50 short moral stories in English for children

How to use these

Read one at bedtime, or one at a time in the car, or let an older child read them to a younger one — which is the best use of the lot, because the reader gets more out of it than the listener.

Do not explain the moral before the story. Ask afterwards what the child thinks it means; the answers are usually better than the printed moral and always more interesting.

Most of these come from the Panchatantra, the Jataka tales, Akbar and Birbal, and Tenali Rama — stories that have been told in India for well over a thousand years and were designed exactly for this purpose.

Animal fables (1-15)

1. The thirsty crow. A crow found a pot with a little water at the bottom, too low to reach. It dropped in pebbles one by one until the water rose to the top, and drank. Moral: think, and small efforts add up.

2. The lion and the mouse. A lion spared a mouse who begged for its life. Weeks later, trapped in a hunter's net, the lion was freed by that same mouse gnawing the ropes. Moral: no one is too small to help you.

3. The monkey and the crocodile. A monkey befriended a crocodile who later tried to carry him off to be eaten. The monkey said his heart was left behind on the tree — and the crocodile swam back. Moral: presence of mind beats brute strength.

4. The blue jackal. A jackal fell into a dyer's vat, came out blue, and convinced the forest he was their king — until one night he howled with the other jackals and was recognised. Moral: a false identity gives itself away.

5. The tortoise and the geese. Two geese carried a tortoise on a stick he held in his mouth. Told not to speak, he opened his mouth to answer a jeering crowd and fell. Moral: know when not to talk.

6. The hare and the tortoise. The hare, confident of winning, slept mid-race. The tortoise kept walking and won. Moral: steady beats fast and careless.

7. The four friends. A deer, crow, mouse and tortoise took turns rescuing each other from hunters and traps. Moral: friends of different strengths are a whole set of tools.

8. The greedy dog. Carrying a bone across a stream, a dog saw his reflection, thought it was another dog with a bigger bone, barked — and lost his own. Moral: greed loses what you already have.

9. The clever hare and the lion. A hare led a bullying lion to a well, told him his rival lived inside, and watched the lion leap at his own reflection. Moral: intelligence can defeat power.

10. The bell and the demon. A thief dropped a bell near a town and monkeys began ringing it at night. The townspeople were certain a demon had come and stopped going out — until one old woman went to look, found the monkeys, and ended the terror in an afternoon. Moral: fear grows in the dark and shrinks when somebody goes and looks.

11. The talkative tortoise. Warned to stay silent, a tortoise argued with everyone he met and lost his home. Moral: not every remark deserves an answer.

12. The mice and the elephants. Elephants spared a colony of mice; later the mice gnawed through the ropes of the trappers' nets and freed the herd. Moral: kindness is repaid in unexpected currency.

13. The crane and the crab. A cunning crane ferried fish from a drying pond and ate them, until a crab worked out the trick and dealt with the crane. Moral: the trickster is eventually out-thought.

14. The bullocks and the lion. Three bullocks who stayed together were safe; when a jackal set them against each other, the lion took them one by one. Moral: division is what defeats you.

15. The wise old bird. A young flock ignored an old bird's warning to destroy a creeper before it grew into rope; they were caught in nets made from it. Moral: deal with a small problem early.

Jataka and wisdom tales (16-28)

16. The monkey king's bridge. A monkey king stretched his own body across a gap so his troop could cross to safety, and died of the strain. Moral: leadership is what you carry, not what you are given.

17. The banyan deer. A deer offered its own life in place of a pregnant doe's; the king, shamed by the courage, spared the whole herd. Moral: one act of courage can change a rule.

18. The elephant and the blind men. Six blind men each touched a different part of an elephant and each insisted he alone knew what it was. Moral: everyone's truth is partial.

19. The two pots. A brass pot invited a clay pot to travel with it down the river; the clay pot declined, knowing one knock would end it. Moral: know your own strength honestly.

20. The woodcutter and the axe. A woodcutter who lost his axe in a river was offered gold and silver axes by a river spirit and refused both, claiming only his own. He was given all three. Moral: honesty is noticed.

21. The golden goose. A goose gave one golden feather at a time; the family, impatient, plucked all its feathers at once and got nothing. Moral: greed kills the source.

22. The mango tree and the boy. A tree gave a boy fruit, branches and trunk across his life, asking nothing. Moral: notice what is given quietly, before it is a stump.

23. The two travellers and the bear. One climbed a tree and left his friend; the other lay still and survived. Asked what the bear had whispered, he said: never travel with a man who abandons you. Moral: friendship is measured in trouble.

24. The salt seller's donkey. A donkey learned to fall in the river so his salt load dissolved; his master switched the load to cotton. Moral: cleverness used lazily rebounds.

25. The farmer and the well. A man sold a well but not the water in it, then demanded rent; Birbal ruled he must remove his water or pay rent for storing it. Moral: a clever contract meets a cleverer judge.

26. The stone soup. A traveller began boiling a stone; villagers each added one ingredient until it became a feast for everyone. Moral: a small start invites everyone in.

27. The old man and his sons. He asked each to break a bundle of sticks — none could — then broke them one by one. Moral: together is stronger.

28. The ant and the grasshopper. The ant stored food all summer; the grasshopper sang. Winter came. Moral: enjoy today and plan for tomorrow — the story works best when both halves are said.

Akbar, Birbal and Tenali Rama (29-40)

29. The shortest line. Akbar drew a line and asked Birbal to shorten it without touching it. Birbal drew a longer line beside it. Moral: rise rather than pull others down.

30. The crow count. Asked how many crows were in the city, Birbal named a number and added that if there were more, some were visiting relatives, and if fewer, some had gone travelling. Moral: confidence answers what precision cannot.

31. The pot of wit. Asked to fetch a pot of wit, Birbal sent a farmer who told the emperor that wit grows in the head, not the field. Moral: some errands are questions in disguise.

32. The three questions. Birbal answered where the centre of the earth was by planting a stick and inviting anyone to measure otherwise. Moral: an unanswerable question can be answered with confidence and a stick.

33. The most beautiful child. Asked whose child was loveliest, Birbal said every mother's own. Moral: some truths are universal and safe.

34. The stolen necklace. Birbal gave each suspect a stick, saying the thief's would grow overnight; in the morning one stick had been cut shorter. Moral: guilt does the work for you.

35. The man in the cold pond. A poor man stood all night in cold water for a reward; when refused on a technicality, Birbal cooked rice above a distant fire to make the point. Moral: a fair argument is best made visibly.

36. Tenali and the cat. Ordered to keep cats to catch rats, villagers were given cats and milk; Tenali's cat refused milk after one hot bowl. Moral: a bad first experience teaches for a lifetime — go gently.

37. Tenali and the thieves. Overhearing thieves, Tenali announced loudly that his valuables were in the well; the thieves emptied it and watered his field for him. Moral: turn an attack into labour.

38. Tenali and the flatterers. Asked who loved the king most, Tenali proved that the courtiers' devotion vanished when a small risk appeared. Moral: praise is cheap; test it.

39. The half-truth. Asked to bring the most useful and most harmful thing, Tenali brought the tongue for both. Moral: the same tool builds and destroys.

40. The gift of brinjals. Tenali praised brinjals when the king did and abused them when the king turned against them, saying he served the king, not the vegetable. Moral: notice whose opinion you are actually holding.

Everyday stories for small children (41-50)

41. The broken cup. A boy hid a cup he broke; the family blamed the cat until he owned up, and nothing happened except relief. Moral: telling the truth is smaller than the fear of telling it.

42. The seed and the patience. A girl planted a seed and dug it up daily to check. Her grandmother planted one beside it and left it alone. Only one grew. Moral: some things need time, not attention.

43. The shared tiffin. A boy with no lunch was fed by four classmates, each giving a little. Nobody went hungry. Moral: a small share from many costs nobody much.

44. The lost dog. Two children argued over who found a stray first, until it walked home to its own family. Moral: not everything you find is yours.

45. The last laddoo. A brother and sister each insisted the other take the last sweet, and it sat until their mother cut it in half. Moral: fairness usually has an obvious answer nobody wants to say first.

46. The new boy. A class ignored a new boy until one girl sat beside him; by the week's end he had friends. Moral: it takes one person to start.

47. The homework promise. A boy who did his homework first and played after found he enjoyed playing more. Moral: the order of two things changes how both feel.

48. The old woman's bag. A child carried a stranger's bag up the stairs and was thanked; years later a stranger carried his. Moral: kindness circulates.

49. The rainy walk. A father and child walked home in the rain instead of waiting, and it became the day they both remembered. Moral: the plan going wrong is often the story you keep.

50. The two brothers and the mango tree. Told to share the fruit of one tree, they took turns and the tree lasted; a neighbour's children fought over theirs and broke it. Moral: sharing preserves the thing you are sharing.

Frequently asked questions

Q: What age are these for? — Most suit three to ten. Under five, tell them in your own words and keep them short; over seven, let the child read and retell them.

Q: Should I always state the moral? — Ask first. A child who works it out remembers it; a child who is told it remembers being told. The printed moral is for the parent, not the recitation.

Q: My child asks for the same story every night. — Repetition is how young children absorb story structure and language. Let it run; the phase ends on its own.

Q: Are these Indian stories or Aesop's? — Both. The Panchatantra and Jataka tales are Indian and among the oldest story collections in the world; several travelled west and are now known in Aesop's versions. A few of the everyday ones here are simply stories that work.