The Oak Tree & The Reeds

The Oak tree always thought that he was far stronger than the reeds. He said to himself "I stand upright in a storm. I don't bend my head in fear every time the wind blows. But these reeds are really so weak." That very night blew a storm and the mighty oak tree was uprooted. "Good God!" sighed the reeds, "our way is better. We bend but we don't break." MORAL: Pride hath a fall

An Ant & A Grasshopper

A lazy grasshopper laughed at a little ant as she was always busy gathering food. "why are you working so hard?" he asked, "come into the sunshine and listen to my merry

notes."

"But the ant went on her work. She said" I am lying in a store for the winter. Sunny days won't last forever." "Winter is so far away yet, "laughed the grasshopper back. And when the winter came, the ant settled down in her snug house. She had plenty of food to last the whole winter. The grasshopper had nothing to eat so, he went to the ant and begged her for a little corn. "No", replied the ant, "you laughed at me when I worked. You yourself sang through the summer. So you had better dance the winter away." MORAL: Idleness is a curse.

The Crow and the Pitcher

A thirsty crow once found a with a little water in it. But he tried to drink the water, he pitcher when could

not. The pitcher was tall and his beak didn't reach the water. The cleaver crow thought and hit upon a plan. He went on dropping pebbles into the pitcher. The water rose up to its neck and he quenched his thirst. MORAL: Will finds the way

The Hare and the Tortoise

Once a hare was roaming near a lake in a forest. Suddenly he saw a tortoise and mocked at him saying - "Hurry up, you slow coach! Don't you find life very dull taking so long to cover a few yards? I could have run to the other side of the lake by now." The tortoise felt teased and dared the hare to a race. The race was to be through the wood to a fixed goal. The hare agreed laughingly. In a few minutes he was away and out of sight. "What a funny race it is!" he said to himself, "I am already half way through. But it is too-too cold; why not have a nap in the warm sunshine?" The tortoise walked steadily on and on. In a short time, he passed by the sleeping hare. The hare slept far longer than he had intended. When he woke up at last, he looked around in surprise and said to himself," Not even a sigh of the poor tortoise anywhere so far; I had better trot along and finish the race." The hare ran to the goal. He was amazed to see all the animals cheering the tortoise who had arrived just a minute earlier. How ashamed he felt indeed! MORAL: Slow and steady wins the race.

A Fisherman and a Sprat

A fisherman had been fishing for a long time but without luck. At last he tugged at his net and saw a small fish caught in it. "Please let me go," begged the fish, "I will grow bigger in a few days and then you can catch me again." The fisherman said, "Now that I have caught you I won't let you go. If I leave you, I may never see you again." MORAL: A bird in hand is worth two in bush.

THE GRAPES ARE SOUR Once upon a time, a hungry fox was roaming around here and there searching for food. Because of hunger, he was feeling weak and tired. Fortunately, he came to a garden where he saw a grape-vine laden with bunches of grapes they looked quite ripe and juicy. The fox looked at the grapes with longing eyes and licked his chops. But the bunches were too high for him and he was feeling weak. So he sat down for a while to take some rest. On feeling refreshed, he jumped as high as he could, to get at the grapes. But he failed to reach them. Then he again rested for some time and made another bold attempt, but was unlucky for the second time. Forced to give up trying anymore, he just walked away and instead of accepting his failure, he remarked "the grapes appeared to be ripe and juicy, but now I see them to be quite sour." This story, thus, proves that, people generally hate what they can't get.

LOOK BEFORE YOU LEAP Once a fox was roaming around in the dark. Unfortunately, he fell into a well. He tried his level best to come out but all in vain. So, he had no other alternative but to remain there till the next morning. The next day, a goat came that way. She peeped into the well and saw the fox there. The goat asked "what are you doing there, Mr. Fox?" The sly fox replied, "I came here to drink water. It is the best I have ever tasted. Come and see for yourself." Without thinking even for a while, the goat jumped into the well, quenched her thirst and looked for a way to get out. But just like the fox, she also found herself helpless to come out. Then the fox said, "I have an idea. You stand on your hind legs. I'll climb on your head and get out. Then I shall help you come out too." The goat was innocent enough to understand the shrewdness of the fox and did as the fox said and help him get out of the well. While walking away, the fox said, "Had you been intelligent enough, you would never have got in without seeing how to get out." That's why we say, "Look before you leap"

NOBODY BELIEVES A LIAR

Once a mischievous boy lived in a village that stood in the feet of a hill. One day he thought of having fun at the cost of his fellow-villagers. Standing on a high rock, he shouted at the top of his voice, "Lion! Lion! Come, save me." The villagers heard the shout and ran to help him. But when they reached there, they could see no lion and the boy was perfectly all right. The boy laughed at the villagers saying, "No Lion ; I did it only for fun." The villagers got highly annoyed and came back with an air of anger. Few days later the boy repeated the whole act. Again the villagers went to his rescue but were duped again. Now they decided not to be fooled by him anymore. Unfortunately, one day, the lion really came there. Now the boy shouted nobody came to help him out. "Lion! Lion! as loud as he could". But

The lion attacked the boy. The boy struggled hard to save himself but within few minutes, the beast killed him. So, once a liar, always a liar.

THINK TWICE BEFORE YOU ACT

Once upon a time there lived two frogs in a marsh. They were very happy with their lot there. But as the hot summer approached the marsh began to dry up. In a few days, the marsh got totally dry. So, the frogs decided to leave that place and look out for some other shelter for themselves and reached a deep well. They sat on the edge of the well and peeped inside it. It had a lot of water in it. One of the frogs got so overjoyed to see the water that it at once said, "This well looks quite a fit place for us to live. It will be cool and safe inside. Let's jump in. " The other frog was wise enough and replied, "Not so soon, my friend! We left the marsh when it had dried up. So, first think how we shall come out of this well if it gets dry. The first frog was speechless, as he had realized that one must think before taking any step.

FRIENDSHIP IS A STRONG WEAPON

It was hot summer. A lion went to a pool to drink water. Just then a pig also came there to quench his thirst. Both of them wanted to drink first. They looked at each other with blood-shot eyes and attacked each other with so much anger that soon they started bleeding. Feeling tired, both stopped for a while to be fresh. Suddenly, they heard the screams of vultures. They saw that a large number of vultures were looking at them with longing eyes. In no time, both the beasts understood that the vultures were waiting for one of them to be killed by the other so that they might feed on his dead body. So both of them became friends, quenched their thirst and went away.

Thus, their friendship saved their lives.

TIME IS VALUABLE
Anthony was a very lazy boy and always used to postpone things. One day his father called him and made him understand the value of time that one should always do things on time. Anthony promised his father that he would never postpone things. One day, he came to know that he had won the first prize in a singing competition that was held the previous month. He was asked to collect the prize the same day. He didn't care and went to collect the prize the next day. But the prize became useless for him, as it was a ticket to a circus show, which was held the previous day. Anthony learnt a lesson from this incident.

STEALING IS BAD
One day, Rosy went to a grocery shop to buy bread. When she saw that the shopkeeper was busy with the other customers, she stole some toffees from a jar. When she got back home, her mother asked her that where did she get the toffees? Rosy told her mother the truth. Her mother said, "It's really very bad to steal. The shopkeeper might not be looking at you but the God is always looking at you all the time. So, one should never steal." Rosy understood the words of her mother and went back to the shop to return the toffees to the shopkeeper. The shopkeeper felt happy on seeing her honesty and gave her some toffees as a reward.

ALWAYS BE TRUTHFUL
One day, Princy was alone at home. Her parents had gone to attend a party. Princy saw a stapler lying on her father's table. She picked it up and started playing with it. She tore the pages of an old book and started stapling them. When the staples got finished, she tried to refill the stapler. As she didn't know how to do it, she broke it. Princy got scared and left the stapler on the table. `next day, when her father asked her about the broken stapler, she confessed that it was broken by her. Her father praised her for telling the truth but also asked her not to fiddle with things, which she didn't know how to use.

NEVER LEAVE FRIENDS

Once there lived a donkey, on an island. Whole day, he used to roam around here and there on the island. Soon he got bored of it and thought of going to some new place. All his friends asked him not to do so but he didn't pay any attention to their words. He swam to another island. It was full of green grass. He made new friends over there. In a few days, he became fat. One day, a farmer saw him and caught him. He took the donkey to his house. Now the donkey had to work hard the whole day. The farmer didn't even give him enough to eat. One day, the donkey got an opportunity and fled from the farmer's house. He went back to his old island and decided not to leave his friends again who had given him right advice.

THE FOOLISH BOY

Once, a boy went to a pond to catch fish. He lay down on the shore of the pond and put his left arm inside the pond. Then he waited for the fish to fall into his trap. Just then he felt as if some fish had caught his hand. He took out his arm and saw that it was not a fish but a snake. At once, he shook his hand and the snake fell into the water again. An old man watching all this, came to him and said, "Always think twice before doing anything. Doing foolish things can sometimes cost you your life."

A MONKEY AND TWO CATS

Once upon a time two cats found a piece of cheese and cut it into two pieces. But one piece was slightly bigger than the other. Both the cats wanted the bigger piece. Then they went ton a monkey and asked to sort out the matter. The monkey said, "Don't worry. I'll make both the pieces equal. Then it took a bite from the bigger piece. But this made the other piece larger. So it took a bite from the other piece. This continued till the pieces became very small. Seeing this, the cats pleaded, "Sir! We are satisfied. Let us have the pieces now." The shrewd monkey replied, "This is my fee for sorting out the problem." Saying this, it gobbled up the remaining cheese.

LAUGHTER IS THE BEST MEDICINE

Once there lived a grumpy king. He never used to laugh nor allow anyone in the kingdom to laugh. One day, a small boy couldn't control his laughter. Later, scared of the punishment, he thought of a plan. He wrote a funny story and converted it into a drama. Then he went to the palace and asked the king, "May I present my drama to you?" the king let him do it. Then the boy started the play. In the end, he came to the funniest part of the story which made the king laugh. All people present in the court were amazed. The king then allowed everybody to laugh. Everyone then lived happily thereafter.

KEEP TRYING UNTIL YOU SUCCEED

A group of frogs was playing when two of them fell into a deep pit. When other frogs saw how deep the pit was, they told the two frogs that they were as good as dead. The two frogs ignored their comments and tried hard to jump out of the pit but all in vain. Finally, one of the frogs gave up but the other continued to jump even harder and made it out. So, this story proves that you should never give up trying till the time you succeed.

A LION AND A MOUSE

It was a hot summer day. Sun was shining bright up in the sky. A lion was sitting under the shade of a big tree and in some time got asleep. Nearby that tree, there was a hole, in which there lived a mouse. When the lion was sleeping, the mouse came out of its hole and saw him asleep.

Unaware of the lion's strength, it got tickled by an idea. It thought of waking up the lion by running over his body just for fun.

Unfortunately, the lion seized it in his strong paw. The mouse pleaded for its life. Being generous by nature, the lion set it free. The mouse promised to help the lion if it ever got the chance. The lion laughed aloud at this. After all, how could a tiny mouse help the king of the jungle?

A few days later, the mouse was passing through the jungle when he saw the same lion trapped in a hunter's net. Immediately, it set to work, gnawing at the ropes. Very soon the tiny mouse had ser the lion free.

Remember, mercy never goes unrewarded.

A FOX AND A CRANE

Once a fox and a crane became friends. So, the fox invited the crane to dinner. The crane accepted the invitation and reached the fox's place at sunset. The fox had prepared soup for his mate. But as we all know that foxes are cunning by nature, he served the soup in flat dishes. So, he himself lapped the crane's share with his tongue enjoying its relish a lot. But the crane could not enjoy it at all with his long beak and had to get back home hungry. The shrewd fox felt extremely amused. After few days, the crane invited the fox to dine in with him. The fox reached his place well in time. The crane gave him a warm welcome and served the soup in a jug with a long and narrow neck. So, the crane enjoyed the soup with great relish using his long beak. The fox's mouth couldn't reach the soup through the narrow neck of the jug. He had to return home hungry. Now he realized that he had been repaid for his behaviour with the crane.

The Goose with the Golden Eggs

Once when a Lion was asleep, a little Once upon a time, a man and his wife had the good fortune to have a goose which laid a golden egg every day. Lucky though they were, they soon began to think they were not getting rich fast enough. They imagined that if the bird must be able to lay golden eggs, its insides must be made of gold. And they thought that if they could get all that precious metal at once, they would get mighty rich very soon. So the man and his wife decided to kill the bird. However, upon cutting the goose its innards were like that of any other MORAL: THINK BEFORE YOU open, they were shocked to find that goose! ACT

Friends

Bunny rabbit lived in the forest. He had many friends. He was proud of his friends. One day Bunny rabbit heard the loud barking of the wild dogs. He was very scared. He decided to ask for help. He quickly went to his friend deer. He said: Dear friend, some wild dogs are chasing me. Can you chase them away with your sharp antlers? Dear said: That is right, I can. But now I am busy. Why dont you ask bear for help? Bunny rabbit ran to the bear. My dear friend you are very strong, please help me. Some wild dogs are after me. Please chase them away, he requested the bear. Bear replied: I am sorry. I am hungry and tired. I need to find some food. Please ask the monkey for help. Poor Bunny went to the monkey, elephant, goat and all his friends. Bunny felt sad that nobody was ready to help him. He understood that he has to think of a way out. He hid under a bush. He lay still the wild dogs went their way.

The Thirsty Crow

One hot day, a thirsty crow flew all over the fields looking for water. For a long time, she could not find any. She felt very weak, almost giving up hope. Suddenly, she saw a water jug below her. She flew straight down to see if there was any water inside. Yes, she could see some water inside the jug! The crow tried to push her head into the jug. Sadly, she found that the neck of the jug was too narrow. Then she tried to push the jug down for the water to flow out. She found that the jug was too heavy. The crow thought hard for a while. Then looking around her, she saw some pebbles. She suddenly had a good idea. She started picking up the pebbles one by one, dropping each into the jug. As more and more pebbles filled the jug, the water level kept rising. Soon it was high enough for the crow to drink. Her plan had worked! If you try hard enough, you may soon find an answer to your problem.

The Wolf and the Lamb

A lamb was grazing with a flock of sheep one day. She soon found some sweet grass at the edge of the field. Farther and farther she went, away from the others. She was enjoying herself so much that she did not notice a wolf coming nearer to her. However, when it pounced on her, she was quick to start pleading, Please, please dont eat me yet. My stomach is full of grass. If you wait a while, I will taste much better. The wolf thought that was a good idea, so he sat down and waited. After a while, the lamb said, If you allow me to dance, the grass in my stomach will be digested faster. Again the wolf agreed. While the lamb was dancing, she had a new idea. She said, Please take the bell from around my neck. If you ring it as hard as you can, I will be able to dance even faster. The wolf took the bell and rang it as hard as he could. The shepherd heard the bell ringing nd quickly sent his dogs to find the missing lamb. The barking dogs frightened the wolf away and saved the lambs life. The gentle and weak can sometimes be cleverer than fierce and strong.

The Ant and the Dove

One hot day, an ant was searching for some water. After walking around for some time, she came to a spring. To reach the spring, she had to climb up a blade of grass. While making her way up, she slipped and fell into the water. She could have drowned if a dove up a nearby tree had not seen her. Seeing that the ant was in trouble, the dove quickly plucked off a leaf and dropped it into the water near the struggling ant. The ant moved towards the leaf and climbed up there. Soon it carried her safely to dry ground. Just at that time, a hunter nearby was throwing out his net towards the dove, hoping to trap it. Guessing what he was about to do, the ant quickly bit him on the heel. Feeling the pain, the hunter dropped his net. The dove was quick to fly away to safety. One good turn deserves another.

http://www.scribd.com/doc/17608775/100-Moral-Stories-for-Kids

The Greedy Mouse

A greedy mouse saw a basket full of corn. He wanted to eat it. So he made a small hole in the basket. He squeezed in through the hole. He ate a lot of corn. He felt full. He was very happy. Now he wanted to come out. He tried to come out through the small hole. He could not. His belly was full. He tried again. But it was of no use. The mouse started crying. A rabbit was passing by. It heard the mouses cry and asked: Why are you crying my friend? The mouse explained: I made a small hole and came into the basket. Now I am not able to get out through that hole. The rabbit said: It is because you ate too much. Wait til your belly shrinks. The rabbit laughed and went away. The mouse fell asleep in the basket. Next morning his belly had shrunk. But the mouse wanted to eat some corn. So he ate and ate. His belly was full once again. He thought: Oh! Now I will go out tomorrow. The cat was the next passerby. He smelt the mouse in the basket. He lifted its lid. He ate the mouse. Back