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

Penguin, Reindeer and Fox were great friends. One day, Penguin and Reindeer found a load of fruit, and decided to keep it a secret. On the way, they met Fox, who seeing them so happy, asked them why. They told him they couldn't say, because it was a secret, but Fox asked them to trust him, so they told him about the fruit.When they arrived at the village, Fox forgot about his promise, and told everyone. When Penguin and Reindeer returned to the place where they had found the fruit, the animals of the village had already been there and eaten it all.That same day, Penguin and Reindeer found another place full of food, and the same thing happened again with Fox. Angered by these betrayals, they decided to teach Fox a lesson. The next day they told Fox that they had found a lake so full of fish that no effort was needed to catch them. Fox again told everyone in the village about this. The next day, Fox came by, covered in cuts and bruises. After telling all the animals about the lake full of fish, everyone, including even the polar bears, had gone there. But, not finding anything, they felt deceived, and had given Fox a good beating.Fox learned that keeping people's trust is very important, and that to get it in the first place you have to earn it with loyalty and always keeping your word.Penguin and Reindeer devised another trick for Fox but, as he was no longer a bigmouth, he did not betray them, and Penguin and Reindeer regained their faith in Fox, thus forgiving him.Moral: Betrayal often leads to loss of friends and family.

This is a story of fox, deer, penguin and reindeer.Moral(s) of the story: loyalty and trust

Bigmouth fox

Four friends lived in a village. Three of them were very learned, but they were absolutely without common sense. The fourth one was not much learned, but he possessed sound common sense.One day, the four friends set out for the capital of the King to make their fortune. There was a jungle on their way. As they were passing through the jungle, they saw a heap of bones under a tree.One of the learned friends observed the bones and said, 'These are the bones of a lion. With the help of my learning, I can put these bones together and make a skeleton of the dead animal."Another learned man said, "With the help of my learning, I can stuff the skeleton with flesh and blood and cover it with the skin." The third learned man said, "With the power of my learning, I can put life into the lifeless body of the animal."The wise man who possessed sound common sense warned his learned friends against the danger of bringing the lion back to life.One of the learned men said, “This idiot is jealous of our learning. Let us not listen to him.” The other two agreed with him. So the wise man ran off as fast as his legs could carry him.The three learned men got busy in making the use of their learning. The first one put the bones together and made a skeleton. The second one stuffed the skeleton with flesh and blood and covered it with the skin.The third one put life into the lifeless body of the lion. As soon as the lion came back to life, he roared loudly and killed the three learned men.The fourth friend's common sense helped him to save himself. Moral:Wrong use of learning can be disastrous.

This is a classic story from Vikas books.This is a story of lion.Moral(s) of the story: foolishness

The four friends

One day, a bear was sleeping in the forest. A farmer saw the bear sleeping and sneaked into him and cut off one of his paws with an axe. The farmer brought the paw home. He said to his wife, “Boil some soup from the flesh, and knit some warm gloves from the wool.” Her wife took off the skin, threw the flesh into the pot to boil, and sat down to spin the wool. When the bear woke up, he found out that one of his paws was not there. There was no one to help him so, he cut a bit of wood and tied it instead of his leg. After that, we went into the village. On his way, he sang: Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! I am stumbling with the tree wood on my leg,The water’s asleep, and the earth’s asleep, the whole village is asleep,only one woman is awake, and she is boiling my flesh,sitting on my skin and spinning my wool!” The farmer’s wife got scared by hearing the bear’s voice. She saw him coming and she quickly hid in the cellar under the floor. The bear went into the house and there was no one. He then took the bit of his skin, took the flesh out of the pot and left the place. Moral:Attacking someone when they are not aware is easy. The strength is when both the parties are equally aware and armed.

This is a story of bear and farmer.Moral(s) of the story: cheating and strength

The bear’s paw

Yesha Desai

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

Bub was born in the bubble soap liquid along with his brothers and sisters. He had always waited to be set free in the real world and enjoy with his friends.His dream came true when a human blew from the bubble soap. Soon Bub and his friends were set free in the wild, wild world. Bub was very excited to see the world for the first time.His friends were equally excited too. Bub flew over a tree and met beautiful birds. The tree waved at him.He flew over a river and the river smiled at him. The fish came up to meet him. Bub was delighted. Bub almost crashed into a car as he flew near to the ground but the car driver put Bub’s safety first.Bub got chased by a cat and their screaming never stopped. He was so scared for his life but he escaped. Then Bub flew high above the ground and could see kids in the ferris wheel, they excitedly blew at him so he could go further.Bub smiled.He was so high above the ground and he had the best day ever. The sun welcomed him as he went higher.Bub had an amazing day. He saw the world, he made people happy, he made some new friends, lost some old ones along the way but he had a lot of fun.

This is a story of bubble, car, cat, friend and sun.

Bub the bubble and his friends

Shina Utavani

The Sun and the Moon were great friends. One day, they were talking about who was the strongest among them. The discussion resulted in a heated argument and they started fighting. Every day, they use to discuss the same but never came to any decision.The argument carried out for ages and finally, the Sun declared that the Moon could not shine if the Sun’s light did not fall on it. He said to the Moon, “You do not have your light so, I am stronger than you.” To which Moon proudly replied, “You give light, but you burn the earth with your heat. People do not prefer coming out of their houses due to extreme heat. But when I shine at night, people enjoy the moonlight.”Sun could not digest the words spoken by the Moon. He got angry and picked some mud and threw it at the Moon’s face. The Moon tried to get out of the way but could not and the mud got stuck on his face.It is believed that due to the mud thrown, the Moon has dark spots on its face.

This is a story of moon, sun and tube light.

The sun and the moon 

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. Gandhari was the Princess of Kandahar, now in modern day- Afghanistan. When she was of age, she was married to the&nbsp;Prince of Hastinapur,&nbsp;Dhritarashtra.Dhritarashtra was the cousin brother of the King of Hastinapur. He was blind from birth.She chose to not see because her husband could not and that is why after marriage she always tied a cloth around her eyes.She gave birth to a hundred Kauravas and also a daughter called Dussala.After years of not using her vision she achieved Siddhi.When Bheema was going to fight a duel of mace with her only living son Duryodhana, Gandhari asked Duryodhana to visit her without any clothes so that she can strengthen his body parts.Duryodhana covered his waist part of the body and went to visit his mother. As Duryodhan’s body below the waist was covered, this part remained weak. Bheema hit that area breaking the rule of mace fight. After feeling severe pain, Duryodhan died.

This is a story of Gandhari and Dhritarashtra.

How Gandhari gave up her eyesight

The Ramayan is an ancient Sanskrit epic written by the famous sage Valmiki. It describes Lord Rama's effort to rescue Sita from the demon king Ravana. It also describes the challenges faced by Lord Rama, Laxaman, and Sita when they were exiled from the kingdom for 14 years. Following is a story from “The Ramayana”.Ravana, the king demon was the ruler of Lanka. He had ten heads and twenty arms. He had heard many stories about Ram’s wife, Sita’s beauty. He spied Sita in the forest and instantly fell in love with her. He decided to kidnap Sita and bring her to Lanka. He made a plan to abduct her and went to his uncle, Mareecha, a demon and asked for his help. Mareecha had the power to transform himself in any form and even change his voice. According to the plan, Mareecha transformed himself into a golden deer. Ravan went and hid near the hermitage where Sita was staying with ram and Lakshman.When Sita saw the beautiful deer, she was fascinated by its beauty and asked Ram to bring it for her. Ram had never seen a deer like him before. Laksham warned Ram that the deer might be a demon in disguise. But Sita was fascinated by the deer so, Ram went after the deer. Ram asked Laxman to stay with Sita and protect her. The deer ran deeper and deeper in the forest and Ram followed it. Finally, Ram aimed an arrow at the deer’s heart and shot it. When the arrow struck the deer, it transformed itself back into the Mareecha. Mareecha cried out to Laxman for help in Ram’s voice. When Sita heard Ram’s voice, she begged Laxman to go and see if Ram was in trouble.Laxman was in dilemma. On one hand, he promised Ram to stay with Sita and on the other hand, he was worried about his brother Ram. So, Laxman drew a line around the hut with his arrow and told Sita not to step out of the line. He then left to look out for Ram. Meanwhile, Ravana was hiding nearby and heard Laxman and Sita talking. Ravana quickly disguised himself into an old beggar. He begged Sita for food and water. Sita took pity on him and stepped out of the circle. The beggar man turned back into Ravana, catching Sita in his arms and pulling her into his magic flying chariot. Ravana forcefully dragged her into his flying chariot and took her away to Lanka.

This is a story of Laxman, Ram, Ravan and Sita.

Sita’s kidnapping

Alihusen Momin

This is an interesting story about the Ahmedabad city. Towards the beginning of the fifteenth century, the state of Gujarat was ruled by the Muslim Muzaffarid dynasty. Once Sultan Ahmed Shah was standing on the banks of river Sabarmati and noticed a tiny hare chasing a strong ferocious dog. He kept thinking about this strange situation. He approached a spiritual leader and asked for an explanation about the same. This learned man said that it is the uniqueness of this land that cultivates such rare qualities in its people. After having heard this, the Sultan got so impressed by the words of the spiritual leader that he decided to set up the new capital of Gujarat over here and called this land Ahmedabad. Moral: A place is defined by of its people.

This is a story of rabbit, dog, and Ahmedabad city.Moral(s) of the story: courage, uniqueness

thanksgiving 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.

Bigmouth fox

The four friends

The bear’s paw

Subba sastry and sugar

Bub the bubble and his friends

The sun and the moon

How Gandhari gave up her eyesight

Sita’s kidnapping

The story behind Ahmedabad City

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