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 is nothing like spending a little quality time with your little one with some stories and imparting some
wisdom along the way. You might want to tell your child a story with moral values that are similar to yours.

Fun and Entertaining Short Moral Stories For Your Children

1. The Needle Tree

There were once two brothers who lived on the edge of a forest. The elder brother was very mean to his younger brother and ate
up all the food and took all his 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 a 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 my golden apples’. The elder brother agreed but was
disappointed with the number 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 with hundreds of needles on his skin.
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 and
asked what the matter was. And so they told him the question.

‘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 is old enough to look after the sheep. Every day he had to take the
sheep over the grass fields and watch them as they grazed to become strong sheep 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 again cried ‘Wolf! Wolf!’ and the villagers again rushed 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 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, all because
he cried wolf too many times.

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 realized his folly and spent the rest of his days searching for the fairy to take away his
wish.

Moral of The Story

Greediness will always lead to a downfall.

5. 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 while Patty cried.

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 but in the same circumstance of being in a pot 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 these
items. When adversity calls we respond in exactly the way they have. Now are you a potato, an egg or are you tea leaves?’

Moral Of The Story

We can choose how to respond to a difficult situation.

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 while the cactus stayed quiet. All the other plants in the
garden tried to make the rose see sense, but she was too swayed by her own good looks.

One summer, the well present in the garden 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.