Due to the global pandemic, everything is shifting to online mode and the kids spend most of their time in front of the screens. By narrating stories to your kids , you will impart wisdom to them and also spend much-needed quality time with them. Here are some popular short stories with moral values that you can read to your kids and can imbibe good habits in your kids. 

The Fox and the Grapes

The story is about a fox who was walking through the forest and spotted a bunch of grapes hanging from over a lofty branch. He got really happy and thought that it’s just the right thing to quench his thirst.

He took a few steps back, and jumped but still missed the hanging grapes. Again the fox took a few paces back and tried to reach them but couldn’t reach.

Finally, giving up, the fox turned up his nose and said - They're probably sour anyway

And proceeded to walk away...

Moral of the story- 

It's easy to despise what you cannot have. Nothing comes easy without hard work and we pretend to hate something when we can’t have it until and unless we work hard and reach our goals.

The Boy Who Cried Wolf

The story revolves around a carefree boy who lived with his father. Every day, he used to take the sheeps to the grassy fields and watch them as they grazed. But he was unhappy and didn’t want to take the sheep to the fields because he wanted to play, and not spend his time watching the boring sheep graze in the field. So, one day he decided to have some fun. He cried, “Wolf! Wolf!” until the entire village came running with stones to chase away the wolf before it could harm the boy or eat any of the sheep. When the villagers came there and saw that there was no wolf, they got really angry about how the boy had wasted their time. The next day, the boy shouted once again and, again, the villagers rushed there to help him chase the wolf away.

The boy laughed at the fright he had caused. The third day, as he went up the hill, he suddenly saw a wolf attacking his sheep. He cried for help as hard as he could, “Wolf! Wolf! Wolf!”, but not a single villager came to help him as they thought that he was trying to fool them again. The little boy lost many sheeps that day, all because of his foolishness.

Moral of the Story

It is difficult to trust people who lie, so it’s important to always be truthful.

Three Sons and a Bundle of Sticks

The story is about an old man who lived with his three sons in a village who were hard workers but still, they quarrelled all the time. The old man tried a lot to unite them but he failed. 

As the old man fell sick. He told his sons to stay united, but they didn’t listen to him. So, he decided to teach them a practical lesson. He called his sons and told them that he will give a bundle of 10 sticks to each one of them. They have to separate each stick and break each stick into two. The one who breaks the sticks quickly will be rewarded more.” All of them agreed to it.

The old man gave a bundle of 10 sticks to each of them and asked them to break each stick into pieces. They broke the sticks into pieces in minutes. Then he gave another bundle of sticks to each of them and asked them to break the sticks as a bundle, not as separate sticks.

Though they tried their best, they could not break the bundle and failed to complete the task.

They reported their failure to their father.

To which the old man replied, “Dear sons, You could easily break the single sticks into pieces, but you were not able to break the bundle which means, if you stay united, nobody can do any harm to you but if you quarrel every time with each other, anyone can easily defeat you.” The three sons understood the power of unity and promised their father that whatever be the situation, they would all stay together.
Moral of the Story
There is strength in unity.

The Woodcutter and the Golden Axe

Once upon a time, a woodcutter was 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 which 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 began to weep.

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 by  disappearing into the river and retrieving a golden axe, but the woodcutter said it was not his axe. He disappeared again and came back with a silver axe, but the woodcutter denied again. The God disappeared into the water again and came back with an iron axe to which he smiled and said it was his axe . The God was impressed with the woodcutter’s honesty and gifted him both the golden and silver axes as a reward for his honesty.

Moral of the Story
The moral of the story is to always be honest because honesty is the best policy.

The Lion and the Mouse

Once upon a time, a lion was sleeping in the jungle when a mouse started running up and down his body for fun which disturbed the lion’s sleep, and he woke up quite angry. He was about to eat the mouse when the mouse desperately requested the lion to set him free. He promised to help him someday if the lion decided to let him go. The lion laughed at the mouse’s confidence and let him go.

Few days later, a few hunters came into the forest and tied the lion up against a tree. The lion was struggling to get out and started to whimper. Soon, the mouse walked past and noticed the lion in trouble. Quickly, he ran and gnawed on the ropes to set the lion free. Both of them sped off into the jungle.

Moral of the Story

A small act of kindness can go a long way.

To make storytime fun and exciting try to be creative while you read the story to your child. Try using different voices for each character or act out various parts from the story, to bring life to those characters. These short stories with moral values will teach your child some important lessons which they will always remember.