15 Short Moral Stories For Kids

Stories are the best way to get your children to listen to you. If you want to make small children understand basic things and life lessons, stories are the way to teach them in an easy and effective manner. Stories and the characters in a story inspire children to learn from their acts of kindness, behaviour, responsibility, respect and many more life skills in a very interesting and easy way. Take a look at these short moral stories for kids.

15 short moral stories for kids

Here are a few short moral stories for kids that we at Baby Destination have compiled for you. So, next time when your little one asks you to tell them a story, you can fall back on any of these interesting tales for them.

#1. The Ugly Tree

A long time ago, in a dense forest, there were thousands of tall and beautiful trees. They were very proud of themselves. Among them, there was one ugly tree whose branches were badly twisted. Its roots had uneven curves. All the trees made fun of that ugly tree. “How are you, hunchback?" the other trees always called him that and made fun of him. The ugly tree felt sad. But he never raised a voice against them. The ugly tree thought, “I wish I were as beautiful as the other trees. Why did God do this to me? Neither can I provide shade to the travellers nor can the birds make their nests on me. Nobody needs me." One day, a woodcutter came to the forest. He looked at all the beautiful trees and thought that he should cut them and make something for his home. As soon as he picked up his axe the trees became frightened. Also read: How To Inculcate Reading Habits In Children At An Early Age ‘Chop, Chop, Chop’ went the woodcutter’s axe and one by one the trees started to fall. Then the woodcutter came near the ugly tree. He had just raised his axe when suddenly he noticed how crooked the ugly tree was. “Hmm! This crooked tree seems to be useless for me. I cannot make long straight logs of this ugly tree," he thought. And he moved towards another beautiful tree. The ugly tree heaved a huge sigh of relief. He realized that by making him ugly, God had actually saved him. From that day the ugly tree never complained. He was grateful and happy with his crooked branches. Moral: Be happy with what you have been given by God.

#2. The golden egg

There was a farmer who had a goose that laid a golden egg every day. The egg provided enough money for the farmer and his wife for their day-to-day needs. The farmer and his wife were very happy. One day, the farmer got an idea and thought, “Why should I take just one egg a day? Why can’t I take all of them at once and make a lot of money?” The foolish farmer’s wife also agreed and they decided to cut the goose’s stomach for the eggs. As soon as they killed the goose and opened the goose’s stomach, they found nothing inside. The farmer and his wife realized their mistake and were never rich again! Moral: Think before you act.

#3. The boy who cried wolf

There was once a boy who said he was old enough to look after his father’s sheep. Thus, every day he took the sheep over the grass fields and watched them as they grazed. The boy then became unhappy because the work was not exciting. He wanted to run and play, not watch the boring sheep. So, he decided to have some fun instead. He cried ‘Wolf! Wolf!’ until the entire village came running with stones to chase away the wolf before it could eat any of the sheep. Once they saw that there was no wolf, they left angry and muttering about how the boy was wasting their time. The next day, the boy again cried ‘Wolf! Wolf!’ and the villagers again rushed to chase the wolf away but found none. As the boy laughed at the fright he had caused, the villagers left, some angrier than the others. The third day, as the boy went up a small hill, he suddenly saw a wolf attacking his sheep. He cried as hard as he could, ‘Wolf! Wolf! WOLF!’, but the villagers thought he was trying to fool them again and did not come to rescue the sheep. The little boy lost three sheep that day. Moral of The Story: Do not seek attention by lying for no one will help you when you actually need it.

#4. A friend in need is a friend indeed

Once upon a time, there lived a lion in a forest. One day It was sleeping under a tree after a meal. There came a mouse and it started to play on the lion. The lion got up with anger and saw the small mouse standing, trembling with fear. The lion jumped on it to kill it, but the mouse requested the lion to forgive it. The lion felt pity and left the mouse and it ran away. The next day, the lion was caught in a net by a hunter. The mouse came there and cut the net with his sharp teeth. Thus, he helped the lion to escape. The mouse and lion became friends and they lived happily in the forest afterwards. Moral: A friend in need is a friend indeed

#5. Town mouse and Country mouse

A Town Mouse and a Tountry Mouse were friends. The Country Mouse one day invited the town mouse to come and see him at his home in the fields. The Town Mouse came and they sat down to a dinner of barleycorns and roots. The food had a rustic flavour. The Town mouse was not pleased with the food and said, “my poor dear friend, you live here no better than the ants. Now, you should just see how I live! You must come and stay at my house and have dinner with me.” So when he returned to town he took the Country Mouse with him and showed him his tiny house which contained flour and oatmeal and figs and honey and dates. Also read: 9 Must-Have Picture Books For Your Preschooler The Country Mouse had never seen anything like it and sat down to enjoy the luxuries his friend provided. But before they had well begun, the door of the house opened and someone came in. It seemed like a cat. The two mice scampered off and hid themselves in a narrow and uncomfortable hole. They came out only when all was quiet but the danger was lurking somewhere nearby. This was too much for the visitor. "Good bye," said he, "I'm off. You live in the lap of luxury, I can see, but you are surrounded by dangers whereas at my home I can enjoy my simple dinner of roots and corn in peace." Moral: Your safety comes first.

#6. The milkmaid and her pail

Patty the milkmaid had just finished milking her cow and had two full pails of fresh creamy milk. She put both pails on a stick and set off to the market to sell her pails of milk. Along the way she started to think of all the milk in her pails and all the money she would get for them. ‘Once I get the money, I’ll buy a chicken’, she thought. ‘The chicken will lay eggs and I will get more chickens. They’ll all lay eggs and I can sell them for more money. Then I’ll buy the house on the hill and be the envy of everyone in the village. They’ll ask me to sell the chicken farm, but I’ll toss my head like this and refuse’. So saying, Patty, the milkmaid tossed her head and dropped her pails. The milk spilled onto the ground and Patty cried. Moral: Do not count your chickens before they hatch.

#7. The proud rose

Once upon a time, there was a rose who was very proud of her beautiful looks. Her only disappointment was that she grew next to an ugly cactus. Every day, the rose would insult the cactus on his looks as to how ugly it is and how it has thorns and no beauty. The cactus stayed quiet. One summer, the well that was in the grew dry and there was no water for the plants. The rose began to wilt. She saw a sparrow dip her beak into the cactus for some water. Though ashamed, she asked the cactus if she too could have some water. The kind cactus readily agreed and they both got through the tough summer as friends. Moral: Never judge someone by the way they look.

#8. The crane and the snake

In a forest close to the river bank there lived a crane with his wife. They were very unhappy. Every time the wife laid eggs in their nest, a big black cobra who lived in a hollow in the tree, would eat them up. The crane had a friend the crab. He went to his friend the crab and shared his misery. "I feel so hopeless,” said the crane. “That sneaking thief has eaten our eggs again," he complained. “Don’t worry," said the crab comfortingly. “You need not be hopeless when you have a friend like me. We will come up with a solution." The crab sat to think of a plan and then had an idea. The crane flew back to his nest and told his wife all about the crab’s plan. He was very excited. “Are you sure this will work?" asked the wife. “I hope we are not making a mistake. Think twice before going ahead with the plan." But the crane was eager to try out the plan. The crane flew down to the river bank and began to fish. He caught several little fishes and went down to the hole in which a mongoose lived. He dropped a fish at the mouth of the hole. Then he took another fish and dropped it a little further away from the first one. Repeating this, he made a trail of fishes leading to the tree where his nest was. The mongoose smelt the fish and came out of the hole. “Ah, a fish!" exclaimed the mongoose joyfully and quickly ate it up. He then followed the trail of fishes. As he neared the tree where the cranes and the snake lived, the trail ended. Finding no more fishes, he looked around. Suddenly he came across the black cobra at the foot of the tree. Seeing the mongoose, the cobra fought for his life. Both fought for a long time and in the end the mongoose killed the snake. The cranes who were watching the fight from their nest sighed with relief. The next day the mongoose began to follow the same trail hoping to find more food. When he came to the tree where the trail ended, he decided to climb the tree in search of food. The cranes who were away at the river bank returned to find the mongoose climbing down the tree. On looking in their nest, they discovered that this time, the mongoose had eaten up all their eggs. “Alas! We got rid of one enemy only to find another," said the crane to his wife. Moral: Always think of all the consequences before you act.

#9. The foolish lion

In a forest there lived a very old lion. He could not run fast anymore. As days went by it became more and more difficult for him to hunt. One day while he was wandering through the forest in search of food, he came across a cave. He peeped in and smelt the air inside the cave. “Some animal must be staying here," he said to himself. He crept inside the cave only to find it empty. “I will hide inside and wait for the animal to return," he thought. The cave was the home of a jackal. Every day, the jackal would go out in search of food and return to the cave in the evening to rest. That evening, the jackal after having his meal started towards home. But as he came closer, he felt something wrong. Everything around him very quiet. “Something is wrong," the jackal said to himself. “Why are all the birds and insects so silent?" Very slowly and cautiously, he walked towards his cave. He looked around him, watching for any signs of danger. As he got closer to the mouth of the cave, all his instincts alerted him of danger. “I have to make sure that everything is alright," thought the jackal. Suddenly, he thought of a plan. The clever jackal called out to the cave. “Hello, my good cave, what happened to you today? Why are you so quiet?" The jackal’s voice echoed deep inside the cave. The lion, who by now could control his hunger no longer, thought to himself, “I think it is because I am here that the cave is silent. Before the jackal realises that something is wrong, I should do something." The jackal continued to call out, “Have you forgotten our agreement cave? You are supposed to greet me when I return home." The lion tried to make his voice sound hollow and called out from within the cave, “Welcome home my friend." The birds chirped loudly and flew away on hearing the lion’s roar. As for the jackal, he shook with fear. Before the hungry lion could pounce on him and eat him up, the jackal ran for his dear life as fast as his legs could carry him. The lion waited for a long while for the jackal to enter the cave. But when the jackal did not come in, the lion realised that he had been fooled. Moral: Be aware of your surroundings and the dangers and act cautiously Also read: 10 Best Bedtime Storybooks For Toddlers

#10. The cow and the tiger

Four cows lived in a forest near a meadow. They were good friends they grazed together and stayed together. SInce they were always together no tigers or lions were able to kill them for food. But one day, the friends fought and each cow went to graze in a different direction. A tiger and a lion saw this and decided that it was the perfect opportunity to kill the cows. They hid in the bushes and surprised the cows and killed them all, one by one. Moral: Strength comes only with Unity

#11. The Camel and the baby

One day, a camel and her baby were chatting. The baby asked, “Mother, why do we have humps?” The mother replied, “Our humps are for storing water so that we can survive in the desert”. “Oh”, said the child, “and why do we have rounded feet mother?” “Because they are meant to help us walk comfortably around in the sand.” “Alright. But why are our eyelashes so long?” “To protect our eyes from the desert dust and sand. They are the protective covers for the eyes”, replied the mother camel. The baby camel thought for a while and said, “So we have humps to store water for desert journeys, rounded hooves to keep us comfortable when we walk in the desert sand, and long eyelashes to protect us from sand and dust during a desert storm. Then what are we doing in a zoo?” The mother had no answer. Moral: Your strengths, skills, and knowledge are useless if you are not in the right place.

#12. Wolf and the Shepherd

One day a wolf was chased away from a farm for trying to steal some of the sheep for food. Later that week, the wolf came back to the farm hoping to find some food. He peeped inside the house and found the farmer and his family feasting on lamb roast. “Aha!”, he thought. “If I were to do the same thing that the farmer and his family are doing now, I would be hunted and killed.” Moral: We are quick to judge and condemn others for what they do, but see nothing wrong in doing so ourselves.

#13. The other side of the wall

A young woman inherited a beautiful garden from her grandmother. She loved gardening too and was very proud of her garden. One day, she saw a very beautiful plant in a catalog and wanted that for her garden. She ordered it and planted it at the base of the stone wall in her backyard. She took great care of the plant, which grew quickly and had beautiful green leaves on it. Months passed, but not a single flower bloomed on the tree. This disturbed her and she almost wanted to cut the tree down. At such a time, her neighbour called and said, “Thank you so much for the beautiful flowers. You have no idea how much I enjoy looking at the blooms of the vine you have planted”. Upon hearing this, the young girl rushed to the neighbor’s side of the wall and sees the most beautiful flower in bloom. All the care she took had paid off. She saw that the vine crept through the crevices which blossomed into flowers. That is why it did not flower on her side of the wall but did generously on the other side. Moral: Just because you cannot see the good results of your efforts does not mean that it bore no fruit.

#14. Controlling anger

There was once a young boy who had problem controlling his temper. When he became angry, he would say anything and hurt everyone. So his father gave him a bag of nails and a hammer and said, “Every time you get angry, hammer one nail into the fence in our backyard”. The first few days the boy hammered so many nails that he emptied half the bag. Over the weeks, the number of nails he hammered to the fence reduced and gradually, his temper was much in control. Then came a day when he didn’t lose his temper at all. His father asked him to remove one nail each day that he manages not to lose his temper. Finally, on the day the child was removing the last nail, his father says, “You have done well, boy. But do you see the holes in the wall? The fence is never going to be the same, even after repainting. Similarly, when you say mean things in anger, you will leave a scar in the person’s mind, as the nails did to the fence”. Also read: 10 Most Recommended Books For Kids Moral: Anger is a dangerous weapon like a knife. When you put a knife in a man and draw it out, the wound heals but the scar remains.

#15. Friends Forever

A mouse and a frog were friends. Every morning the frog would hop out of his pond and go to visit his friend who lived in a hole in the side of a tree. He would return home at noon. The mouse delighted in his friend’s company unaware that the friend was slowly turning into an enemy. The reason? The frog felt that it was only him visiting the mouse every day and the mouse had never made an attempt to visit him. One day he felt he had been humiliated enough. When it was time for him to take leave of the mouse, he tied one end of a string around his own leg, tied the other end to the mouse’s tail, and hopped away, dragging the hapless mouse behind him. The frog dived deep into the pond. The mouse tried to free himself but couldn’t, and soon drowned. A hawk saw the mouse floating on the pond’s surface. He swooped down, and grabbing the mouse in his talons, flew to the branch of a nearby tree. The frog, of course, was hauled out of the water too. He desperately tried to free himself, but couldn’t and the hawk soon put an end to his struggles. Moral: ‘Don’t dig too deep a pit for your enemy, you may fall into it yourself’. Want to share your experience as a mom with other moms through words or images? Become a part of the Moms United community. Click here and we will get in touch with you

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