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Stories help students shape their beliefs, values and attitudes. It helps children learn valuable life lessons, develop empathy, improve their language skills and expand their imagination. The engaging nature of stories easily attracts children’s attention, so you can use this wonderful tool to teach them moral values and skills. Here is our list of 10 short stories for kids that can help your children learn a lot of things.

1. The boy who cried wolf

Once, a farmer asked his son to take the sheep herd to the pasture daily. The child used to get bored while watching the sheep, as he had nothing to do. One day an idea came to his mind, and he shouted, “Wolf Wolf” hearing this, all the men of the village came running with sticks to frighten the wolf and chase him away, but found no wolf. The boy was standing there laughing at them.

After a few days, he did the same thing, and the villagers again came to help but found that the boy had duped them. The next day, the boy saw an actual wolf and shouted, “Wolf Wolf”, but no one came to his help because they thought he was lying. That day, the wolf took many of his sheep, and some of his sheep fled away.

Moral of the story:- People will not trust you if you keep lying, so always be truthful.

2. The hunter and the pigeons

This story is taken from Panchatantra.

Long ago, a flock of pigeons lived in a dense forest. In the flock, there was an old but wise pigeon who was loved and respected by all pigeons. The pigeons used to search the jungle for food during the day.

However, as soon as they started eating the rice grain, they got trapped in a net which was laid by a hunter. In a panic, everyone tried to pull the net in their direction, but it didn’t help them. The wise pigeon who was sitting on the branch instructed them to fly up together with the net. Pigeons did that, and they got released.

Moral of the story:- This story teaches we can overcome the greatest obstacles in life if we work together.

3. The fox and the stork

Once there was a fox and a stork. The fox was selfish and used to laugh at the appearance of the stork. One day he invited the stork for dinner at his home. The stork accepted the invitation and reached on time with a good appetite.

Fox invited her inside and served soup in a shallow bowl. The stork could not drink the soup from the bowl with his long beak. However, the fox licked all the soup without hesitation. The next day, the stork invited the fox for dinner and served the soup in a narrow vase from which the fox could not drink. While the fox looked at the vase, the stork enjoyed the dinner.

Moral of the story: If you want to be treated well by others, first treat them well.

4. The three little pigs

Once, three little pigs were sent out to the world by their mother to learn new things. All of them decided to build a house on their own.

The first pig was lazy, so he built a house of straw. The second pig was not so lazy and built a house of sticks. The third pig was hard-working and built a house of bricks and stone.

One day, a wolf came to hunt and attack them. The first pig dashed into his house, which the wolf blew by huffing and puffing. He ran into the second pig’s home, which the wolf again blew. Both ran into the third pig’s house. The wolf huffed and puffed a lot, but he could do nothing. So, he ran away and never came back.

Moral of the story: The story highlights that hard work always pays off and one should avoid shortcuts. Best nursery schools in Baddi teach children several valuable lessons through storytelling.

5. The loyal mongoose

This story is again taken from Panchatantra.

Once a man left his mongoose with his sleeping infant, thinking he would protect his son. While the mongoose was watching over the baby, he saw a snake coming towards the infant to bite him. The loyal mongoose fought with the snake to protect the baby and eventually killed him. When the man's wife arrived at the house, she noticed blood in the mongoose's mouth and assumed he had attacked her son. In a rage, she killed the mongoose and later found her son was safe and a dead snake on the floor. Although she realised her mistake, it was already too late. The loyal mongoose was no more.

Moral of the story: Though it brutally depicts the message, it helps children understand the importance of thinking before acting. And it is worth teaching these qualities to children.

6. The tortoise and the hare

Tortoise and the Hare is an extremely popular story.

Once upon a time, there lived a rabbit who was too proud of his speed and kept bragging about it to other animals. One day, he made fun of the tortoise's slow speed. The tortoise challenged him to race, which the rabbit accepted as he was confident of his abilities.

When the race began, the rabbit sprinted so quickly that he quickly vanished from view. The rabbit decided to nap because he believed he had plenty of time. The turtle persisted, gradually caught up to the hare, and crossed the finish line. The rabbit realised what had happened when he awoke. The tortoise was declared the winner, and the hare learnt a valuable lesson.

Moral of the story: Success requires more than just natural talent; it also takes dedication and hard work.

Note: Do not forget to tell your children that rabbits move quickly while a tortoise walks slowly.

7. The ant and the grasshopper

In a jungle, there was an ant and a grasshopper. They both were friends, but both had different personalities. The grasshopper thought little about the future and played the guitar all day, while the ant was hardworking and would collect food for winter.

The grasshopper often told the ant to take a break and enjoy the warm weather. Soon the weather grew cold, and food became scarce. The grasshopper stored nothing, so he had nothing to eat. He remembered the ant and went to his home. The ant invited him inside and served him food. All this made the grasshopper realise the importance of hard work.

Moral of the story: It highlights the importance of working/ preparing for the future and teaches kindness. This story is in the curriculum of most international public schools in India.

8. The goose and the golden eggs

Once there was a farmer who had a goose that laid golden eggs. The farmers sold the golden eggs to the market daily and soon became rich. But the farmer soon became impatient because one egg wasn't making him wealthy quickly enough. One day, he thought he could get all the eggs if he cut the goose's stomach. But as soon as he did that, he found nothing inside, and his goose was dead.

Moral of the story: One should remain content with what they have. This story also teaches that greed leads to misfortune, so one should not be greedy.

9. The north wind and the sun

Long ago, there was an argument between the north wind and the sun about who was the strongest of the two. While they were arguing, a traveller came along wearing a coat. The wind thought it to be a perfect opportunity to prove that he was the strongest and started blowing heavily. But instead of taking off the coat, he held it more tightly.

The sun got an idea. He shone brightly, which raised the surrounding temperature. All this made the traveller take off his coat, as he was feeling too hot. The sun won the argument using no force.

Moral of the story- What you can do through kindness, you can’t do through force.

10. The elephant and the mice

Again a Panchatantra story!

A herd of elephants were looking for a water pass in an area populated by mice. The mice feared a large herd of elephants would destroy their home and crush them under their feet. They went to the elephant's leader and requested him to change the route. The leader understood their problem, and as a result, their life was saved.

One day, elephants got trapped in a net set by hunters. Elephants tried hard, but they could not free themselves. The king of mice came to know about this and went with his entire group to help the elephants. They had bitten the net and freed the elephant from the trap.

Moral of the story: This story will help your child understand the quality of a true friend.

Conclusion

Short moral stories provide parents and teachers with a fantastic way to teach children valuable life lessons in a fun and engaging way. Above we have mentioned ten short stories, but there are many more on the internet that can help your child learn several things.

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