Best Moral Stories for Kids- Must Read for Every Kid

Our life is a complete story that starts with our birth and ends at death. The various ups and downs we face make up the pages of this storybook.

As stories influence our personality and development, the importance of storytelling becomes all the more important. It directly shapes the way a child thinks, a child talks and the way a child behaves.

We bring to you a list of 20 good moral stories for kids that will not only inculcate good moral values in your kids but also make them proficient socially and emotionally.

These stories for kids with moral here will throw light on each character’s good and bad deeds. This will help children learn the lessons and values imparted and apply them in their daily life.

1) The Tortoise and the Hare

In this story, kids learn that overconfidence always leads to failure.

The hare is the fastest creature in the jungle and is very boastful of himself. One day, he challenges the slowest creature, tortoise for a race because he was very sure he would win it easily.

During the race, the hare feels sleepy and takes a nap in the middle of the race, thinking he would win the race anyway. And when he wakes up, he sees the tortoise on the other side of the finish line, much to his surprise.

Moral: Never brag about your skills or achievements and always keep on trying.

2) The Boy who cried wolf

This story teaches us the consequences of lying.

A boy had a duty to look after a flock of sheep. One day he started shouting, “Wolf, wolf, wolf”, for the sole purpose of fun. On hearing him, the villagers rushed to his help.

What started as a figment of his imagination, became his hobby and he started fooling the villagers. One day, when a wolf really came, nobody came and as a result, the boy was killed. There was no one to blame but him.

Moral: Never lie, no matter how bad the situation is.

3) The Grasshopper and the Ant

This story inculcates the importance of hard work in your children.

On a bright sunny day, when an ant was working hard to collect food, the grasshopper would look at her and say, ”Why do you work so hard? Summers are for fun and games. Come, listen to my song”. But the ant would ignore him and continue working.

As the days of winter came by, the grasshopper had nothing to eat. He begged the ant for food, but she said, ”When I worked hard, you sang. Go away, there is no food for you”. The grasshopper learned his lesson the hard way.

Moral: Work hard so you can reap the benefits tomorrow.

4) The Lion and the Rabbit

This story tells us how intelligence can save us from the worst of situations.

Once upon a time, in a jungle far away, there lived a lion. He used to kill about 2-3 animals every day for his meal. The animals were worried and went to discuss this with the lion. He agreed not to kill any other animal if one of them voluntarily comes to him everyday.

This went on for long. One day, it was a rabbit’s turn. As he was on his way, he sees an old well and hatches a plan to kill the lion. He goes to the lion and tells him that there is another lion who claims to be stronger than him.

The lion, then asks the rabbit to meet the said lion. The rabbit takes him to the well and points to it saying that was where the other lion lived. The lion jumps into the well, mistaking his own reflection for the other lion and dies.

Moral: Wisdom wins might.

5) The Monkey and the Crocodile

The story of the Monkey and the Crocodile teaches us to be to choose our friends carefully.

Once upon a time, there lived a monkey on an apple tree. The apples were a bright red color and extremely juicy.

One day, a crocodile came to the tree and asked the monkey for some apples. The monkey was glad to help. He even gave the crocodile some apples to take home for his wife.

When his wife tasted the apples, she grew curious to taste the monkey’s, heart. She persuaded her husband to get the monkey’s heart for her or else she would die.

The crocodile was in a dilemma but finally agreed. The next day, when he went to the shore, he invited the monkey to his home. The monkey gladly accepted.

He sat on the crocodile’s back and they started their journey. When they reached the middle of the water, the crocodile started sinking low and told the monkey of his plan.

The monkey did not lose his presence of mind and said that he had left his heart on the tree and that the crocodile would have to take him back.

The foolish crocodile took him back to the shore. At once, the monkey leaped on the tree and told the crocodile that he was the biggest fool on the planet and the monkey had made a mistake in trusting him.

Moral: Be cautious of who you befriend. Your best friend may be your biggest enemy.

6) The Wet Pants

This story teaches kids to always help one another.

It was a regular classroom. In a corner, there sat a boy with a puddle at his feet. He had accidentally wet his pants. Then he sat there thinking about how he would be teased if anyone were to find out. The boy constantly prays to God to help him.

Just then, a girl comes walking by with a goldfish bowl in her hand. She trips in front of him and dumps the bowl of water onto his lap. The boy is relieved but pretends to be angry.

The entire class as well as the teacher ridicule the girl for being clumsy. But the boy knew in his heart that the girl had saved him from the unlimited number of teases and jibes.

At the end of the day, the girl came up to him and said: “I wet my pants once too”.

Moral: Always try to understand others’ situations and look for ways to help them.

7) Who will bell the Cat?

This story tells us to think thoroughly before speaking as empty solutions/thoughts are of no worth.

Once there lived a large group of mice in a house. The house was always full of food and the mice never had any problem. The owner of the house was aware of the problem. So, he brought a cat.

Now the mice were not able to move about freely and even if they did, the cat always caught hold of them. Hence, they assembled to think of a plan. One smart mouse suggested tying a bell around the cat’s neck so they would know whenever the cat approaches them.

Now the question was “Who will tie the bell?” Nobody said a word. The solution was worthless.

Moral: Making a plan is one thing and executing it is an entirely different thing.

8) The Cracked Pot

This story teaches kids to love their imperfections because they make them who they are.

A water bearer had two large pots which he hung on the ends of a pole. He used to carry the pole to his master’s house every day.

One of the two pots had a crack in it, which is why the bearer delivered only one and a half pot of water. The perfect pot was proud of himself and mocked the cracked pot.

One day, the cracked pot apologized to the bearer for being imperfect. But the master smiled and said that he had planted flowers on the cracked pot’s side of the way. Unknowingly, the cracked pot was watering them and because of this, the bearer was able to pick out beautiful flowers for his master’s home.

Now, the cracked pot didn’t feel ashamed of his imperfection anymore.

Moral: Never be ashamed of your imperfections. Many times, these imperfections are a blessing in disguise.

9) The Selfish Horse

This story promotes the spirit of helping one another.

Once upon a time, a washer man had a donkey and a horse. He was supposed to carry many bundles of cloth to the other town. So he loaded the donkey heavily and the three of them began their journey forward.

It was a very hot day and the donkey started to get extremely tired. He asked the horse to share some of the load but the horse refused to say that it was not his duty to carry the load.

Soon, the exhausted donkey could walk no further and collapse in the middle of the road. The washer man was determined to complete his journey. So, he put all the donkey’s baskets onto the horse and continued on his way.

The horse thought to himself, ”I wish I had helped the donkey before!”

Moral: Never shy away from helping anyone.

10) The Frog and the Ox

The story teaches us to never boast about anything or else failure is certain.

On a hot summer day, a big Ox came down a pool to drink some water. In this process, he crushed a young little frog into the mud.

All the small frogs rushed to the big old frog to tell him this. On knowing this, he said ”Big, was he!” and started blowing himself up. He asked the young frogs, ”Was he as big as this”, to which they replied “Much bigger”.

He puffed himself more and more and kept asking the little frogs the same question. When they declared that the Ox was much bigger, he blew and blew and swelled and swelled. Until finally, he burst.

Moral: Self-conceit leads to self-destruction.

11) The Discontented Dog

This story inculcates the importance of appreciating what we have.

A dog was just lazing around when he sees a cat on a high wall. He thinks to himself “Oh, how lucky is the cat. Wish I could climb.”

Next, he sees a goldfish swimming in an aquarium. Envy strikes him again as he thinks how nice it would be to swim in the cold water.

Just then, the fish says to him, “The grass looks so warm and nice. I wish I could lie on it”. Shortly after a sparrow passes by and says “Oh! What it must play all day in the sun. Wish I didn’t have to search for food and tire my wings.”

On hearing all this, the dog realizes how lucky he was and he started appreciating all the things he had.

Moral: It always seems that the grass is always greener on another side. But the joy lies in appreciating what we have.

12) The Pigeons and the Hunter

One fine day, a hunter sets out to catch birds. He lays a net and spreads rice all over it. Shortly, a flock of pigeons comes by and start eating the rice and get caught in the net.

They start to lose hope. Just then their leader asks them to fly together up in the sky. They do as told and carry the net with themselves. The hunter runs after them but is not able to catch them.

The pigeons fly towards their friend mouse’s hole. The mouse on seeing this cuts the net into pieces and frees the pigeon.

Moral: Unity is strength. Anything is achievable if we work unitedly.

13) Who is happy?

This story teaches us to Not to let go of our happiness by comparing ourselves to someone else.

Once a crow looked at a swan and thought how beautiful the swan was. She had all white feathers whereas the crow was black. The crow expressed his thoughts to the swan.

The swan replied that according to her the parrot was the most beautiful bird as it had two colors and the swan had just one.

Next, the crow approached the parrot, who simply said that peacock was the most beautiful than him as it was multicolored.

When the crow expressed his thoughts to the peacock, the peacock replied “My dear crow. You are the luckiest bird on this planet as you are never caged. Because of my beauty, I’m trapped in this cage and you are free.”

On hearing this, the crowd thought how foolish he had been and thanked God for making him the way he was.

Moral: Never compare yourself to others. Be happy in what you are and what you have.

14) The Wise Old Man

This story teaches us to look out for bad habits in ourselves and uproot them as soon as possible.

One fine day, a wealthy man brought his son to an old scholar to guide him to a good path. The scholar agreed and took the young boy to a stroll.

They came across a small sapling. The scholar asked the boy to pull it out. The boy did it easily.

Next, the scholar asked him to pull out a slightly bigger plant. The boy did so but it looks a little more effort than it had taken to pull out a sapling.

Pointing to a bush, the scholar asked the boy to pull that out. The boy had to use all his strength in order to obey his teacher.

Finally, the scholar asked the boy to pull out a guava tree. The boy grasped the trunk and tried with all his might, but all in vain.

The scholar smiled and said, “So, it is with bad habits. It is earlier to uproot them at the starting stage, but once they take hold, they cannot be pulled out however hard you try!”

Moral: It is best to pull out bad habits at the earliest.

15) The other side of the wall

Once upon a time, there lived a young woman who took great pride in her beautiful flower garden. She loved her flowers and cared for them just like a mother would.

One day, she was flipping through the pages of a flower catalog when her eyes fell upon a plant which immediately caught her attention. The plant had beautiful flowers and it was something she had never seen before.

She immediately ordered the plant. When the plant came, she planted it carefully and took great care of it. It grew vigorously with big leaves all over it but there was no sign of any flower.

Day after day, she cultivated it but to no avail. She began contemplating the idea of removing it. She was truly disappointed.

Just then, her neighbor whose lot joined hers called out to her and thanked her for the beautiful flowers that she had grown. The woman walked over to the gate and the picture-perfect view took her breath away.

It bore the most beautiful flowers ever. The vine had crept into her neighbor’s lawn and flowered brilliantly. She was awestruck.

Moral: Keep working hard. Just because you don’t see the fruits of your labor, doesn’t mean it bore no fruit.

16) Hard work always pays

As the name indicates, this story teaches kids to be hard-working and diligent.

It is a story about two friends Harry and Garry who come to the city to try their luck out. The employer assigns them a job to draw water from a nearby well till dusk.

Harry thinks of it as utterly stupid and doesn’t do anything. Whereas, Garry wholeheartedly keeps on working. As the day grows, Garry becomes extremely tired but still continues his job. After some time, Garry found some gold coins in the basket.

He takes them to his employer who rewards him and gives him the job. Poor H, on the other hand, and gets nothing.

Moral: Hard work is the key to success.

17) The Bear and the two friends

This story teaches us to beware of fake friends.

Once upon a time, two friends had to cross a forest. They knew about the dangers and promised to face everything together.

They started crossing the forest. After some time, they saw a bear coming towards them. One of the friends quickly climbed a nearby tree. But, the other one didn’t know how to climb.

Owing to some quick thinking, he lays down on the ground and holds his breath. The bear reaches him and sniffs him in the ear. Thinking the man is dead, the bear leaves the place.

The other friend now climbs down the tree and asks his friend what the bear said to him. The friend replied, “He cautioned me to be safe from fake friends.”

Moral: Learn to identify true friends from fake friends.

18) Frogs in Milk

The story tells us to never give up, no matter how worse your situation gets. It is important to remember that it is the darkest hour before dawn.

This is a story about two frogs who fall into a vat of milk. They couldn’t get out and were swimming around.

After swimming for an hour or two, one of the frogs says, “It’s no use swimming any longer. We are going to die eventually. We may as well give up.”

The other frog encourages him to stay a little longer, but he gives up and sinks to the bottom of the vat and dies.

However, the other frog continues to struggle. After some time, he notices the milk beneath his feet churning to butter. He becomes very relieved and paddles with a greater velocity. He ultimately jumps out of the vat.

Moral: Never give up. You never know your problem may suddenly turn around.

19) The Brahmin’s gift

This story promotes the spirit of trusting your own instincts even when the world says otherwise.

Once a pious Brahmin was gifted a goat. As he started on his journey home, three conmen hatched a plan to take away the goat from him.

One of the conmen approached him and said, “Sir, why are you carrying a dog over your shoulder?” The Brahmin became angry and said “Are you blind? This is a goat, not a dog”. Saying this, he continued his journey.

The second conman now asked the Brahmin, “You seem to be a wise person. Why are you carrying a dead calf?” The Brahmin was furious and yelled at him, “How stupid can you be to think of a goat as a dead calf!” He was a bit confused but started walking further.

The third cheat walked towards the Brahmin and said, “Sir, why do you carry a donkey on your shoulder?” The Brahmin was completely bewildered. He thought that the goat was some kind of ghost who changed forms.

He got scared to such an extent that he left the goat and ran away.

The three con men laughed at the gullible Brahmin and feasted on the goat. Their plan had worked!

Moral: Do not get carried away by what others say. Always believe in yourself and your instincts.

20) The talking cave

The story of the talking cave teaches kids to always have the presence of mind even in the worst of situations.always have a presence of mind even in the worst of situations.

Once upon a time, an old lion was wandering in the jungle. He had not eaten since two days and was extremely hungry.

All of a sudden, he saw a cave and thought to himself, “Wow! This cave looks habitable. I will hide in the cave and when the occupant would come in, I will gobble him up.”

Saying this, he went inside the cave and hid himself well.

Some hours passed and a fox, who was the inhabitant of the cave, came by. As he was about to enter, he saw footprints of a lion entering in the cave. But there were no footprints coming out of it.

He quickly understood the situation and shouted, “Hello cave! I’m back. Won’t you greet me?” On receiving no response, she shouted once more, “Dear cave, Are you upset with me? If you don’t speak up, I won’t come inside.”

Listening to all this the lion thought that this cave must be a talking one and wasn’t replying due to the fear of the lion.

So, the lion himself shouted, “Oh my dear occupant. Come in. I have been waiting for you.”

The smart fox was quick to realise the lion’s plan. He was pleased with himself and shouted, “Oh! You must be so stupid to think that a cave would talk.”

Saying this, the fox quickly ran away and the lion sat there regretting his stupidity.

Moral: Never lose your presence of mind. It is the best weapon against every problem in life.

Highlighted above are some short moral stories for kids. Moral stories are a great way to impart your kid some good values. Moreover, they help kids to learn how to cope with their feelings and differentiate between right and wrong. As a consequence of which, they grow up to be a responsible citizen.

The moral stories listed here tutor your kid in helpfulness, compassion, kindness, presence of mind, determination among other values.

Now go ahead and read these stories to your kids. Let us know what you think!