15 Best Moral Stories for Kids
1. THE WOLVES AND THE SHEEP
Once there was a green lawn near a forest where a herd of sheep often came for grazing. There lived a pack of wolves in the forest. One day, they saw the sheep grazing and wanted to eat them. But as the wolves went closer to the pasture, they noticed that there were dogs that guarded the sheep.
The wolves were scared of the dogs. They could not think of attacking the sheep in the presence of the dogs. With dogs around, the sheep grazed in perfect safety.
“Ah, these sheep look so tempting. But we can’t get them”, said one of the wolves. “We can devour these sheep only when the dogs are not there. So, we must do something to get rid of these dogs,” he further added.
All the wolves sat down together and came up with a clever plan to trap the sheep. They nominated a small rabbit from the forest as their messenger. They asked him to convey their message to the herd of the sheep in the pasture.
The next day, the rabbit went to the sheep with the words of the wolves. He read out a message to the sheep which said, “These dogs are not your friends but masters. They always keep a guard on you, as they don’t want to set you free even for a moment. We want to make friendship with you, but these dogs bark at us even before we can approach you. Trust us, we are your true friends. Just send away these wicked dogs and see how happy we will be together and how free you all will be.”
The foolish sheep trusted the words of the cunning wolves and sent the dogs away. The wolves proceeded with their plan. They approached the pasture, pounced on the unprotected sheep and ate them with delight.
Moral: Do not give up friends for foes.
2. THE MONKEY AND THE DOLPHIN
One day, a few sailors set out on a long voyage. One of the sailors had brought his pet, a monkey with him for some amusement on the shipboard. They enjoyed a smooth sailing during the initial days. When they went far out in the sea, the ship was hit by a terrible storm. The sailors were scared. They knew that soon they will have to struggle for their lives.
The men were right. The wild tempest overturned the ship, wrecking it completely. All the occupants including the monkey fell into the sea. All swam for their lives. The monkey could not swim. He knew that he would drown. “Oh, no! This is the end of my life,” he thought. Just then, a dolphin appeared before the monkey. Thinking him to be a man, he put him on his back and swam towards the shore.
The monkey was now safe. He came down from the dolphin’s back and was very happy to be alive. The dolphin asked the monkey, “Do you know this place?” “Yes, of course I know this place very well,” replied the monkey, “In fact, the king of this island is a very good friend of mine. You know, I am actually a prince!”
The dolphin heard the monkey. He knew about the island very well. It was an isolated island where nobody lived. The dolphin realised that the creature he saved was a big liar.
“Well, so now you are king of this Island,” said the dolphin. The monkey was surprised to hear this. “How can I be the king?” he asked.
“That is easy to understand. As you are the only creature here on this island, you would naturally be the king,” answered the dolphin. Having said this, the dolphin swam back to the water. The monkey was left all alone in the island.
Moral: Those who lie, end up in trouble.
3. THE LION AND THE HARE
Once a lion lived in a forest. He was proud and cruel. He killed every day the weak and helpless animals of the forest. All the animals were greatly afraid of him. But they had no way to escape from his wrath and cruelty.
A little hare also lived in that forest. He was very shrewd. He made a plan to save other animals in the forest from the cruel lion.
One day, the hare approached the lion. He said, “O king of the forest! We are all your loyal subjects and want to serve you more. But there are another lion in the forest who has challenged your authority over the beasts of the forest. He is claiming that he is the king of the forest.”
At this the arrogant lion grew furious. He could not bear such a rude challenge to his power and authority. So ge wanted to see the challanger immediately.
The clever hare then guided the proud lion to a deep well. The hare pointed to the bottom of the well and said, “O king! Here resides that wicked fellow. Look below and you will find him.”
The angry lion looked below. He found his own reflection on the water below. But he took it as another lion and roared loudly. The roar was echoed. Then the lion jumped into the well to fight with the other lion.
The well was very deep. The lion went down straight to its bottom. He died to the great relief of all other animals. Every animal thanked the hare and praised his intelligence.
Moral: Intelligence is mightier than physical strength.
4. THE HONEST WOOD CUTTER
Once upon a time there lived a certain wood-cutter in a village. He was very poor. Everyday he would go to the nearby forest by the side of a river. He used to fell tress and collected fuel for sale.
One day he was cutting a tree. Suddenly his axe slipped from his hand. It fell into the river below. So the wood-cutter became very sorry. He began to weep bitterly. The river-goddess heard his pitiful cry. She took pity on him but the goddess wanted to test his honesty. The goddess first appeared before him with a golden axe. She asked, “Is this your axe?”
The honest wood-cutter replied, “No, goddess, this is not mine.” The goddess then plunged again into the water and reappeared again with a silver axe and said, “This one is yours then. Is it not?”
“No”, replied the wood-cutter, “this, too, is not mine.”
The goddess then brought three axes – one made of gold, one made of silver another made of iron. She asked the wood-cutter, “Which one is yours?” The wood-cutter pointed out the iron axe and said, “This is mine.”
The goddess was very much pleased to see the poor man’s honesty. She gave him not only his own axe, but also the other two as a reward of his honesty.
Moral: Honesty is the best policy.
5. LORD BUDDHA AND THE GRIEF STRICKEN MOTHER
Once a woman’s only son died. She was overwhelmed with grief and cried hard at the untimely death of her beloved son. The woman had heard about Lord Buddha and went to him to get back the life of the dead son. She prayed to him, O, Lord, give life to my dead son.” Lord Buddha took great pity for her and said, “Your son will get back his life if you can bring a handful of mustard seeds from a house where nobody has ever died.”
Then the woman went from door to door in search of the mustard seeds but found no such house anywhere.
Then the woman came back to Buddha and told him that she had found no such house. Lord Buddha now said to her, “So, you see, death is common to all and you should not weep.” The woman found great consolation.
Moral: Man is mortal
6. THE LION AND THE MOUSE
One day a lion was sleeping in his den. A little mouse was playing nearby. The mouse mistook the lion’s nostril for a hole and entered into it. The lion woke up. He caught the mouse in his big paw and said, “You rouge! I shall kill you.”
The poor little creature was trembling in fear. It said, “My Lord, do not kill me. I have done this unknowingly. Kindly pardon me and let me go. Some day I will repay your kindness.”
The lion only laughed. He did not believe that a little creature like a mouse might come to his help. However, he let it go.
After a few days that very lion was caught in a hunter’s net. He tried his best to free himself from the net. But all his efforts were in vain. He began to roar in despair at last.
The mouse heard the roar of the lion and rushed to the spot and said, “My Lord, don’t be afraid. I will save you.” So saying that, the mouse cut the net with its sharp teeth.
The lion was set free. Now the grateful lion thanked his little friend heartily for saving his life.
Moral: Even the small one can be of great help to the powerful.
7. THE HARE AND THE TORTOISE
One day a hare met a tortoise and laughed at his slow pace. At this the tortoise was very much offended. He then challenged the hare to run a race. The latter at once accepted the challenge.
The race began one morning. The hare ran very fast and went much ahead of the slow paced tortoise who was plodding far behind.
The hare was over-confident of his victory. So he thought of taking a short nap on the way. He lay down and soon fell fast asleep.
In the meantime the tortoise did not stop at all and came near the goal. Now the hare woke up and ran very fast towards the goal. But the tortoise had already reached the goal.
Moral: Slow and steady wins the race.
8. THE TOWN MOUSE AND THE COUNTRY MOUSE
There lived a mouse in the countryside. He had a friend, another mouse, who lived in the town. Once the town mouse visited the country mouse.
The town mouse spoke ill of the countryside. He even advised his country friend to go with him to the town. He told his friend to spend a lavish life in town.
The simple country mouse was tempted. He left his hollow of the tree to visit the town and enjoy the comfort of town-life.
The town mouse and the country mouse came to a big house in London city at midnight. The supper was then just over. The guests had withdrawn and retired to their beds. The remains of different types of grand food were, however, left scattered on the dinner table. The mice were glad beyond measure. They sat face to face to eat and drink to their hearts’ content.
But suddenly there came a shock to the joy of the mice. The door of the room was flung open. There entered the big house-dog furiously. It rushed upon the mice.
The mice were in great difficulty. Their death seemed certain. However, they managed to escape from the dinning hall.
The country mouse had tasted the bitter fruit of town life. He bade good-bye to the town life and its charms. He realized the superiority of his simple and secure life in the countryside to the risky and pompous life in the town.
Moral: Security is better than luxury.
9. THE BITTER LEAF
Once upon a time there was king who ruled his kingdom well and his subjects were happy. But his only son was very indisciplined and mischievous. A nasty habit grew in the prince. He often hurt others. The king spared no pains to rectify his behaviour but without any result.
One day a sage visited the king. He observed the prince at wicked work. He said to the king, “Your majesty, send the prince with me to my hut in the forest. I will change the prince.”
The king gladly accepted the proposal with a great relief. The sage took the prince to his house. He adopted various ways to change the prince but of no use.
One day the prince plucked a leaf from the plant and chewed it and spat it out. Then he pulled the plant out of the ground and threw it away. The sage observed it.
The sage got an idea. He came to the prince and asked him, “Why did you do this?” The prince replied, “This plant’s leaf is so bitter. So I decided to stop it from growing and pulled it out.”
The sage said with a smile, “Similarly, young prince if you do not rectify yourself now, you will also grow up to be like that bitter plant.”
The young prince remained silent. There was an instant change in the prince from that day.
Moral: Grassroot is the beginning of change.
10. OLD FATHER AND HIS QUARRELSOME SONS
There lived an old farmer who had three sons. The sons were very rough and quarrelsome. They often fell out among themselves on petty issues.
The old father was anxious about his sons’ future. He made a plan to change their conduct.
One day he called them and gave them a bundle of sticks. The sticks were fastened together strongly by strong threads. Then he said, “My dear son, now break the bundle and show me your strength.” Alas! no one could break it after repeated attempts.
Then the old father said, “Well, none of you could break the bundle. Now unbind it. Take each stick separately and see what you can do.”
Now each son took a stick. The sons were now able to snap each stick with ease. All the sticks were broken into pieces in no time.
Now the father turned to his sons and said, “My children, you are like that bundle of sticks. If you remain together, you will be able to withstand all difficulties and attacks. But if you keep on quarrelling and dividing among yourselves, you will be easily defeated by others like the weak, untied sticks. Remember unity is strength.”
Moral: Unity is strength and divided we fall.
11. THE SALT MERCHANT AND THE DONKEY
A merchant had a donkey that he used to carrying goods. The merchant often made visits to the nearby market for which they had to cross a river. While the master cared for his donkey, the animal was lazy and unwilling to do his work.
One fine morning, the merchant loaded the donkey with bags of salt. He along with the donkey started walking towards the market where he wanted to sell his salt. On the way, they came across a river. The donkey, however, felt it difficult to walk through the river and fell down. So the salt in his bag got dissolved in water and hence, the loads became lighter.
Now, the lazy donkey thought of a trick. Next time, when the merchant refilled the bags with more salt and started crossing the river, the donkey deliberately slipped into the water. So the merchant had suffered a huge loss.
While the master lamented for his loss, the donkey looked calm. The merchant soon realised that his donkey was playing trick.
The merchant decided to punish his donkey for his misdeed. Next day, he loaded the donkey with Bags of sponges. The foolish donkey again tried to play the same trick. As soon as he fell into the river, the sponges became swollen and greatly increased the load.
“Alas!” exclaimed the donkey. “My own trick has put me into trouble.” The donkey now had to carry double burden. As he trudged on, he lamented for his foolish act.
Moral: Laziness brings only punishment
12. THE THIRSTY CROW AND THE PITCHER
It was a hot day of the summer season. A thirsty crow felt extremely thirsty and flew here and there looking for water. After a long search, he found a pitcher. There was some water in it but the level of the water was very low. It was not possible for the crow to drink water and quench his thirst.
The crow tried various ways to get at the water. But he could not succeed.
The crow then noticed some peebles laying near the pitcher. The clever crow then hit upon a plan. He brought small stones with his beak and began to drop those stones one after another into the pitcher. As each stone was dropped, the level of water began to rise up.
At last, the water level came within his reach. The crow could now drink at his ease. He quenched his thirst well by his cleverness and flew away.
Moral: When there is a will, there is a way.
13. A SHEPHERD BOY AND WOLF
A shepherd boy used to watch a flock everyday just outside a village. There was a hill nearby. He loved to play tricks upon simple people for the sake of fun.
Sometimes he cried loudly, “Wolf ! Wolf !” Some villagers who worked in the nearby field, rushed for his help. But they found no wolf. Only the wicked shepherd boy laughed at them for their pains.
Very often the boy played the same mischievous game. The people got disgusted. They decided to pay no heed to his cry.
But one day, a wolf really came from the hill. The boy was extremely terrified. And he cried, “Wolf ! Wolf !”
But no one responded to his cry. The village people ignored it. They took it as another prank not to be attended at all.
The wolf killed boy along with his flock. The wicked boy had to pay the penalty of his falsehood with his own life.
Moral: Nobody believes a liar, even when he speaks the truth.
14. THE FOOLISH WOMAN AND GOLDEN EGGS
In a certain village there lived a farmer who had a goose. The goose was not a usual one as it laid one golden egg every morning. The farmer used to sell that egg. Thus he became quite rich.
But his wife was not satisfied with this. She was too much greedy. She wanted to grow richer soon. One day she thought, “The goose has quite a number of golden eggs in its womb. Why should we not receive all the eggs at a time? If I cut its I shall be able to get all these golden eggs at a time.”
She acted accordingly. She took a sharp knife and cut open its belly. The goose died at once a d there was not a single golden egg inside its belly.
The foolish woman got nothing for her pains. She lost the goose as well as the prospect of golden egg everyday. Indeed, she was worse off, through her greed than she had been before.
Moral: Grasp all, lose all.
15. TWO FRIENDS AND A BEAR
One day two friends were walking across a forest. Suddenly they saw a big bear approaching them. They got scared. One of them quickly climbed up a nearby tree. He did not think of his other friend who did not know how to climb trees. Now his other friend had heard that bears do not prefer dead bodies. So he quickly lay on the ground and held his breath. The bear came, sniffed him and thought the man was dead. So the bear went away.
Seeing this, the friend on the tree quickly climbed down the tree and asked his friend, “What did the bear whisper in your ear?” He replied, “The bear asked me to keep away from false friends like you.”
Moral: A friend in need is a friend indeed.
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