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

Once upon a time a deer, a woodpecker and a turtle lived in a forest near a lake. The three were very close friends, and lived together happily. One day a hunter came to that forest and was delighted to see the footprints of the deer near the edge of the lake. He decided to catch the deer, and set a massive leather trap near the lake. Late in the night, when the deer visited the lake to quench his thirst, he was caught in the hunter’s trap. He cried out for help. At once the woodpecker flew down from her tree-top, and the turtle came out of the water to see what had happened to their dear friend.The woodpecker told the turtle to gnaw the leather trap with his teeth and set the deer free, while she flew away to find the hunter and keep him engaged. Soon, the woodpecker was able to locate the hunter’s house. As soon as the hunter came out of the front door, the woodpecker flew as fast as she could and struck the hunter in his face by flapping her wings.The hunter was taken aback by the unexpected attack of a bird and rushed back into his house. His face was badly hurt, but he wanted to find out whether the deer was caught in his trap or not. So, this time, he left the house from the backdoor, hoping that the bird would not see him. The woodpecker was a clever bird. She was already waiting for the hunter to come out of his backdoor. As soon as the hunter came out, she again attacked him, flapping her wings in his face. The hunter once again scuttled back inside the house and lied down on his cot for a while. It was getting difficult for him to wait any longer. So, he mustered up courage and decided to kill the bird if she attacked him again. He came out once again with a knife and dared the bird to come and attack him once more. This time the woodpecker flew back as fast as she could fly to her friends. She yelled at the top of her voice, “Beware my friends! Here comes the hunter!”By this time the turtle had gnawed away most of the leather trap. The deer broke this last piece of the trap with all his might and ran into the woods. The woodpecker flew up to her nest in the tree-top. But the turtle, who had become very weak after gnawing the trap all night long, was unable to get away. The hunter picked the turtle, put him in a bag and tied it to a tree. The deer saw his friend being captured and in order to save the turtle’s life, he slowed down a bit and let the hunter see him.The hunter seized his knife and started chasing the deer. The deer, keeping just out of his reach, led the hunter into the forest. The hunter was not familiar with the forest and got lost in the woods. The deer then took another way and reached the lake once again. Using his sharp horns, he tore open the bag in which the hunter had captured the turtle.The turtle was alive and very happy to see his friend once again. The woodpecker also flew down to meet them. The deer then thanked both of his friends for saving his life and asked them to hide in the forest till the time the hunter did not go away for good. The woodpecker flew away to safety, the turtle hid in the lake and the deer vanished in the thick forest.The hunter finally found his way out of the woods. He was very sad at losing the deer but was content that at least he had the turtle. When he reached the lake, he found that the turtle had also escaped. He cursed his stars, swore never to come back to that place again for hunting and left for his home. The three friends lived together for the rest of their lives. Moral:It is important that we help our friends and stand with them when they are in need so we can thrive.

This is a classic story from Jataka tales.This is a story of deer, tortoise and woodpecker.Moral(s) of the story: friendship and helpfulness

The woodpecker, turtle and the deer

Ravina Sewani

There once lived three great friends- a pair of geese and a tortoise. Once summer, the scorching sun rays dried up their lake, and they decided to leave and look for a new lake.But the tortoise could not fly, so, the geese thought of an idea, where the tortoise would have to bite on to a stick, which would be carried by the two geese. The only condition was that the tortoise should not open its mouth, or it would meet a terrible fate.Soon, the geese rose into the sky, with the tortoise holding firmly onto the stick. “Remember! No talking!” said the geese to the tortoise. On witnessing this, animals on the ground started laughing at the unusual sight.“A flying tortoise!” they shouted. Unable to control his anxiety, the tortoise spoke out. “What’re you all laughing about? Oh no! I’m falling!” screamed the helpless tortoise.And so, the poor tortoise came crashing to the ground, only to be saved from death by her thick shell. “If only I would’ve kept my mouth shut, I would be in a new lake with my friends,” thought the tortoise, as she slowly began her journey to go find her friends. Moral:We should trust the decisions of our loved ones for they always want the best for us.

This is a classic story from panchtantra.This is a story of goose and tortoise.Moral(s) of the story is: trust

The talkative tortoise

jThere once was a speedy Hare who bragged about how fast he could run. Tired of hearing him boast, the Tortoise challenged him to a race. All the animals in the forest gathered to watch.The Hare ran down the road for a while and then paused to rest. He looked back at the tortoise and cried out, "How do you expect to win this race when you are walking along at your slow, slow pace?"The Hare stretched himself out alongside the road and fell asleep, thinking, "There is plenty of time to relax."The Tortoise walked and walked, never ever stopping until he came to the finish line.The animals who were watching cheered so loudly for Tortoise that they woke up the Hare. The Hare stretched, yawned and began to run again, but it was too late. Tortoise had already crossed the finish line. Moral:Slow and steady wins the race.

The Hare and The Tortoise: A Tortoise asks the Hare of the jungle to race against him. The hare being the faster one reaches ahead and rests for awhile. Meanwhile, the tortoise continues at his slow pace and crosses the finish line and wins the race.

tortoise 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 woodpecker, turtle and the deer

The talkative tortoise

The Hare and The Tortoise

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