We grew up listening to stories from our grandparents and parents. Even today, those memories fill us with nostalgia. Most of us still remember how our elders would narrate tales about kings and queens, fairies, knights, and animals, and put us to sleep. Now, life has come full circle, and it is our turn to pass on these stories to our children. If you always struggle to find a new short story with moral lesson every day, we have a solution.

Short story with moral lesson

In this article, you will find five interesting short stories for kids with pictures and moral lessons. Here they are:

The Bundle of Sticks

Once there was an old man who lived with his three sons. Although all of them worked hard, they would fight like cats and dogs. The old man tried many times but would always fail to bring them together. Once the old man fell very ill and requested his sons to bury the hatchet, but none of his sons took him seriously.

Angry with their behavior, the old man decided to teach them a lesson and unify them. To do so, he gave each of them a bundle of sticks and asked them to break the sticks one by one. He told them that whoever broke all the sticks first would win. The sons quickly started breaking the sticks one by one and finished the bundle. They started arguing again.

The old man, then, gave them another bundle and asked them to break the sticks together. The rule was the same. Whoever breaks the bundle first, wins. The sons started to break the bundle but failed. They used all their strength but could not break the bundle.

The old man then told them that if they stayed united, just like the bundle of sticks, no one would ever be able to harm them. But if they keep fighting, anyone can harm them.

The sons understood the lesson and never fought again.

Moral of the story

Strength lies in unity. If we stay united, no one can ever hurt us. If we fight, we become a soft target and anyone can harm us. Hence, we should always live happily and peacefully with our family and friends.

The Fox and the Grapes

Once a fox was passing by a field in search of food. He spotted a bunch of juicy and delicious grapes. Already hungry, he could not resist them and went to eat the grapes.

He tried to get hold of the big, purple grapes but could not reach them. He stretched his body, jumped again and again, and even took a giant leap but somehow he could not get hold of the vine.

The fox kept trying for a long time until he got tired. The grapes were literally out of his reach. In anger and disgust, he said, “Why am I wasting my time on these grapes? The grapes are sour anyway.”

Moral of the story

It is easy to hate things that are out of our reach. We tend to reject the things we cannot obtain to protect our false pride. We should not despise things we can’t have.

Tortoise and hare

Once there lived a hare and a tortoise. Both were best friends. The hare took pride in his speed and would always make fun of the tortoise for being too slow. One day, the hare challenged the tortoise to a race, and the tortoise agreed. The hare was very confident that he would win the race.

The race started and as expected, the hare was leading. He was way ahead of the tortoise. So, he decided to take a nap under a tree. While the over-confident hare was sound asleep, the tortoise kept moving slowly and steadily.

When the hare woke up, he was shocked to find that the tortoise had reached the finish line. The tortoise had won the race.

Moral of the story

The story of tortoise and hare with pictures teaches us that slow and steady wins the race. No matter how slow you are, if you keep moving or working persistently, you will win. Also, overconfidence leads to failure.

The Miser and His Gold

Once there lived a miser in a small town. His true love was gold. He would spend only a few pennies and save everything he earned. One day, he decided to bury all his gold to keep his wealth safe. He went to look for a spot and found one in his garden.

The miser dug a hole in the garden, counted his gold, and buried it. He kept doing this every day. But one unfortunate day, while he was counting his gold and burying it in his garden, a thief saw him. The happy thief planned to dig up the gold and become wealthy overnight.

On the same night, the thief came to the garden and took everything away. The next morning, when the miser went to his garden, he realized that all his gold was gone. He was devastated and started crying.

Upon hearing him cry, a neighbor came to him and asked what happened. The miser told him the entire story of how he buried the gold and how some thief stole his gold.

The neighbor said, “But why did you bury your treasure in the garden? It would have been a lot safer if you would keep the gold inside your house.  It would have been easier for you to take the money out whenever you wanted to spend it.”

The miser replied, “I never buy anything. I wanted to keep the gold safe. I never planned on spending it ever.”

To this, the neighbor replied, “It doesn’t matter then. If you never wanted to spend your money, you should have saved stones instead. The gold was not worth saving.”

Moral of the story

This story conveys that the real value of wealth lies in how it is used. If you don’t use your wealth to enhance your life or to help others, it is worthless. Wealth is meant to be spent not accumulated.

Two silly goats

There was a beautiful village somewhere. It was guarded by two big mountains and a river flowing between them.

The villagers built a tiny bridge across the river. But it was so narrow that only one person could cross it at a time.

One day, two goats came walking on the bridge from either side. As it was a narrow bridge, it was not possible for them to cross it simultaneously. Hence, they stopped midway, facing each other. Both of them wanted the other to let them cross the bridge first. Hence, they waited.

One goat said, “Move aside! Let me cross the bridge.”

The other said, “Why would I move aside? You let me cross the bridge first.”

They began arguing and their argument translated into a fight. They attacked each other and almost forgot that they were on a narrow bridge. Both the goats lost their balance while fighting and fell into the river.

After a few days, two other goats arrived at the bridge. While they were facing each other midway on the bridge, one goat laid down and let the other pass. Once the goat passed, the other stood up and crossed the bridge. Both of them reached the banks safely.

Moral of the story

Arguing and fighting is never a solution. We should always cooperate and help each other. If we work together, we can solve even the biggest problem.

The bottom line

Storytelling is the best way to impart important life lessons to little children. Engaging tales not only capture their imagination but also instill morals and values in their minds.

These short stories with moral lessons will certainly bring a smile to their faces while helping them learn some meaningful life lessons.