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

A long time ago, three fish used to live in a pond along with their families. Their names were Anagatavidhata, Pratyutpannamati and Yadbhavishya.Anagatavidhata had a practical mind and used to plan all her actions in advance. Pratyutpannamati was also quite practical and a good advisor. Yadbhavishya was the youngest of them. She was lazy and did not like working. She had a laid back attitude. One, day, a group of fishermen came to the pond where these three fish lived. They talked among themselves, “This pond has quite a lot of fish. Let us come here tomorrow with our nets and catch them.”This conversation of the fishermen was overheard by Anagatavidhata. She quickly gathered all the fish of the pond and told them what she had overheard. She said, “We must move to another pond as soon as we can in order to save our lives.” All the other fish including Pratyutpannamati agreed with Anagatavidhata. Only Yadbhavishya did not like the idea. She said, “Why should we leave our pond and go somewhere else? We are not cowards. Maybe the fishermen do not come here at all. And even if they do, we will figure out a way of not getting caught. Anyway, one day, everyone has to die. So there is no point in fearing death.”Anagatavidhata and Pratyutpannamati did not agree with Yadbhavishya’s ideas and they proceeded to carry out their original plan. They went to another pond with their families and friends.The next day, the fishermen came to the pond with their large nets. They cast their nets and caught a large number of fish living in the pond. Among these fish were Yadbhavishya and her family too. Anagatavidhata, Pratyutpannamati and their families were safe in another pond. Moral:We should be prepared with our plans and actions for any difficult situation.

This is a classic story from panchtantra.This is a story of fish.Moral(s) of the story: precaution

The three fishes and the fishermen

Shina Utavani

In a huge forest, once there was a lovely pond. The pond was situated in the middle of the forest. The pond was surrounded by beautiful grass and flowering plants. There were also many trees around the pond.Many frogs used to live in the pond. The frogs lived happily in the pond. The frogs argued over one thing. They could not decide their chief. Due to this, they use to fight and argue a lot. They never came to a decision.One frog would say, “I will become the chief.” Another would say, “No, I will become the chief.” Such arguments continued every day and they never came to any conclusion. They fought every day. One day, a crane come to the pond. The crane was very hungry. All frogs were fighting and arguing and this caught the crane’s attention.All the frogs were arguing and crane saw one of the frogs who said that he wanted to become the chief. The frog shouted and jumped saying, “I will become the chief.” At that exact moment, the crane caught the frog in its beak. The frog could not move or escape.The crane was about to eat the frog but at that very moment, the crane felt a slimy thing in its leg. The crane sighed and the frog jumped out of his mouth. The crane felt very bad. The crane decided to catch the frog the next day.Next day when the crane went near the pond. He still heard the noise in the pond. Everyone was arguing but the frog that was caught yesterday remained silent. This time again a frog that was shouting was caught by the crane. This time too when the crane was about to eat the frog, something happened and the frog escaped from his mouth,In the evening, again the crane came. This time, the two frogs that were caught by the crane were silent. The frogs were arguing and one among them shouted, “I am the chief.” This caught the crane’s attention and this time he easily grabbed the frog and ate him. Moral:It is not wise to boast loudly.

This is a story of crane, frog, pond and tree.Moral(s) of the story: boasting

The Frogs and the Crane

Once upon a time there was a shy and quiet octopus. He nearly always went about on his own because, although he wanted to have lots of friends, he was too self-conscious.One day, the octopus was trying to catch a very slippery oyster. Before he knew it, he had tied himself into one massive knot, and he couldn't move. He tried with all his strength to wriggle free, but it was no good. In the end, despite the great embarrassment he felt at being seen in such a tangle, he had to ask for help from the passing fish. Many fish swam past, ignoring him, but one very kind little fish offered to help to untie all those tentacles from all those suckers.The octopus felt heartily relieved when he was finally set free, but he was so shy that he didn't dare talk to the fish and make friends with him. He simply thanked the fish, and quickly swam off. Later, the octopus spent the whole night thinking that he had wasted a great opportunity to make friends with that very kind little fish.A couple of days later the octopus was resting between some rocks, when he noticed that everyone around was hurriedly swimming past. He looked into the distance and saw an enormous fish coming over to feed in that area. The octopus quickly hid; then, peeping an eye out from his hiding place, he saw that the huge fish was chasing the kind little fish who had untied him. That little fish really needed urgent help, but the big fish was so dangerous-looking that no one dared to go near. The octopus, remembering how the little fish had helped him, felt that he had to do whatever he could to come to his aid.Without hesitating, the octopus shot out from the rocks, like a ray. He put himself right in the path of the giant fish, and before the fish could do anything about it, the octopus had shot out the biggest jet of ink of his life. He grabbed the little fish, and swam off back to hide in the rocks. Everything happened so fast that the big fish had no time to react. However, he soon recovered from the surprise. Off he went to the rocks, looking for the octopus and the little fish. Now he really wanted to gobble them down!Soon, though, he began feeling a terrible itch; first in his gills, and then in his fins, and then all over his body. It turned out that this giant fish had a very artistic nature, he adored colours; and the octopus's dark ink had given him a terrible allergy!!So the big fish swam away, irritated all over.As soon as he was gone, all the fish who had been hiding came and congratulated the octopus for being so brave. Then the little fish told them all how he had helped the octopus a few days earlier, but he had never known anyone be so grateful that they would end up doing something so dangerous. Hearing this, the other fish discovered how nice the shy octopus was, and everyone around was keen to be the friend of such a brave and honourable octopus.Moral: Never leave an opportunity to show gratitude no matter how much difficult the situation seems.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

This is a story of fish and octopus.Moral(s) of the story: bravery and gratitude

An octopus in trouble

Yesha Desai

Here’s another great story from the Hitopadesha tales. A long time ago, there lived an old snake named Mandavisha. He had become so old that he was unable to hunt for his food. One day, he was resting on the bank of a lake. A small frog spotted him lying there. The snake did not move an inch even after seeing the frog. Out of curiosity, the frog asked the snake, “Why are you not hunting for food?”Mandavisha was a cunning snake. A diabolical plan struck him and he said, “O frog! Please leave me alone to my fate. I am reaping the fruits of my wrong doing. Few years back, I bit a pious brahmin’s son. The brahmin was full of sorrow and grief to see his dead son. He threw the blessed water on me and cursed me, “Soon the frogs will use you as a vehicle to ride on.” Thus cursed, I am waiting for the frogs to ride me.”The frog went running to his king, Jalapada and told him about the cursed snake. The king of frogs immediately left to meet the snake and made him his royal ride. Mandavisha was happy to see his plan working. He gladly allowed Jalapada to climb his back and carried him to and fro, thus pleasing him.The following day, the snake pretended that he was unable to move about. The king of the frogs asked him, “What happened to you, my royal ride? Why are you so sluggish today?”“I am feeling very weak as I had nothing to eat since morning. I won’t be able to take you for a ride today.” said the snake. The king wanted to go on a joyride with his wife, so he said, “Well! We need our royal ride to be fit and healthy. I permit you to eat one frog from my kingdom every day.”This was all that the snake wanted to hear! He started eating up the frogs one by one and in the end, he came to eat the king of frogs as well. As his end was near, the king of frogs said to himself, “What a fool I have been to get carried away by the oily talks of this treacherous snake.” Moral:We should not be influenced by pitious talks and flattery. Instead we should think clearly with our heads before making a decision.

This is a classic story from Hitopadesha tales.This is a story of foolishness, frog and snakeMoral(s) of the story: foolishness

The Serpent And The King of Frogs

One upon a time, there was a lake near the forest. In the lake, there lived a crab. The crab had a best friend Swan who also lived near the lake. They both were great friends and lived happily in the forest.One day, the snake came to live near the lake. The snake would eat the swan’s egg and would create many problems for the swan. The swan was very scared. So, he went to Crab and said, “My dear friend, I am facing trouble because of the arrival of the snake. It eats all my eggs and I cannot even fight with him. I am very scared, please help me.” Near the lake, there also lived a mongoose. The crab had a plan. He said, “I have an idea, my friend. We will get some fish from the lake and throw them one by one from the snake’s house to the mongoose’s house.”Swan and Crab collected some fish from the lake and scattered them in a row from the snake’s house to the mongoose’s house. After throwing the fish they immediately went to their home. They waited for the mongoose to step out of his house. As soon as the mongoose came out, he saw fish on his door. He took the fish in his hand and started eating them. He started eating all the fish and followed the trail. As soon as he went ahead to eat the fish, he reached closer to the snake’s house. After some time, he reached the snake’s house.He said, “My enemy is here, I must kill it.” The snake and mongoose got into an ugly fight and in the end, the snake was killed. The swan and crab were very happy.The next day, the mongoose was very hungry, so he decided to eat more snakes. As soon as he reached near the lake, instead of snakes, he saw Swan’s eggs. The mongoose immediately grabbed the swan’s egg and started eating them. He liked them and decided to come there every day. The swan and the crab became helpless. By their foolish action, they had invited a new enemy which was more dangerous than the previous one.They were left with no option but to leave their homes. They always remembered the lesson that mongoose had taught them. Moral:Thoughtless actions lead to disaster.

This is a story of crab, egg, forest, lake, mongoose, snake and swan.Moral(s) of the story: foolishness

The crab, swan and the snake

One day a she-wolf had a craving to eat fresh fish-meat. The wolf did not know how to swim, but still he went down to the river, hoping to get some fish-meat for his mate.When the wolf reached the river, he saw two otters standing on the bank, also looking for fish. Soon one of the otters spotted a big fish in the water. He swiftly jumped into the river and caught the fish by its head. But the fish was very strong and was struggling continuously to get out of the otter’s hold. Fearing that he might lose the fish, he called out to his friend for help. The other otter also jumped into the river and held the fish tightly from the tail. Together, they were able to bring the fish to land.The first otter said, “This fish is good enough for both of us! Let us divide the fish into two parts.”“I want the half with the head on,” said one.“You cannot have that half. That is mine,” said the other. “You can take the tail.”The wolf heard the otters arguing over the division of fish and a brilliant idea struck him. He went up to the otters and offered his help to settle the dispute. There was no other way of ending the quarrel, so the otters also readily agreed. The wolf cut off the head and gave it to the first otter as he had caught the fish by the head. Then he severed the tail of the fish and gave it to the second otter as he had caught the fish by the tail. Both the otters were anxiously waiting to find out how the wolf would divide the rest of the fish, just then, quick as the lightning, the cunning wolf quickly ran away with the body of the fish.The otters realized that they had been fooled by the wolf. They were full of remorse and said, “If only we had not been greedy and fought with each other, we could have enjoyed a scrumptious meal.”The wolf was very pleased with himself for fooling the two otters and happily went home with the fish-meat. Moral:You must be very clever with how you deal with people so you are not fooled.

This is a classic story from Jataka tales.This is a story of wolf and otter.Morals(s) of the story: foolishness

The otters and the wolf

One day long ago, some sailors set out to sea in their sailing ship. One of them brought his pet monkey along for the long journey.When they were far out at sea, a terrible storm overturned their ship. Everyone fell into the sea, and the monkey was sure that he would drown. Suddenly a dolphin appeared and picked him up.They soon reached the island and the monkey came down from the dolphin’s back. The dolphin asked the monkey, “Do you know this place?”The monkey replied, “Yes, I do. In fact, the king of the island is my best friend. Do you know that I am actually a prince?”Knowing that no one lived on the island, the dolphin said, “Well, well, so you are a prince! Now you can be a king!” The monkey asked, “How can I be a king?”As the dolphin started swimming away, he answered, “That is easy. As you are the only creature on this island, you will naturally be the king!” Moral:Those who lie and boast may end up in trouble.

This is a story of dolphin and monkey.Moral(s) of the story: boasting and lying

The Monkey and The Dolphin

In a forest, there lived a bear. The bear was very greedy. He always wanted something bigger. He was never satisfied with what he had. One day, the bear was very hungry and he wanted to eat something. He decided to go out to search for food.The day was very beautiful and bright. The sun was shining and everything looked bright and pretty. The bear decided to eat fish to enjoy the bright sunny day. So, he went to a river to catch fish. The river was filled with fishes and the bear was very happy to see that. He decided to eat lots of fish.The bear prepared himself for the hunt. He looked at the fish and waited for the chance. The bear looking at the opportunity tried to catch a fish. As soon as he grabbed a fish, he was very happy. But when he saw the fish, he became sad. he said, “This fish is very small. I will wait for the bigger fish.” The bear threw the fish back in the water.He again started hunting for the fish. He waited for his chance. He swung his arm in the water and grabbed another fish. After looking at the second fish he again said, “Oh no! This is very small. I need a bigger one.” He again threw the fish back in the water.He continued doing the same again and again. Every time the fish he grabbed was too small for him and every time he would throw the fish back in the water. He wanted to eat a bigger fish. In the end, he was very tired and had nothing to eat because he had thrown every fish back in the river. Moral:Many small things make up for one big thing. Never let go of what you have in hand for what you don’t have yet.

This is a story of bear, fish and river.Moral(s) of story: greediness

The Foolish Bear

Once upon a time, a king frog used to live in a well with his family and subjects. The king frog had some evil relatives who wanted to snatch the throne away from him. They kept causing problems in his reign. Once, they conspired with a minister in the king frog’s court and started a revolt against the king frog. The king frog managed to subdue the revolt but he was very angry. He wanted to take revenge on his evil relatives and unfaithful subjects. He thought of a plan. He came out of the well and made his way to a hole where he knew that a big, black snake used to live. He called out to the snake.The snake was surprised to hear a frog calling him and slithered out of the hole. The frog said to the snake, “Hello. I want to be your friend.” The snake was astonished. “How can a snake and a frog be friends?” he said. “We are natural enemies.”“Listen to me. I have a plan,” said the frog and told the snake all about his evil relatives. “I want to teach them a lesson,” he added. “So, I will take you to the well and you can eat all of them.” The snake was interested. “Is there water in your well?” he asked.The frog replied, “Not much. But a little above the water level, there is a hole in the wall of the well. You can live there comfortably and eat my relatives.”The serpent agreed. He followed the frog back to the well. On reaching there, the frog said, “Here are my evil relatives. You can eat all of them except my near and dear ones.” Thus, the serpent started living in the hole in the well’s wall. One by one, he started eating up the frogs that were pointed out by the king frog. In a few days’ time, the snake had eaten all the evil frogs and only the king frog and his family were left. The snake came up to the king frog and said, “I have eaten up all your evil relatives and rebels as you wanted. I have also eaten your unfaithful minister. Now, there is nothing left for me to eat except you and your family.” Saying this, the serpent eyed him hungrily. The king frog realized his mistake. He knew he was in great danger. He had made friends with his natural enemy for his selfish motives and to punish his enemies. Now he felt that his own death was near. But he managed to keep his cool and replied, “Do not worry. I will go to some other wells and ponds and persuade some frogs to come and live in this well. Then you can feed on them.”The serpent liked the idea. “Hurry up, then. I am hungry,” he said. So, with this pretext, the king frog along his wife and his near and dear ones came out of the well and ran for their lives, vowing never to return to that well again. Moral:Actions taken in haste often end up causing more trouble.

This is a classic story from panchtantra.This is a story of frog and snake.

water animal 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 three fishes and the fishermen

The Frogs and the Crane

An octopus in trouble

The Serpent And The King of Frogs

The crab, swan and the snake

The otters and the wolf

The Monkey and The Dolphin

The Foolish Bear

The frog and the serpent

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