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

One summer night, when Tenali Raman and his wife were about to sleep, he heard a rustling sound of leaves coming from outside.There was not even a slightest breeze blowing at the time, so he presumed that there were some thieves hiding in the bushes. He figured that they must be planning to rob his house in the night.He thought of a plan and said to his wife, “My dear, I have heard that some notorious thieves are on the loose in our neighborhood. So, let’s hide all the jewellery and money that we have in the well.A little later, Tenali Raman and his wife came out of the house carrying a big trunk, and dropped it into the well. Then they went back inside the house, and pretended to be asleep.The thieves waited for a while and then started drawing water from the well.They hoped to empty the well and get the treasure. The thieves kept drawing out water the entire night. Towards daybreak, they managed to pull out the trunk, and when they opened it, they were extremely shocked and disappointed to see only some big stones in it.They understood that it was Tenali Raman’s plan to outsmart them. Just then, Tenali Raman came out of his house and said, “Thank you friends, for watering my plants. I must pay you for your labour.”Hearing this, the thieves fell at Tenali’s feet for forgiveness. They promised not to steal or rob anyone ever again. Tenali decided to let them go. Moral:Keeping cool and using your wit in dire situations can help you get out of them.

This is a classic story from Tenali Raman.Moral(s) of the story: wisdom

Tenali raman and two thieves

Once, there lived a man who was very rich but was a miser. He had a great deal of money but he did not like to spend it on anyone. One day, he was very sad because ants had entered his bowl of sugar. So, he thought of drying the sugar in the sun to drive the ants out. He placed the sugar in a heap on a large piece of paper and kept it out in the sun. But he was worried that his friend, Subba Sastry might come and eat the sugar so he sat and kept watch next to it.Subba Sastry, who was very fond of sweets in any form, had seen the rich man keep the sugar out in the sun. He called his son and said, “I am going to the rich man’s porch to talk to him. After five minutes, come running to me, shouting ‘Our cow is dead.’”After giving his son these instructions, Subba Sastry went to the rich man’s porch and started talking to him. Subba Sastry asked the rich man why he was looking so upset. The rich man replied that he had been having a great deal of losses. Then Subba Sastry asked him what he was drying and the rich man replied by saying that water had fallen into some mud in his garden so he was drying it.Just then, Subba Sastry’s son came running to the porch shouting, “Our cow is dead! Our cow is dead!” Subba Sastry pretended to be grieving, and as was the custom, picked up one handful of the mud that was actually sugar and put it into his mouth. He picked up another handful and put it in his son’s mouth. The rich man was shocked to see this. He started shouting, “This is not mud! Don’t eat it. This is sugar.” Subba Sastry replied, “No, you told me that this is mud. It tastes like mud, too.” He went on eating till all the sugar was over. The miserly rich man was left sad and grieving over the loss of his sugar. Moral:If you lie, it can backfire on you.

This is a classic story from Tenali Raman.This is a story of ant and cow.Moral(s) of the story: honesty

Subba sastry and sugar

The great king Krishna Deva Raya had a lot of wise ministers in his court. The wisest of them was Tenali Rama. One day, a merchant came to the king’s court from a foreign kingdom. He saluted the king and then said, “Your Majesty, I have heard from many people that you have very wise ministers in your court. But with your permission, I would like to test the wisdom of your ministers.” This aroused the king’s interest and he gave the merchant his permission. The merchant gave the king three dolls that looked identical. He said, “Though these dolls look similar, they are different in some way. If your ministers can find out the difference, I will bow to their wisdom. But if they can’t, I will assume that there are no wise ministers in your court. I will be back in thirty days for the answer.”The king asked all of his ministers except Tenali Rama to assemble. He gave them the three dolls and told them to find the difference in them in three days’ time. But at the end of three days, none of the ministers could figure out the difference. The king got worried and called Tenali Rama. He said to him, “Tenali, I did not summon you before because I thought that this problem would be too simple. But since no one has been able to find the solution, it is up to you now. Find the difference between these dolls.” Tenali took the three dolls and went away.The problem proved difficult for Tenali too, but at last, after a lot of effort, he figured out the difference. He went to the court with the three dolls on the day that the merchant had to return. Then, he announced in front of the whole court that he had found the difference between the dolls. He said, “These three dolls are different because one of them is good, one average and one bad.” When everyone asked Tenali which doll was which, he showed them a tiny hole that was present in the ears of each of the dolls. Then, he took a very thin wire and put it in the hole of the first doll’s ear. The wire came out from the doll’s mouth. He did the same with the second doll and the wire came out from the doll’s other ear. In the third doll, the wire went to the heart and did not come out.Tenali Rama explained, “In the first doll, the wire went in through the ear and came out through the mouth. So, this doll is bad as it represents people who cannot keep a secret. In the second doll, the wire came out of the other ear. So, it is average and represents harmless people who do not understand what is said to them. The third doll, in which the wire went to the heart and did not come out, represents good people who will keep the secret that you tell them.”The king, the merchant and all the courtiers were very impressed with Tenali’s wise answer. Then Tenali said, “But there can be another explanation too. The first doll represents people who gain knowledge and spread it among others, so it is good. The second doll represents people who do not understand what they are taught, so it is average. The third doll represents people who have knowledge but keep it all to themselves. They do not teach anyone anything and so they are bad people.The king was even more impressed. He asked, “Can there be any other explanation?” Can you think of a third explanation to answer the king?” Moral:Our interpretation of trivial happenings can make a lot of difference in life.

Tenali raman and the three dolls

Once, Raja Krishnadeva Rayalu was invited by Adil Shah, the Sultan of Delhi to settle the ongoing conflict that was going on between the two regions.Hoping to prevent unnecessary bloodshed and re-establish peace, Rayalu headed for Delhi with his team of poets, dancers and scholars. At Delhi, Adil Shah gave a red carpet welcome to Rayalu. During the amicable rounds of discussions, Krishnadeva Rayalu’s poems recited some sequences from the epic Mahabharat.&nbsp;Adil Shah was immensely impressed to hear the verses from the epic and requested Rayalu to make his men rewrite the Mahabharata, portraying him and his friends as Pandavas and his rivals as Kauravas.King Krishnadeva Rai was shocked to hear such a strange demand from the Sultan.He was worried that if his men failed to meet the Sultan’s demand, he might declare a war on Vijaya Nagar. Seeing his king worried, Tenaliram promised him to handle the situation in the most prudent way possible. The king was certain that Tenaliram would cope with the intricate state of affairs wisely, and hence he granted him the permission to deal with the Delhi Sultan directly.Next morning, Tenaliram sought permission to meet the Sultan in private. He presented himself before the Sultan and requested him with folded hands, “His Highness! It was our pleasure to know about your interest in our ancient texts. The best of our writers and poets are busy composing the new Mahabharat, but there is one place where we have got stuck and wish to seek your guidance.” The Sultan said, “Speak up, poet! What do you desire from me?”Tenaliram said, “Jahanpanah! You are being portrayed as Dharmaraja, the eldest of Pandavas and your friends as Bheema, Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva. But, as you know all the five were married to Draupadi and were sharing her equally. Who, amongst the royal family, should be described as her?”The Sultan most certainly did not want his royal Begum to be equated with Draupadi and hence, ordered Tenaliram to stop re-writing the Mahabharata with immediate effect.Everyone including Rayalu appreciated the sharp intelligence and presence of mind that Tenaliram had displayed in solving a tough problem just like that. Moral:Quick wit can get you out of nasty situations.

Mahabharat and delhi sultan’s wish

One day, Krishnadevaraya saw a strange dream. He dreamt of a magnificent magical palace. It was made of dazzling stones and floated in the air. The palace had every comfort and amenity that one could ever wish for. It could be lit up with a thousand lights or made to disappear into the darkness in a jiffy.The next day when the king woke up, he vividly remembered the dream. He summoned all his courtiers and told them about it. The courtiers sang praises of the king and his beautiful dream. The king made a public announcement: “I will give a hundred thousand gold coins to the person who can build me the palace of my dream.”Everyone was startled at the king’s announcement. They knew that it was not practically possible to build the palace that the king wanted. But no one had the courage to say so. Many of the king’s well-wishers told him that such a palace can only exist in one’s mind. But he refused to listen and threatened his courtiers with grave consequences if they did not find someone who could make his dream come true.The courtiers got worried and approached Tenali Raman for help.The senior minister requested Tenali Raman, “Dear Tenali, now only you can make our king understand that his wish to erect the palace of his dream is absurd or else all of us will get a severe punishment.” Tenali Raman assured them that he would try to help them.A few days later, a very old man came to meet the king in his court. He was crying for justice.Krishnadevaraya asked, “What brings you here my good man? Tell me without fear and I assure you that justice will be done.” “I have been robbed, Your Majesty,” wailed the old man. “Someone has taken away all my savings and now I don’t have a single paisa left.”“Who robbed you?” asked the king angrily. “Such a crime cannot go unpunished. You name him and I will have him hanged immediately!”Your Majesty! I will tell you but first assure me that on hearing his name, you will not get angry and punish me instead,” requested the old man.Yes, I promise,” replied the king impatiently.“It is you, my lord,” said the old man in a trembling voice.How dare you say a ridiculous thing like that, I will…,” began the king, but then he remembered his promise and calmed down. He asked the old man to explain what he actually meant to say.“Your Majesty! Last night, I dreamt that you came with your entourage of ministers and soldiers and looted my entire life’s savings, five thousand gold coins!” said the old man.“Are you a fool or completely insane?” roared the king. “How can you treat your dream as a reality? Dreams are not true!”“But they are, Your Majesty! If your dream of a palace hanging in the air can come true, why can’t my dream come true?” retorted the old man.And then, the man took off his beard, hair and stood before the king. It was none other than Tenali Rama!He bowed before the king and said, “Your Majesty! This was the only way of convincing you that building the palace of your dreams was not practically possible.” Moral:If people talk foolishly, you can use their own logic to show them that they’re being illogical.

This is a classic story from Tenali Raman.Moral(s) of the story: foolishness

The king’s condition

It was Krishnadeva Rai’s mother’s death anniversary and he wanted to do something special for his deceased mother on this day. He summoned the head priest to discuss the same. The head priest took this as an opportunity to earn money. He asked the king what his mother’s last wish was. The king said, “My mother used to love the mango fruit. On her last day also, she wished to eat a mango, but she breathed her last before the fruits could reach her.” On hearing this, the cunning priest said, “Your Majesty, your mother’s soul will rest in peace if you fulfill her last wish. As she is no more, you can do an alternate thing. You must give away 108 mangoes made of pure gold placed in 108 silver bowls to 108 Brahmins in alms. This will definitely make her soul happy and she will shower her choicest blessings on you.” The king agreed to the priest’s proposal and soon 108 golden mangoes were made and distributed amongst the Brahmins.When Tenaliram came to know about this, he understood that the priest had taken undue advantage of the king’s feelings towards his mother and decided to teach him a lesson.One day, Tenaliram called the head priest and said that he wanted to give alms in the memory of his expired mother. The priest was elated on getting another opportunity to fill his pockets. Tenaliram also invited Krishnadeva Rai for the ceremony.When everybody had come, Tenaliram took a red hot poker and went to the head priest. He said, “Dear sir, my mother was suffering from pain and wanted a red hot poker to be placed on her hand. But, she died before her wish was fulfilled, so I request you to let me perform the act on you, along with all the Brahmins whom you brought, so that her soul rests in peace. If you permit let us begin the ….”Even before Tenaliram could complete his sentence, the head priest including the other Brahmins vanished from the scene, giving various types of excuses to him. The king realized that he was duped by the head priest and thanked Tenaliram from the bottom of his heart for revealing the true character of the priest. Moral:Lies and a deceitful nature never prevail.

This is a classic story from Tenali Raman.Moral(s) of the story: honesty

Royal mother’s last wish

One morning, King Rayalu woke up early. He sleepily walked out of his room and called out to the guards. When a guard appeared, the king ordered him to fetch the barber immediately. The guard left to carry out his orders and the king returned to his room. He sat down comfortably in an easy chair and in no time he was in deep sleep again.When the barber came to the king’s room, he found the king sleeping in the chair. He did not want to wake the king up. So, very quietly and expertly, he trimmed the king’s hair and shaved his beard. The king was still sleeping soundly when the barber completed his job and left.A little while later, the king woke up. As he did not see the barber whom he had summoned, he got angry. He shouted for his attendant and told him to bring the barber to him that very instant. The attendant rushed off to carry out his order. Just then, the king happened to put his hand on his chin. To his surprise, his chin felt smooth and shaved. So, the king went to take a look at himself in the mirror. He saw that his hair had been trimmed neatly and his beard was properly shaved. The king was impressed with the barber’s work. When the attendant brought the barber, the king said to the barber, “You have done good work today. I am impressed with you. Ask for a boon and I shall grant it.”The barber was very happy to hear this. He replied, “Your Majesty, you have been so kind that my family and I have no dearth of anything. But, since long I have had just one wish—that is to become a Brahmin if Your Highness can bestow this boon upon me.”The king was astonished on hearing the barber’s wish and he said, “If that is what you desire, it shall be fulfilled tomorrow.” The barber was overjoyed and he left the room, praising the king.Then, the king summoned some Brahmins and instructed them, “I have promised to transform the barber to a Brahmin. You have to make sure that you carry out the transformation with all your knowledge. I will reward all of you suitably.” Lured by the mention of the reward, the Brahmins agreed at once to transform the barber to a Brahmin.This news spread around the town and became a cause of great concern for the other Brahmins. They talked among themselves, “What the king is doing is not fair. It is something that goes against dharma. You cannot just transform somebody into a Brahmin. This will result in more and more people wanting to become a Brahmin.” But none of them had the courage to voice their objections openly for fear of being punished. So, they decided to go to Tenali Raman to seek a solution. Tenali listened to the whole story and assured the Brahmins that he would do his best to stop this activity.The next morning, the Brahmins who were ordered by the king to change the barber’s caste, took the barber to the holy river and began the procedure of the transformation by chanting hymns and mantras. The king was also sitting at a distance and supervising the proceedings.Suddenly, the king saw that at some distance, Tenali was standing beside a black dog. Out of curiosity, the king walked up to Tenali and asked him what he was doing with the dog. Tenali replied that he was trying to transform the black dog into a white cow.The king laughed loudly and said, “Oh Tenali. You are such a fool! How can a dog turn into a cow by giving it a dip in holy water and chanting hymns around him?”Tenali replied, “My Lord, forgive me for being foolish. But tell me, if that barber can be transformed into a Brahmin, why can’t this black dog change to a white cow?”On hearing Tenali’s words, the king realized his mistake. He called the barber and told him that it was not possible to transform him into a Brahmin so he should ask for another wish.The barber replied respectfully that because of the king’s kindness he had plenty of everything and did not need anything.The king appreciated Tenali’s intelligence and rewarded him for opening his eyes and stopping him from doing things against dharma. Moral:You cannot change the fundamentals of a person.

This is a classic story from Tenali Raman.

Ramalinga attempts to turn a dog into a cow

A long time ago, king Krishna Deva Raya had a very wise minister in his court by the name of Tenali Raman. Once, the kingdom faced a major problem of rats. Rats had multiplied to a very large number and were creating a lot of destruction. They were nibbling through important papers, clothes, grains in food stores, etc. There were not many cats in the kingdom to catch all the rats. So, the king asked all the houses in the kingdom to keep one cat each. But cats feed on milk and not every house owned a cow to get the milk. So, the king also gave cows to every house. The people were happy and brought up the cows and the cats. They used to give a lot of milk to their cats.But Tenali Raman was a lazy fellow and he was also very fond of drinking milk. He wanted to keep the milk from the cow for himself. So, he thought of a clever trick. He boiled the milk and poured it in a pan. Then, he put this pan in front of the cat. As soon as the cat touched the boiling hot milk with its tongue, its tongue got burned and it ran away at once. Tenali repeated the same thing the next day and again the day after that. After a few days like that, the cat refused to touch the milk that was offered to it for fear of getting its mouth burned. In this way, Tenali got to drink all the milk himself.One day, the king ordered for all the cats to be brought before him for inspection. While everyone else’s cats were fat and healthy, Tenali’s cat looked thin and weak. The king was very angry with Tenali for not taking proper care of the cat. But Tenali pleaded, “Your Majesty, I cannot help it. My cat does not drink any milk at all.” The king said, “Nonsense, I will put you in prison for telling a lie.” Tenali requested the king to give him a chance to prove it and the king agreed.So, Tenali brought his cat and the pan of milk in front of the king. He offered milk to the cat. But on seeing the pan of milk, the cat ran away, frightened. The king was surprised at this but he let Tenali go. Tenali lived happily, enjoying lots of milk by himself. Moral:We can use our wit and good planning to overcome problems.

This is a classic story from Tenali Raman.This is a story of cat.Moral(s) of the story: wisdom

Tenali raman and the cat

A long time ago, there lived a beautiful woman called Vidyullatha in Vijayanagar. She was a learned lady who was accomplished in all genres of fine arts.One day, because of her pride and arrogance about her abilities, she put a hoarding outside her house that said, “A reward of one thousand gold coins would be presented to those who would be able to defeat me in humour, wit and knowledge of ancient texts.”This became an issue of prestige for all the scholars in the region. Many of them took up the challenge and tried to defeat Vidyullatha in the war of words, but none succeeded.Days passed like this. One morning, a vendor happened to pass by her house selling firewood. The man was shouting at the top of his voice, “Firewood ..strong firewood….Who wants my strong and long lasting firewood?”The vendor had a shrill voice and was shouting continuously which irritated Vidyullatha. She stormed out of the house and called the vendor, “Oh vendor! Come here! I will buy your firewood. Just tell me how much you want for it, but please stop shouting.”The vendor replied, “Madam, I will not sell this for money. If you can give me a handful grain I will readily give you all the firewood that I have.”Vidyullatha promised him to give what he wanted and ordered him to dump the load in the backyard.The vendor said, “I need a handful of grain, Madam. Have you understood me clearly?”Vidyulltha yelled at the vendor, “You are asking me whether or not I have understood what a handful of grains mean? I am the most learned lady in the entire district! I know what you want. Now stop arguing and put this firewood in the backyard.”The persistent vendor said, “Madam, I pity you! You really do not know what I want. If you cannot pay the price, you should pay me one thousand gold coins and wipe the invitation hoarding on the compound wall.”Vidyullatha was infuriated. She asked angrily, “What nonsense are you saying?”The vendor said, “This is no nonsense. I told you the price and you agreed for it. Now if you cannot pay the price, you must give me one thousand gold coins for you have clearly failed to understand what I meant. And considering that, I have defeated you in the war of words.”A heated argument ensued between the two and then Vidyullatha decided to approach the provincial Court of Law for justice.&nbsp;She presented her argument in front of the judge, “My Lord! This firewood vendor is crazy. He asked for a handful of grains in lieu of his load of firewood. I agreed to give him that but he keeps saying that I do not know what it means and wants me to wipe off the board in front of the house. I plead for justice!”The judge looked at the vendor and asked him what the matter was. He humbly replied, “Sir, I informed her beforehand that the load of firewood would cost her a handful grain. I actually wanted one grain that could fill the hand. If she cannot understand this much, she has no right to put up that hoarding in front of her house.”Vidyullatha was outwitted by the firewood vendor and the verdict was given in favour of the vendor. Vidyullatha was ordered to pay him one thousand gold coins and ordered to take down the hoarding from her wall.That witty vendor was none other than Tenaliram.&nbsp;He had also heard about Vidyulalltha’s arrogance and haughtiness, and had thus taken the guise of a firewood vendor to teach her a lesson. Moral:Arrogance and pride leads you nowhere.

This is a classic story from Tenali Raman.Moral(s) of the story: arrogance

tenali raman 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.

Tenali raman and two thieves

Subba sastry and sugar

Tenali raman and the three dolls

Mahabharat and delhi sultan’s wish

The king’s condition

Royal mother’s last wish

Ramalinga attempts to turn a dog into a cow

Tenali raman and the cat

Thousand gold coins and a handful grain

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