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Deboshree Bhattacharjee On June 20, 2019, 8:50 am

Top 15 Short Moral Stories for Kids

In today’s age of busy schedules and omnipresent technology, we have given in and let our children be
entertained by the internet. However, there’s nothing like spending a little quality time with your little
one, narrating stories and imparting some wisdom along the way. You could tell your child a story with
moral values that are similar to yours, allowing them to imbibe good habits and morals in an interesting
way.

Video: Short Moral Stories for Kids – Part 1

Fun and Entertaining Short Moral Stories for Your Children

1. The Needle Tree

There were once two brothers who lived at the edge of a forest. The elder brother was very mean to his
younger brother. He ate up all the food and took all his brother’s good clothes. One day, the elder
brother went into the forest to find some firewood to sell in the market. As he went around, chopping
the branches of tree after tree, he came upon a magical tree. The tree said to him, ‘Oh kind sir, please do
not cut my branches. If you spare me, I will give you golden apples’. The elder brother agreed, but was
disappointed with the number of apples the tree gave him. Greed overcame him, and he threatened to
cut the entire trunk, if the tree didn’t give him more apples. The magical tree, instead, showered upon
the elder brother, hundreds upon hundreds of tiny needles. The elder brother lay on the ground crying in
pain as the sun began to lower down the horizon.
The younger brother grew worried and went in search of his elder brother. He found him laying in pain
near the tree, with hundreds on needles on his body. He rushed to his brother and removed each needle
with painstaking love. After he finished, the elder brother apologised for treating him badly and
promised to be better. The tree saw the change in the elder brother’s heart, and gave them all the
golden apples they could ever need.

Moral Of The Story

It is important to be kind and gracious, as it will always be rewarded.

2. Counting Wisely

Akbar once put a question to his court that left everyone puzzled. As they all tried to figure out the
answer, Birbal walked in and asked what the matter was. They repeated the question to him.

‘How many crows are there in the city?’

Birbal immediately smiled, went up to Akbar, and announced that the answer to his questions was
twenty-one thousand, five hundred and twenty-three. When asked how he knew the answer, Birbal
replied, ‘Ask your men to count the number of crows. If there are more, then the crows’ relatives from
outside the city are visiting them. If there are fewer, then the crows are visiting their relatives outside the
city.’ Pleased with the answer, Akbar presented Birbal with a ruby and pearl chain.

Moral of The Story

Having an explanation for your answer is just as important as having an answer.

3. The Boy Who Cried Wolf

There was once a boy whose father one day told him that he was, now, old enough to watch over the
sheep while they were grazing. Every day, he had to take the sheep over the grass fields and watch them
as they grazed to become strong with thick wool. The boy was unhappy though. 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 muttering under their breath about how the boy was
wasting their time and giving them a good fright while at it. The next day, the boy cried once more,‘Wolf!
Wolf!’ and, again, the villagers rushed there to chase the wolf away.

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 the 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, all because he falsely cried wolf.

Moral of The Story

Do not make stories up for attention, for no one will help you when you actually need it.

4. The Golden Touch

This is the story of a very greedy rich man who chanced upon meeting a fairy. The fairy’s hair was caught
in a few tree branches. Realising he had an opportunity to make even more money, he asked for a wish
in return for helping the fairy. He said, ’All that I touch should turn to gold’, and his wish was granted by
the grateful fairy.

The greedy man rushed home to tell his wife and daughter about his new boon, all the while touching
stones and pebbles and converting them into gold. Once he got home, his daughter rushed to greet him.
As soon as he bent down to scoop her up in his arms, she turned into a gold statue. He realised his folly
and spent the rest of his days searching for the fairy to take away his wish.

Moral of The Story

Greed will always lead to downfall.

5. The Milkmaid and Her Pail

Patty the milkmaid had finished milking her cow, and had two full pails of fresh creamy milk. She put
both pails of milk on a stick and set off to the market, to sell them. Along the way, she started to think of
all the milk in her pails, and 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 the pails of milk fell. The milk
spilled onto the ground, and all Patty could do was cry.

Moral of The Story

Do not count your chickens before they hatch.

6. When Adversity Knocks

This is a story explaining how adversity is met differently by different people. Asha’s father placed an egg,
a potato, and some tea leaves in three separate vessels with boiling water. He asked Asha to keep an eye
on the vessels for ten minutes. Once these ten minutes were over , he asked Asha to peel the potato,
peel the egg and strain the tea leaves. Asha was left puzzled.

Her father explained , ‘Each of these items was put in the same circumstance of boiling water. See how
they’ve responded differently. The potato is now soft, the egg is now hard, and the tea has changed the
water itself. We are all like one of these items. When adversity calls, we respond in exactly the way they
have. Now, are you a potato, an egg, or tea leaves?’
Moral Of The Story

We can choose how to respond to a difficult situation.