Ravina Sewani

A Serpent had succeeded in surprising an Eagle and had wrapped himself around the Eagle’s neck. The Eagle could not reach the Serpent, neither with beak nor claws. Far into the sky he soared trying to shake off his enemy. But the Serpent’s hold only tightened, and slowly the Eagle sank back to earth, gasping for breath.A Countryman chanced to see the unequal combat. In pity for the noble Eagle he rushed up and soon had loosened the coiling Serpent and freed the Eagle.The Serpent was furious. He had no chance to bite the watchful Countryman. Instead he struck at the drinking horn, hanging at the Countryman’s belt, and into it let fly the poison of his fangs.The Countryman now went on toward home. Becoming thirsty on the way, he filled his horn at a spring, and was about to drink. There was a sudden rush of great wings. Sweeping down, the Eagle seized the poisoned horn from out his savior’s hands, and flew away with it to hide it where it could never be found.Moral: An act of kindness is well repaid.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

This is a story of Aesop fables and eagle.Moral(s) of the story: helpfulness and kindness

The Serpent and The Eagle

Once a goat was grazing on the grassy slope of a hill. It decided to taste the grass on the hills across. A narrow log served as a bridge across the stream. While crossing the bridge, it saw another goat coming from the other side. The bridge was so narrow that only one animal could cross the bridge at a time.The first goat said to the other, "Let me pass first." "You let me pass first", shouted the other goat. They started arguing and finally got into a terrible fight. They lost their balance and fell into the stream.The other grazing goats witnessed this and learnt a lesson. After few days, two other goats encountered the same problem.&nbsp;One goat said to the other, "I'll sit down and you can step over my body and pass." The other goat replied, "Thank you. Next time, I'll sit down and let you cross first."Thus both of them were able to cross the bridge safely.Moral: Wisdom is better than weapons of war.

This is a story of goat and jataka tales.Moral(s) of the story: cooperation, foolishness, understanding and wisdom

Two Silly Goats

Yesha Desai

Once again, Tanya had neglected the green vegetables in her plate. Her mother asked her again and again to eat them but she did not listen. Instead, she only ate what she wanted and ran away after dinner. Her father asked her to slow down or she may hurt herself but she did not listen.Tanya did not care enough for her body so her body decided to teach her a lesson.Tanya’s hand said, “I am your hand. I help you hold onto things. You have opposable thumbs which give you a better grip. Without me, you won’t be able to do your daily tasks so easily.”Her feet said, “I help you stand, your toes give you grip to the ground so that you can move around easily.”Her eyes said, “I help you see the world. Without me you would not be able to see anything around you.” Her ears said, “I help you listen to sounds and your brain identifies those sounds.”Her nose said, “ You use me so often to smell your food. I help you tell if it is edible or not.” Her mouth followed by saying, “I help you speak and express your thoughts. You can laugh or ask for health using me. You also eat your food through me.”Her heart also explained its task and said, “I pump blood in your body Tanya. Without me you would not have blood.” Lastly her brain said, “I help you understand things and make decisions. Every part of your body has different tasks that it has to fulfill so that you can live your life the way you want to. We help you so much but we are also very fragile. We need you to protect us and take care of us so that we can keep doing our duties. Can you do that Tanya?”Hearing all these, Tanya thought to herself, “If my body can do so much for me, I can at least be responsible about what I eat and take care of all the body parts and organs.”She smiled at her body and since that day she ate healthily and exercised to keep her organs in good shape. Moral:Staying healthy not only gives us a long life but also a happy life.

This is a story of brain, fingers, heart, thumb and toes.Moral(s) of the story: health and hygiene

Tanya’s body

Once upon a time there lived a very pious saint. He had many disciples and was very well loved.One day while taking a walk with his disciples in the beautiful mountains of Tibet, he listened to his students talk about their dreams and lives. He considered himself extremely blessed to have such passionate students. However, they were also very competitive.“What qualities do we need to get success in life?” He asked his students.“Talent.” One replied.“Good luck.” The other replied.“Favourable circumstances.” Said another.He sat down with them around a tree and asked them to watch the two farms in front of them.The children obeyed and looked at two farms where farmers were ploughing the land. In one farm, the farmer had seven oxen and in the other, the farmer only had two.In the first farm, work was getting done very easily as compared to the other.In the farm where the farmer had better equipment, the land was ploughed faster and soon enough the farmer was done with his work. In the other farm, even though it took more work, the farmer did not stop and worked harder.As evening fell, the farmer was done with his work too.Both the farmers succeeded.The saint turned to his disciples and said, “Some people have to work harder than others to achieve something, some have natural talent while others have to practice for it, some people have better luck than others but in the end even if the playing fields are uneven you succeed only if you are hardworking and disciplined.” Moral:Discipline and work ethic are the key to success.

This is a story of disciple, farm, farmer and saint.Moral(s) of the story: discipline

The key to success

Pallavi Hota

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.” King Shibi, a descendant of king Bharata of the lunar dynasty, was famous for his truthfulness, justice, and keeping his word. The king of righteousness, Yudhisthira, himself decided to test the strength of the character of Shibi Rana. Once when the king was alone on the terrace of his palace, he saw a dove coming towards him with great speed. An eagle was after him, and to escape from the clutches of the chasing eagle, the dove made frantic efforts to hide somewhere. Seeing the king on the terrace, the frightened dove took shelter in his lap. The dove said, “O king, save my life, I have come under your shelter.” The king had vowed to protect anyone who took his shelter. Thus the weak and deprived could not be exploited by the rich and strong. However, this was a new experience for Shibi Rana. Was he in any way obliged to protect a bird who seeks his refuge? Contemplating for a while, the king decided that even trees, animals, and birds require protection and help as do human beings. Therefore, the king said, “Have no fear my son. That eagle would not be able to touch even your feather. Relax in peace, have no worries.” The king readied himself to face the rapidly approaching eagle. The eagle landed in front of the king and said, “O king, you have hidden my prey. Please release him so that I can appease my hunger.” The righteous king saw the point in the eagle's demand. He faced a peculiar dilemma of protecting the dove, and at the same time not to deprive the eagle of his rightful prey! He decided to resolve the issue by offering the eagle an equal amount of meat from his kitchen. But the eagle insisted on having his prey, the dove as his food. After some discussion the eagle agreed to set the dove free on two conditions. The eagle said, “O King, I shall let the dove go, if equal weight of flesh from your body is offered to me as food.” Shibi Rana was quite pleased with the adjustment. He thought that a pound (or two) of flesh from his body would not kill him and the life of the dove in his shelter would also be saved. Thus he was happy that he was saved from a great sin of ‘inability to protect the weak’. The eagle then put his second condition, saying, “O king, if a single tear drops from your eye I shall be constrained to accept you flesh as my food.” The king agreed and called for the knives and the balance. In one pan of the balance, the dove was kept and on the other side a large chunk of flesh from the right thigh of Shibi Rana. But strange as it might seem, the pan with the dove always weighed more even as additional flesh was added! Thus almost the whole of the right half of the king’s body was cut. Still the weight could not be equalled. At this juncture a drop of tear appeared in the left eye of the king. The eagle objected to this saying, “O king, I cannot accept the food given in distress. The tear in your eye shows that you are unhappy. So give me my prey back and you shall regain your normal health.” With a faint smile on his lips, Shibi Rana said, “Behold, O eagle, the left eye is not crying out of grief; this is a tear of joy. Now my left half of the body will also be used to honour the word I have given to you. Otherwise, if only right had satisfied you, the left half of the body would have been denied this great opportunity of sacrifice! Therefore, my dear friend, the left eye cries out of joy!” This ultimate sacrifice of Shibi Rana was unparalleled in history. The eagle and the dove disappeared and in their places stood the King of righteousness -Yudhisthira and the king of heavens –the Indra. Gods from the heavens showered flowers, perfumes, and praise on the king. They granted many boons to this noble king. King Shibi had passed the ultimate test to uphold dharma, a true duty of every king. It is said that this king ruled for many years and after his death went directly to heaven to enjoy the fruits of his righteous karma.

This is a story of Shibi and Karna.

Glories of King Shibi

Sally sits on the big people table for the first time. She is three and can now eat by herself.Her mother makes dosa and sambhar. It is Sally’s favourite food. Sally patiently waits for her food and gets very happy when hot dosa is served in her plate.She has a knife, a spoon and a fork in front of her. Sally firstly tries to drink the Sambhar. She doesn't know what to use. She tries using the knife but the liquid falls down. She tries using the fork but the same thing happens.So Sally takes a spoon to drink her Sambhar. It works. She then looks at her dosa. It is too big to fit in a spoon or be held by a knife.Sally needs to cut the dosa into tinier pieces. She uses the knife because it is sharp and can cut the dosa.Then she uses a fork to eat the dosa because forks have teeth which provide better grip.Sally enjoys her dinner a lot.

This is a story of fork, knife and spoon.

What to use and when?

Shina Utavani

India is a diverse nation and there are numerous festivals that are celebrated in a year. Raksha Bandhan is one of them. On the day of Raksha Bandhan, a sister ties a thread, known as “rakhi” on her brother’s wrist, as a symbol of protection and care. The brother in turn gives gifts to his sister. It glorifies the bond and connection between them. Raksha Bandhan falls on the last day of the Hindu lunar calendar month of Shraavana, which typically falls in August. Origin: During the partition of Bengal in 1905, Dr. Rabindranath Tagore started the Rakhi festival to celebrate and strengthen the bond of togetherness and love between Hindus and Muslims of Bengal. Another story describes the tale of Yama and Yamuna. The lord of death, Yama was blessed with eternity as his sister the Yamuna tied up a Rakhi thread on his wrist. The concept of tying a thread is believed to be started from here. The festival celebrates the love and bond between a brother and sister.

This is a story of brother, rakshabandhan and sister.

Raksha Bandhan

Ram Navami is an important Hindu festival that marks the birth anniversary of Lord Rama. It is an important day to worship Lord Rama. Ram Navami falls on the ninth day of Chaitra Navaratri. This day is auspicious and has religious importance. It is believed that Lord Rama was the seventh avatar of Lord Vishnu. The festival holds great importance in the Hindu religion. People celebrate this festival with great enthusiasm and joy. Celebrations of this festival indicate the removal of bad powers and welcoming of divine powers on Earth. Ayodhya, which is the birthplace of Lord Rama celebrates the festival with great devotion. A special rathyatra is organised on this day. People recite Ram Katha and narrate various stories of Lord Rama. Devotees take a dip in the river Sarayu which is in Ayodhya and after that, they visit the Ram temple to offer their prayers. Lord Rama is considered to be the king of Righteousness, virtue, and love. He was born to king Dashrath and Queen Kausalya. Lord Rama also lived in the forest for fourteen years on his father’s orders. He killed the demon king Ravana to rescue his wife who was held captive by the demon king. People celebrate the festival to worship Lord Rama.

This is a story of kausaiya, king dsrath, Ram and Ram Navmi.

Ram Navami

Once, a kitten saw the full moon for the first time. She had never seen the full moon. When she saw the full moon, she thought it was a little bowl of milk. She wanted to have a bowl of milk in the sky. So, she closed her eyes and stretched her neck and opened her mouth and licked. But she ended up with a bug in her mouth.She again tried to get the bowl of milk. This time, she pulled herself together and wiggled her bottom and sprang from the top step of the porch. But she fell and bumped her nose and banged her ear. Poor kitten, the bowl of milk was still there. So, she decided to chase it. She went down the sidewalk, through the garden, past the field but it never seemed to get closer.Then, she ran to the tallest tree and she climbed to the top of it. But kitten still could not reach the bowl of milk. Afterward, she saw another bowl of milk in the pond and it was bigger. So, she leaped into the pond but she was all wet and could not get the milk. Hungry and tired, she went back home. There she saw a big bowl of milk on the porch, just waiting for her. At last, she finally got a bowl of milk. Moral:Never give up easily.

This is a story of kitten, milk and moonMoral(s) of the story: determination

vikas story 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.