Pallavi Hota

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, Laxman, and Sita when they were exiled from the kingdom for 14 years. Following is a story from ìThe Ramayana.Jatayu was a very old vulture. When he met Ravana, he was very old. He was the King of the vultures but not very strong at that time. He saw that Sita was in trouble, and Jatayu did not hesitate a moment to serve her.Jatayu flew off into the sky to fight Ravana because he wanted to serve Lord Rama. He said, ìMy body is of no value if it is not used in the service of the Lord. The Lord's most precious mother Sita is being kidnapped. It is my duty to stop this.So Jatayu fought with Ravana and gave him a good run. He made it so difficult for Ravana for a while thinking that mother Sita was going to be out of the trap of this demon king. But then Ravana regained his strength. Ravana chopped and somehow severed the wings and limbs of Jatayu. Jatayu fell in the midst of a heap of blood and his life was slowly going away.When Jatayu was losing his life, Lord Rama and Lakshman came there. Seeing Jatayu, they thought that he must be the demon trying to catch Sita. So they approached with caution. When they saw Jatayu actually dying because of Ravana, Lord Rama's heart was in pain. Jatayu told Rama, ìMy dear Lord, please forgive me that I could not execute my service to the best of my ability. I failed in my service.

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

Jatayu's sacrifice in fight with Ravana

Yesha Desai

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

Shina Utavani

Makar Sankranti is celebrated every year on the 14th of January. Makar means Capricorn and Sankranti means transition. Makar Sankranti indicates the entry of the sun into the zodiac sign ‘Capricorn'. Makar Sankranti is the only Indian festival that has been observed according to solar cycles (cycles of sun), while most other festivals are set by the lunar cycle (cycles of moon). It is the festival of harvest. It happens on the equinox on which the length of day and night is equal. The equinox marks the end of the winter season and the beginning of spring- the season of harvest. It is celebrated in many parts of India with some regional variations. It is known by different names and celebrated with different customs in various parts of India. In Tamil Nadu, it is celebrated as ‘Pongal' which means ‘boiling over’ or ‘spill-over’. Just as harvested crop spills over in the collecting pot, it is hoped that prosperity will also spill over. The cow is well regarded in this festival because of its importance in agriculture. It is a four-day festival in Tamil Nadu, each day having its own significance. In West Bengal, it is known as ‘Poush Sankranti’ named after the Bengali month in which it falls. In Assam, it is known as ‘Magh Bihu' which is celebrated for almost a week. People of Assam make different varieties of rice such as shunga ritha, Tilpitha and some other sweets of coconut called large or laskara. In Punjab, Lohri is celebrated a day before Makar Sankranti which marks the end of the winter season and is a traditional welcome of longer days and sun’s journey to the northern hemisphere. In Gujarat, it is called ‘Uttarayan', where people enjoy the festival by flying kites in the sky and eating delicious food items. The festival lasts for two days, the next day i.e. 15th January is known as ‘VasiUttarayan'. ‘Undhiyu' and ‘chikkis' are the special festival recipes made on this day. The whole sky is filled with colourful kites and you’ll hear loud music and people dancing with full energy and enthusiasm on the terraces. The beauty of this festival is that though it is named differently in various regions, it has a common goal of celebrating the season of harvest and people worship the sun’s transition.&nbsp;

This is a story of Uttrayan and kite.

Makar Sankranti

Once, Zebra and giraffe were best friends. They used to live in a jungle and used to enjoy each other’s company. They both had unique qualities. The giraffe was very proud of its long neck. He used to brag about his long neck in front of the zebra. He would show off by eating the leaves off the tree easily.Giraffe challenged Zebra one day to eat leaves from the tree. The zebra thought there was nothing that he cannot do. The Zebra got very mad and wanted to prove giraffe wrong. He tried to eat the leaves from the tree but he could not because he was short.He then realized that there are things which he can do and the giraffe could not. So, he started bragging about how fast he can run. This made giraffe jealous. The giraffe tried its best to run as fast as zebra could but failed. All his efforts were in vain.They both then realized that the two were very different and they both had unique qualities. They both understood that they cannot fight over such qualities. Their qualities were different and unique. After that day, they stopped fighting over such things. They again became best friends. Moral:Don’t get jealous of anyone. Jealousy has great potential to end friendships.

This is a story of giraffe and zebra.Moral(s) of the story: jealousy

The Zebra and the Giraffe

Aayan always thought that his nose was too big, like the claws of a bird or the beak of a parrot. It was a source of disappointment for him.He wanted a little button nose like those of his friends as he thought that this one made him look a little comical.He tried so many ways to get a smaller nose. He prayed for it before he went to sleep, he tried to push his nose in but nothing worked at all.“Oh how I want to cut off my nose.” He said. “Why must I look like this? Why must my nose take up most of my face?”Everyday he would wake up and look into the mirror, worrying about his nose.This all continued until one day he got drenched in the rain and he fell sick. His nose was clogged and he had a very high fever. Aayan felt miserable. He had never been so sick and couldn’t properly breathe due to his clogged nose.That is how he learned to appreciate his nose and the way it works for him. Moral:Appreciating our bodies is the first step to self-love.

This is a story of parrot's nose and rain.Moral(s) of the story: self love

The parrot's nose

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

Ravina Sewani

Charlie was a rich boy and had way more toys than he could take care of. His parents were very rich and would keep buying new toys for him. Charlie had no idea how much everything costs and would never put efforts in taking care of his things. He did not even realise that not all children get to play with the kind of toys he had.&nbsp;One day, he lost all interest in the toys he had and wanted something unique. Charlie’s uncle found a horse and gifted it to him. Charlie was very happy with his gift and learned to ride the horse. But he was still careless about his horse and would not clean or feed the horse regularly. In no time, the horse started losing weight and looked sick. Charlie, for the first time in his life, was upset about this and was not happy about the fact that his parents were ready to exchange his old horse for a new one.One day while riding, he saw a girl with her horse. Her horse was in perfect health and looked happy. He followed the girl and noticed that the girl never hit the horse with a whip while riding. When she reached the stable, she fed the horse and cleaned it. Charlie did not know how to do all this and so went up to the girl and asked her to teach him everything.Charlie, from that onward, put all his efforts in taking care of his horse. When his horse was in good health again and ready to ride, Charlie went on a ride with the girl. This made him the happiest. Charlie realized that take care of things brings happiness but it also requires time, efforts, and dedication.&nbsp;Charlie then stopped asking for new toys. He gave some toys to his new friend and distributed other toys to several children in the village. The toys that he kept with himself, he took great care of them too. Moral:No one is going to take care of our things. It is us who have to take the responsibility and look after our belongings.

This is a story of a story and his owner.Moral(s) of the story: caring and sharing

Charlie and the horse

Once, there lived a farmer in land far away. He was very poor. He lived with his wife. One day they both were very hungry. They did not have anything to eat. Their neighbour had a beautiful garden. The farmer decided to pluck fruits from the garden. As soon as he plucked an apple, a voice came from behind. It was from his neighbour. His neighbour was an old witch. She screamed, “How dare you take fruits from my garden. I will turn you both into rats.” The couple was very scared. They requested her to forgive them and assured her they will never pluck any fruit from her garden. The witch said, “Okay, I will forgive you only if you will give me your first child.” The couple was very scared so they agreed immediately.The couple was blessed with a beautiful baby girl after a few years. When the old witch came to know about the baby, she immediately came and snatched the baby away from them. The witch named her Rapunzel. She did not want her parents to take her away, so she locked her up in a tall tower. The Rapunzel looked pretty when she grew up. She was very beautiful. The most beautiful thing about her was her hair. She had long, golden hair.Rapunzel was locked up in a tower since birth so, the only person she saw in her life was the old witch. The old witch use to come to meet her every day. The witch used to climb the tall tower with the help of Rapunzel’s hair. The witch used to tell Rapunzel to let down her hair from the window and she used to climb the tower with that.A prince was passing by the tower one day and saw the witch climbing the tower with the hair. The prince was surprised and he too wanted to try. When the old witch left the place, the prince went below the tower. He then shouted, “Rapunzel, let your hair down.” Rapunzel heard the noise and threw her hair from the window. The prince climbed the tower and reached to her room. Rapunzel was shocked to see the prince. The prince was very handsome and she had never seen someone like that before. Prince was also stunned to see Rapunzel. They both fell in love instantly. After that, every day they began to meet secretly.However, one day when the witch was climbing the tower, Rapunzel mistakenly said, “You are so much heavier than my prince.” The witch understood what was happening and she got angry on Rapunzel. She screamed and cut off her long hair. She sent Rapunzel into a forest. And that day when the prince came to the tower, the witch cursed the prince and he became blind. The prince then went to find Rapunzel in the forest with no eyesight.After many days, Rapunzel found the prince in the forest among the trees. The prince had many injuries. Rapunzel cried when she came to know that the prince had lost his eyesight. As Rapunzel was crying, her tears fell on the prince. Due to her tears, the wounds of the prince started healing. The eyesight of the prince came back. The prince opened his eyes and the first thing he saw was Rapunzel. They both were really happy to see each other. They both hugged each other and decided to go to the prince’s kingdom. They went far away from the wicked witch to the prince’s kingdom and lived happily ever after. Moral:The value of patience and determination. It also teaches the consequences of stealing.

This is a story of hair, kingdom, prince, rapunzel and witch.Moral(s) of the story: bravery and strength

Rapunzel

Atal Bihari Vajpayee was the former Prime Minister of India. He had served as the prime minister for three terms. The term was not for consecutive years. In fact, for the first time, he was the Prime Minister only for 13 days. Even in the next term, he could not serve for the whole tenure. But for the third time, he served for the full term i.e. 1999 to 2004. He was the first person to serve as the Prime Minister without being a member of the Indian National Congress.He was born to a middle-class family in Gwalior on 25th December 1924. His father, Krishna Vajpayee was a school teacher and a poet. His mother, Krishna Devi was a housewife. He completed his schooling from Saraswati Shishu Mandir, Gwalior. He graduated from Victoria College and completed his masters from DAV College, Kanpur. He studied M.A. in Political Science.Atal Bihari Vajpayee was the first Swayam-Sewak to become the prime minister of India and the first non-Congress Prime Minister to complete a full term in office. His long and winding political career was replete with ups and downs, spanning more than five decades in public life. His oratory skills were also appreciated by everyone. His famous speech at Lok Sabha in 1996 during his 13-day BJP government rule was his most riveting speech.

This is a story of Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Haider Ali.

thomas 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.