Bedtime moral story


Top 10 Stories With A Moral For Kids

Moral stories for kids play an important role as it teaches life lessons in the most interesting way. Such stories help in teaching your child a valuable lesson about how to be a good and considerate person, too.

Moral stories can teach the value of compassion, respect, integrity, and responsibility in a very easy way. Bedtimeshortstories.com has curated some of the stories with a moral for kids which can teach your children valuable lessons through these fun and entertaining tales. Enjoy Reading.

1. The Thirsty Crow

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This is a story about a crow is wandering here and there in search of water. On his way, he sees a pot of water that is half-filled. He tries hard to reach the water but he was not able to do so. Soon, he notices the pebbles on the ground and one by one, he starts to put them in the pot. At once, the level of water reaches the top. The thirsty crow drinks the water and flies happily.

The story tells us that no matter what one should never give up in times of problem. If you will try hard enough, you will soon find a solution to all of the problems. But if you give up, you will automatically lose the best opportunities for the same. Read the full story here.

2. Hare And Tortoise Story

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This is a story of a hare who was very proud of his speed. When he saw a tortoise, he laughed at him because of his slow speed. To teach him a lesson, the tortoise challenged him for a race. As the race began, the hare swiftly ran and reached very far. On the other hand, the tortoise was far behind. The hare decided to take a nap.

The tortoise was walking slowly but steadily. To hare’s surprise, when he woke up, he saw everyone cheering for the tortoise. The tortoise was about to touch the finishing line. The hare tried very hard but the tortoise won the race.

This story teaches us that “Slow and steady wins the race!” Read the full story here.

3. The Wolf And The Seven Little Goats

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This is a story of Mama Goat and her kids who used to live happily. Until one day, a wolf noticed the kids. When Mama goat was going to buy food for her kids, she told their kids to be careful. The wolf was so clever that he painted himself white and changed his voice. In no time, the kids opened the door. One by one, he ate six little goats and left the seventh one because his belly was full.

When Mama Goat returned, she was shocked to see the door open. The youngest kid told about the whole incident. Mama Goat took a scissor, needle, and thread. As the wolf was sleeping, she took out all her kids and filled stones in his tummy. The next morning, when the wolf went to the well to drink water, he could not manage his own weight and fell into the well. Mama Goat and her kids lived happily ever after.

The story helps us to learn many moral values like “Wicked ones are always punished in the end.” “If you will be bad to others, bad will happen to you.” “The children must always obey their parents.” Read the full story here.

4. The Greedy Dog

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This is a story of a stray dog who used to roam street to street in search of food and water. One day while roaming, he found a juicy bone. He held the bone tightly into his mouth and was about to cross the stream. As he looked into the stream, he saw another dog with a bone. He wanted to grab his bone, too. But as he opened his mouth, the bone fell into the stream. Later, he realized that it was his own reflection. He had to go back home hungry.

The story of Greedy Dog conveys some great messages such as “One should not be greedy,” and “Grasp all, lose all! ” Read the full story here.

5. The Honest Woodcutter

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This is a story of two woodcutters named Deena and Soma. Deena was hard-working while Soma was lazy. As Deena went for his usual work, his ax slipped from his hand and fell into the river. He started to cry as this was his only bread and butter. Soon, God appeared and offered to help him. He depicted the whole incident and soon, God took out a golden ax. But Deena said no without any hitch. Then, God presented a silver ax, but Deena again denied it. Finally, God took out his iron ax. Deena was overjoyed and accepted his ax.

God was pleased with his honesty and gave all three axes as a reward for his honesty. Deena sold the golden ax the next day and became rich. But he went to work as usual. When Soma came to know about this, he became jealous of Deena and followed him. When Deena left that place, Soma intentionally dropped his iron ax. He immediately said yes to the golden ax. God took all of his axes and Soma got his lesson.

This story teaches us that “Honesty is the best policy.” Read the full story here.

6. The Lion And The Mouse

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This is the story of a lion who was sleeping in his den. Without realizing it, a mouse began running up and down upon him. The lion became angry and was about to eat him. The poor mouse pleaded before him and promised to return him for this favor. The lion spared him. A few days later, the lion was caught in the hunter’s trap.

The mouse immediately heard the lion’s roar and ran to the lion. The mouse gathered all his friends and all of them began to cut the trap. The lion was finally free from the trap and thanked the mouse. From that day, they were the best of friends.

The moral of this story is “A friend in need is a friend indeed!” Read the full story here.

7. The Two Friends

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This is a story of two friends Sham and Thanu who decided to go to the nearby city for their business. But, they had to cross the forest. While they were crossing the forest, Shaam felt movement behind the bushes. It was a wild bear. Both of them were frightened. Thanu immediately climbed the tree but Shaam didn’t know how to climb it. Shaam felt betrayed. He held his breath and lay on the ground, pretending to be dead.

The bear sniffed him and thought he was dead. Soon the bear left. Thanu jumped off the tree and asked Shaam that what did the bear whispered. To this, Shaam replied, “Don’t be friends with those who are mean.” As a result, Thanu bowed his head down in shame. Shaam walked back to the village.

The story teaches us the great moral, “Never travel with a friend who deserts you at the approach of danger. ” Read the full story here.

8. Fox And Grapes

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This is a story about a fox who lived in a forest. Near the forest, there was a vineyard. One day, while the fox was searching for food, he passed through the vineyard. He didn’t know what exactly it was. As he came closer, he realized that it was grapes.  As he looked at the grapevine, he drooled. No matter how much he tried, but his effort was futile. He decided to take a rest for some time.

He concluded that the grapes might be sour. Just because he was unable to reach the grapes, he started to make excuses, and soon he gave up. He was very hungry but just because he didn’t try further, he had to sleep empty stomach that night.

This story gives a great moral life lesson. “You will not achieve your goal if you give up by making excuses!” Read the full story here.

9. Elephant And Ant Story

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This is a story about an elephant who was very proud of its size. He would always underestimate the small animals. There was an anthill near the elephant’s home. The elephant sprinkled the water on the ants to show off his strength. The ants cried but the elephant only laughed and told them to stop crying or else he would crush him to death. One of the ants decided to teach him a lesson.

He went straight into the elephant’s trunk and started biting him. The elephant became restless and cried in pain. The elephant apologized for being so selfish and promised to be kind to all the animals. From that day, he never teased small animals.

The story teaches us that one should not be proud of his size. Even small things can defeat big things in life. It also teaches us that what seems to be a disadvantage at one time proves to be advantageous at another time. Read the full story here.

10. The Hidden Treasure

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This is the story of a farmer who had four lazy sons. As the farmer was old, he was worried about his son’s future. He called his son before he died and told them that there was treasure hidden in the farmland. They dug the whole farm but could not find anything. A passerby was crossing from the farm and suggested planting some seed. To this, the lazy sons agreed. Soon, the seeds grew into healthy crops.

They sold the crops in the market and earned a handsome amount in return. The brothers understood that this was the treasure their father was talking about. Finally, they realized nothing in life came free of cost, hard work was required to gain something. The four brothers overcame their laziness and worked hard for their future.

The story teaches us many life lessons such as “Hard work along with teamwork leads to success,” “Hard work always pays off,” “No pain, no gain,” and “The pain you feel today will be the strength you need tomorrow. ” Read the full story here.

If you loved this collection of Stories With The Moral For Kids, don’t forget to share it with your friends. Thanks for reading!

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40 Panchatantra Moral Stories for Kids for School Competitions & Bedtime

The Panchatantra collection of short stories was written in Sanskrit by Indian scholar and author, Vishnu Sharma, between 1200 CE – 300 CE. Some scholars also believe that it was written in around 3 CE. Panchatantra stories are one of the most widely translated books in the history and are known for their wisdom on practical life. The stories themselves are delightfully narrated, with animals and birds often being the central characters. Thus they provide valuable life lessons in a light-hearted manner. While some of the stories may not be appropriate for children in this age group, most of them appeal to early stage learners, due to the colorful characters.

Here we list the most famous stories from the Panchatantra for kids. These stories can be used by parents, teachers and children for storytelling sessions, role plays, moral educations classes, school competitions etc.

1. The Monkey and the Crocodile

The most popular and most widely narrated of the Panchatantra stories. The monkey and crocodile become friends, but the crocodile’s wicked wife has other intentions. She wants to eat the monkey’s heart! Read the complete story here.

Moral of the story: Choose your friends wisely.

Kids love the monkey who saves his skin from a deceitful friend through quick thinking. The story teaches kids the importance of choosing the right friends and also possessing presence of mind. Both of these are valuable lessons for your toddlers as they set out to meet their first friends at school.

2. The Stork and the Crab

An old stork finds an easier way of hunting fishes. He promises them that he will take them safely to a bigger lake, with lots of water; but instead carries them to a rock where he kills and eats them. However, he soon meets his match in the form of the crab. How? Read it here.

Moral of the story: A sharp mind is the greatest strength.

Another story that teaches the importance of choosing the right friends and also the importance of the presence of mind. Kids will love the crab that turns a hero for all the fish in the tank by killing the bad stork.

  • Also Read: How Storytelling Can Benefit Teenagers
3. The Loyal Mongoose

The Loyal Mongoose which was killed by a woman Panchatantra Story

“Think before you act” ! Once a loyal mongoose is left to guard his master’s sleeping infant. When the mongoose sees a snake coming to bite the infant, he attacks and kills the viper. The farmer’s wife, who has not seen the snake and mongoose fight, sees the blood on the mongoose’s mouth on returning home and expects the worst. She kills the mongoose in a fit of anger, only to realize her mistake later. [Complete Story]

Moral of the story: Think before you act.

The message is conveyed in a brutal yet effective manner. Although kids rarely think before they act, it never harms to start teaching them this habit early.

4. The Brahmin’s Dream

Building castles in the air never gets you anywhere. Once a poor Brahmin (pious man) is gifted a pot of flour. He returns home and daydreams about all that he will achieve with a pot of flour. Only to wake up in the end, and find himself surrounded by broken pieces of the earthen pot and covered in flour!

Here is the complete tale.

Moral of the story: Do not build castles in the air. They will fall.

The story is full of actions and sounds; enact it to your kids and they will love it. On a serious note, it will remind kids that hard work is more important than day-dreaming.

  • Buy the Complete collection of 365 Panchatantra short stories in English from Amazon (IN) and Amazon.com.

 

5. Union is Strength

Long ago, there lived a flock of pigeons in a dense forest. One day all the pigeons were caught in a hunter’s net. How did they get out? By being united of course. Flap, flap your wings and fly away! Read the complete story here.

Moral of the story: Unity is strength.

This story is as much for adults as for kids, serving as a reminder that the greatest obstacles can be overcome by staying united. Kids at this age have their first encounter with the outside world. You can stress how important it is to stay together and not discriminate.

6. The Cat’s Judgement

A partridge and a rabbit get into an argument. They decide to find a third person to settle their argument and come across a praying cat…Read this story to find out what happened next (Hint: It’s not so difficult to guess!)

Moral of the story: Never trust a stranger, even though he may seem very friendly.

7. The Tiger, The Brahmin and The Jackal

Once a tiger promises a brahmin to set him free from his cage, promising him no harm. But once free, the tiger tells the brahmin that he is hungry and would he should prepare for death. When the brahmin pleads the tiger to spare his life, the tiger agrees to abide by the decision of the first three things the Brahmin chose to question as to the justice of the tiger’s action. The brahmin asks a tree, a buffalo and a jackal. Find what happens next.

8. The Elephants and the Mice

A herd of elephants looking for water pass through a deserted city, populated only by mice. The mice, afraid of being trampled by the large herd, request the elephants to take a different path, a request their leader graciously agrees. Years later, the mice hear of the elephants that the King’s hunters have captured for his army, and rush to help them. They gnaw at the ropes tying the elephants and set them free.

Tell your child the importance of standing up for your friends just as the mice stood by their friends, the elephants, and saved them from the King’s hunters.

Moral of the story: A friend in need is a friend indeed.

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Instructive tales - read fairy tales online

Fairy tales are the very first "textbooks" for kids. Gently pushing the child's imagination, they teach how to cope with emotions and, in an unobtrusive playful way, help to learn the moral norms and principles accepted in our society. Listening to fairy tales, the child learns about good and evil, about the difficult ethical choice that sometimes confronts the heroes, and about possible ways to solve it. And, depending on what exactly you want to explain to the child, you should choose a fairy tale with a suitable plot for reading at night. It is even more useful after reading to discuss the behavior of the characters and make sure that the child correctly understood the essence of the tale.

Short tales, Instructive tales, Tales for girls, Tales for children 3-6 years old, Tales for boys, Tales from Nosova N.N., Tales about children

One winter, Fedya Rybkin came from the skating rink. There was no one at home. Fedya's younger sister, Rina, has already done her homework and went to play with her friends. Mother also left somewhere. - That's good! Fedya said. At least no one will interfere with doing homework. He turned on the TV, took out a task book from his bag, and began …

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Instructive tales, Tales for children 3-6 years old, Tales for boys, Tales of Nosova N.N.

Anyone who has read the book "The Adventure of Dunno" knows that Dunno had many friends - little people like him. Among them were two mechanics - Vintik and Shpuntik, who were very fond of making different things. One day they decided to build a vacuum cleaner to clean the room. They made a round metal box from two halves. An electric motor was placed in one half ...

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Instructive tales, Tales for girls, Tales for children 3-6 years old, Tales for boys, Tales of Nosova N.N., Tales about children

There lived a little girl named Ninochka. She was only five years old. She had a father, mother and an old grandmother, whom Ninochka called granny. Ninochka's mother went to work every day, and Ninochka's grandmother stayed with her. She taught Ninochka how to dress, how to wash, how to fasten buttons on her bra, how to lace up shoes, how to braid braids, and even …

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Instructive tales, Tales for children 3-6 years old, Tales for children 7-11 years old, Tales about animals, Tales of Tsyferov G.M.

Do not be surprised, please, that a whole fairy tale is dedicated to the little Insect. Yes, Bukashke. The most ordinary. So tiny that they even forgot to give her a name. Why is she famous? More on that later. And first - about the dream. After all, everyone has their own dream. Is not it? For example, striped tiger cub really wants to fly. But he doesn't have wings. Zebra …

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Short tales, Instructive tales, Fairy tales in verse, Tales of Mikhalkov S.A.

Along the steep mountain path A black lamb was walking home And on the bridge with a hunchback He met his white brother. And the white lamb said: "Brother, here's the thing: You can't go through here together, You're standing in my way." The black brother replied: "Me, are you out of your mind, ram? May my feet wither if I go out of my way!” One shook his horns, He rested his feet on the other... No matter how you turn your horns, But you can't get through together. The sun bakes from above, ...

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Short tales, Fairy tale cars, Instructive tales, Tales for girls, Tales for children 3-6 years old, Tales for kids, Tales for boys, Tales of Prokofieva S. L.

Once upon a time there were two girls in the world. One girl was named Masha, and the other was Zoya. Masha loved to do everything herself. She eats her own soup. She drinks milk from a cup. She puts the toys in the box herself. But Zoya herself does not want to do anything and only says: - Oh, I don’t want to! Oh, I can't! Oh, I won't! All "oh" yes "oh"! …

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Instructive tales, Tales for children 11 years old and older, Tales for children 7-11 years old, Tales about children, Tales of Schwartz E. L.

Once upon a time there was a boy named Petya Zubov. He studied in the third grade of the fourteenth school and always lagged behind, both in Russian writing, and in arithmetic, and even in singing. - I'll make it! he said at the end of the first quarter. - In the second I will catch up with you all. And the second came - he hoped for a third. So he was late yes …

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Instructive tales, Tales for children 3-6 years old, Tales for children 7-11 years old, Tales about animals, Tales about an elephant

You probably know that elephants live in Africa - the largest animals on earth. They are not only famous for this: little elephants are the most polite, most obedient children in the savannah. In order not to get lost and not to upset mom and dad, the baby elephant on a walk always holds on to his mother's tail with his little trunk. But today we will tell you about one …

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Short tales, Instructive tales, Tales for girls, Tales for children 3-6 years old, Tales for boys, Tales of Nosov N. N., Tales about children

The guys worked all day - they built a snow hill in the yard. They raked snow with shovels and dumped it under the wall of the barn in a pile. The hill was ready only for dinner. The guys poured water on it and ran home for dinner. “Let’s have lunch,” they said, “while the hill freezes over.” And in the afternoon we will come with a sled and will …

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Short tales, Fairy tale cars, Instructive tales, Fairy tales for kids, Fairy tales by Prokofieva S. L.

Masha went to bed and asked: - Mom, give me a pacifier! I won't sleep without a pacifier. Then the night bird Owl flew into the room. — Wow! Wow! So big, but you suck on the pacifier. There are hares in the forest, squirrels smaller than you. They need a pacifier. The Owl Machine grabbed a pacifier and carried it far, far away - across the field, across the road into the dense forest. …

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Short bedtime stories for children

What do older children remember? Rare moments of trust and open dialogue with parents.


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