, “I still haven't found my book! What am I going to do now? The last I remember is taking the book to the woods. It must be there. I need your help my friends. If anyone finds that book for me, I will take them as my student.”This got the people to search for the book even more actively.One day when the wizard was eating in a diner, she met a teenage girl. She asked the girl, “Child, are you not trying to find the book of magic spells? Have you already given up?”The girl smiled and replied, “I have not given up Ma’am, I did not even begin.”The wizard was confused and asked, “Why so? Do you not want to help this old feeble woman? Or are you not interested in being my student?”The young girl smiled again, “That is not so. I definitely want to help you. But there is just nothing to help with.”The wizard was even more confused now. She asked, “What do you mean?”“You have lost no book, have you? A clever and responsible person like you wouldn’t lose something so important. And even if you did you can find the location of the book by the magic spell you created yourself.”Now the wizard was very shocked. This young girl was very clever. And that is how the wizard found her student. The wizard taught the clever girl all that she had learned in her life and soon the young girl grew up to be a very wise and talented young woman.

This is a story of notebook, teacher and wizard.Moral(s) of the story: wisdom

teacher 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 dance teacher

Sunflower which did not grow

Guru Purnima

Ekalavya’s allegiance to his teacher

Gandhi at school in South Africa

The book of magic spells

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