Top 10 famous kids stories with moral
Why tell kids stories?
- Kids stories are a great way to teach children the life lessons you want them to learn. Great stories allow children to explore and think about love, hate, jealousy, kindness, power, good and evil.
- Kids stories stimulate children’s imagination and their use of language.
- Kids stories can transport and connect them to the lives of people they’ve never known, who come from long ago and places far away.
How to tell kids stories
- Respect storytelling as both an art and a science.
- Make sure you’re emotionally expressive and excited while you’re reading the story.
- Use actions and exhibit positive and happy body language, too.
- Read quotes by different characters in different voices and make your kid laugh!
- Pick your moments to tell them these stories.
- It can be during bedtime while traveling while spending time out with your child, when they’re eating, etc.
- Read the stories in English, in their second language, and even in a third language sometimes.
- You can include words from different languages when you’re reading stories from different cultures to them!
The thirsty crow - story
- Where there is a will there is a way.
- Never lose hope, think, and work hard, you may find a solution to any problem. We should never give up at any cost.
- Necessity is the mother of invention.
The Hare & the Tortoise - Story
A Hare was making fun of the Tortoise one day for being so slow.
"Do you ever get anywhere?" he asked with a mocking laugh.
"Yes," replied the Tortoise, "and I get there sooner than you think. I'll run you a race and prove it."
The Hare was much amused at the idea of running a race with the Tortoise, but for the fun of the thing, he agreed. So the Fox, who had consented to act as judge, marked the distance and started the runners off.
The Hare was soon far out of sight, and to make the Tortoise feel very deeply how ridiculous it was for him to try a race with a Hare, he lay down beside the course to take a nap until the Tortoise should catch up.
The Tortoise meanwhile kept going slowly but steadily, and, after a time, passed the place where the Hare was sleeping. But the Hare slept on very peacefully; and when at last he did wake up, the Tortoise was near the goal. The Hare now ran his swiftest, but he could not overtake the Tortoise in time.
Moral of the story: The race is not always to the swift.
The Boy who cried wolf - Story
Once, there was a boy who became bored when he watched over the village sheep grazing on the hillside. To entertain himself, he sang out, “Wolf! Wolf! The wolf is chasing the sheep!”
When the villagers heard the cry, they came running up the hill to drive the wolf away. But, when they arrived, they saw no wolf. The boy was amused when seeing their angry faces.
“Don’t scream wolf, boy,” warned the villagers, “when there is no wolf!” They angrily went back down the hill.
Later, the shepherd boy cried out once again, “Wolf! Wolf! The wolf is chasing the sheep!” To his amusement, he looked on as the villagers came running up the hill to scare the wolf away.
As they saw there was no wolf, they said strictly, “Save your frightened cry for when there really is a wolf! Don’t cry ‘wolf’ when there is no wolf!” But the boy grinned at their words while they walked grumbling down the hill once more.
Later, the boy saw a real wolf sneaking around his flock. Alarmed, he jumped on his feet and cried out as loud as he could, “Wolf! Wolf!” But the villagers thought he was fooling them again, and so they didn’t come to help.
At sunset, the villagers went looking for the boy who hadn’t returned with their sheep. When they went up the hill, they found him weeping.
“There really was a wolf here! The flock is gone! I cried out, ‘Wolf!’ but you didn’t come,” he wailed.
An old man went to comfort the boy. As he put his arm around him, he said, “Nobody believes a liar, even when he is telling the truth!”
Moral of the story: Lying breaks trust, even if you’re telling the truth, no one believes a liar.
The Bundle Of Sticks - Story
Once upon a time, there was an old man who lived in a village with his three sons. Although his three sons were hard workers, they quarreled all the time. The old man tried to unite them but failed.
Months passed by, and the old man became sick. He asked his sons to remain united, but they failed to listen to him. At that moment, the old man decided to teach them a lesson — to forget their differences and come together in unity.
The old man summoned his sons, then proceeded to tell them, “I will provide you with a bundle of sticks. Separate each stick, and then break each into two. The one who finishes first will be rewarded more than the others.”
And so, the sons agreed. The old man provided them with a bundle of ten sticks each and then asked the sons to break each stick into pieces. The sons broke the sticks within minutes, then proceeded to quarrel among themselves again.
The old man said, “My dear sons, the game is not yet over. I will now give you another bundle of sticks. Only this time, you will have to break them together as a bundle, not separately.”
The sons readily agreed and then tried to break the bundle. Despite trying their best, they could not break the sticks. The sons told their father of their failure.
The old man said, “My dear sons, see! Breaking every single stick individually was easy for you, but breaking them in a bundle, you could not do. By staying united, nobody can harm you. If you continue to quarrel, then anyone can quickly defeat you.”
The old man continued, “I ask that you stay united.” Then, the three sons understood there’s power in unity, and promised their father they would all stay together.
Moral of the story: There’s strength in unity.The Ants & the Grasshopper - Story
One bright day in late autumn a family of Ants was bustling about in the warm sunshine, drying out the grain they had stored up during the summer, when a starving Grasshopper, his fiddle under his arm, came up and humbly begged for a bite to eat.
"What!" cried the Ants in surprise, "haven't you stored anything away for the winter? What in the world were you doing all last summer?"
"I didn't have time to store up any food," whined the Grasshopper; "I was so busy making music that before I knew it the summer was gone."
The Ants shrugged their shoulders in disgust.
"Making music, were you?" they cried. "Very well; now dance!" And they turned their backs on the Grasshopper and went on with their work.
Moral of the story: There's a time for work and a time for play.
The Monkey And The Crocodile Story
There was a monkey that lived on a berry tree on the riverbank. He ate the delicious berries every day.
Once, he saw a crocodile rest under the tree who looked tired and hungry. He gave the crocodile some berries.
The crocodile thanked the monkey. Soon, they became best friends. The monkey gave the crocodile berries every day.
One day, the monkey gave the crocodile extra berries to take home to his wife.
His wife, a wicked crocodile, enjoyed the sweet berries, but then told her husband that she wanted to eat the monkey’s heart as that would be sweeter!
The crocodile was upset at first but decided to give in to his wife’s wishes.
The next day, he told the monkey that his wife invited the monkey home for dinner.
As the crocodile carried the monkey on his back across the river, he told him about his wife’s plan to eat his heart.
The monkey, being smart, told the crocodile that he left his heart on the berry tree and needed to get it.
The crocodile foolishly took him back to the berry tree. On reaching, the monkey climbed onto the tree.
“Who will keep the heart on a tree? You have betrayed my trust. We can never be friends again!” the monkey told his friend.
Sad after losing his friend, the crocodile swims back to his wicked wife.
Moral of the story:
Choose your friends and the people you trust wisely. Moreover, never betray the trust of someone who trusts you.
Elephants and the King of Mice - Story
There was a village which was ruined by a strong earthquake. With the houses and the streets shattered, the villagers abandoned the village to settle elsewhere.
Despite being shattered, the vacant houses of this village had become homes for a large number of mice. The mice found the place very comfortable and grew in numbers after some time.
There was a lake on the outskirts of the village, where a herd of elephants used to visit regularly to drink water and bathe. These elephants used to travel through the abandoned village to reach the lake.
But as the herd of elephants travelled through the abandoned village, every day many mice got trampled. This posed a problem for the mice. So, the king of mice decided to confront the elephants and request them to act accordingly.
The next day, as the herd of elephants approached, the king of mice met the elephants cordially and said, "O Sirs, we live in the ruins of this abandoned village and as you travel through this village, every day many mice get trampled. Therefore, I request you to change your route to the lake. If you do so, I shall remember to return the favor in your time of need."
At this, the king of elephants laughed, "O King of Mice, there will be no such favor that we, the giant elephants, will require from you, small mice. However, I will honor your request and we will change the route to the lake from today. You will not have to worry about any danger caused by us anymore."
The king of mice thanked the king of the elephants for his consideration, and the herd of elephants never entered the village anymore.
After some time, the herd of elephants fell into traps set by elephant-hunters. Many of the elephants, including their king, got entangled in the nets. They struggled hard but could not set themselves free from the strong nets.
Suddenly, the king of the elephants remembered the promise of the king of mice. He summoned another elephant who had not got trapped to remind the king of mice of his promise and plea for help on his behalf.
As soon as the elephant informed the king of mice of the situation, the king of mice summoned all mice at once. He said, "Now is the time for us to return the favor of the elephants. We should go immediately"
And so, the elephant brought the mice to the place where the other elephants had been trapped. All the mice started nibbling on the strong nets and cut them loose.
The elephants broke loose from the nets and were grateful to be free again. The king of elephants thanked the king of mice for his timely help and became great friends thereafter.
Moral: Never underestimate anybody by their appearances.
The Golden Egg - Story
Once upon a time, there lived a poor farmer in a village with his wife. One day, the farmer bought a goose thinking that the goose will lay eggs that he can eat and sell the remaining. He took the goose home and made a nest for it to lay eggs.
The next day morning, the farmer went to the nest to check if the goose has laid any eggs. To his surprise, the goose had laid a golden egg. The farmer went to the town and sold the golden egg for a good price. The goose started laying a golden egg every day. The farmer sold those eggs and made a good fortune. As the farmer started becoming richer and richer by selling the golden he became more greedy too.
One day, while the farmer and his wife were talking, his wife said: "If we could get all the eggs that are inside the goose we could be richer faster”.
"You are right," said the farmer, " we wouldn't have to wait for the goose to lay her egg every day."
So, the couple decided to cut open the goose and get the gold mine inside the goose all at once. The Goose that laid Golden Eggs
The next day, they went to the nest and killed the goose and cut her open only to find that she was just like every other goose. She didn’t have any golden eggs inside her.
Now, the farmer and his wife had lost the goose and they would never get any golden eggs again.
Moral: Too much greed always leads to great loss.
The Woodcutter and the Golden Axe Story
There was once a woodcutter, working hard in the forest, getting wood to sell for some food. As he was cutting a tree, his axe accidentally fell into the river. The river was deep and was flowing really fast – he lost his axe and could not find it again. He sat at the bank of the river and wept.
While he wept, the God of the river arose and asked him what happened. The woodcutter told him the story. The God of the river offered to help him by looking for his axe. He disappeared into the river and retrieved a golden axe, but the woodcutter said it was not his. He disappeared again and came back with a silver axe, but the woodcutter said that was not his either. The God disappeared into the water again and came back with an iron axe – the woodcutter smiled and said it was his. The God was impressed with the woodcutter’s honesty and gifted him both the golden and silver axes.
Moral of the Story: Honesty is the best policy.
The Golden Touch - Story
There was a very powerful king named Midas. He was greedier than he was powerful. He plundered all countries around his kingdom. Once, while he was worshipping, a deity appeared and said, "Hey king, I am pleased with your prayers. Ask for any wish and I shall grant that."
The greedy king humbly replied, "Thank you Deity. Grant me a boon that whatever I touch shall turn into gold."With a smile, the deity said, "With a smile, the deity said, "so shall it be. From now on whatever you touch shall turn into gold."
Midas returned to his place filled with joy. He wanted to test his new power. He touched a pillar. The entire palace turned into gold." From then on, whatever he touched turned into gold. Although Midas was happy at first his happiness did not last in hunger, if touched his food, that too turned into gold. The water turned into gold in his touch. Fruits turned into gold. He could not touch anything or anyone - even those whom he loved so much. Once his daughter ran to him in affection and hugged him. Aias, she too turned into gold. It was then that Midas felt very sorry for his greed. He knelt down and started to weep and weep in repentance. The deity appeared and asked, "Midas, aren't you happy with your power. Everything turns into gold. Isn't this what you wanted!" "Please don't tease me," cried Midas. " I don't want this power anymore. I want to be a normal man. Gone are my cruelty and greed. I want to be a new king who is kind and understanding," he continued. The deity took away his power. Midas ruled his kingdom with justice and love. He became a noble king to his people.
Moral: Greed is the root cause of misery