9.

The Camel And The Baby

Image: iStock

One day, a camel and her baby were chatting. The baby asked, “Mother, why do we have
humps?” The mother replied, “Our humps are for storing water so that we can survive in the
desert”.

“Oh”, said the child, “and why do we have rounded feet mother?” “Because they are meant to
help us walk comfortably in the desert. These legs help us move around in the sand.”

“Alright. But why are our eyelashes so long?” “To protect our eyes from the desert dust and
sand. They are the protective covers for the eyes”, replied the mother camel.

The baby camel thought for a while and said, “So we have humps to store water for desert
journeys, rounded hooves to keep us comfortable when we walk in the desert sand, and long
eyelashes to protect us from sand and dust during a desert storm. Then what are we doing in a
zoo?”

The mother was dumbfounded.

Moral
Your strengths, skills, and knowledge are useless if you are not in the right place.

10. The Farmer And The Well

Image: Shutterstock

A farmer looking for a source of water for his farm bought a well from his neighbor. The
neighbor was cunning, though, and refused to let the farmer take water from the well. On asking
why, he replied, “I sold the well to you, not the water”, and walked away. The distraught farmer
didn’t know what to do. So he went to Birbal, a clever man and one of the nine courtiers of
Emperor Akbar, for a solution.
The emperor called the farmer and his neighbor and asked why the man was not letting the
farmer draw water from the well. The cunning man said the same thing again, “I sold the well,
not the water. So he cannot take my water”.

To this, Birbal replied, “All that sounds fine to me. But if you have sold the water and the water
is yours, then you have no business keeping your water in his well. Remove the water or use it
all up immediately. If not the water will belong to the owner of the well”.

Realizing that he’s been tricked and taught his lesson, the man apologized and left.

Moral
Cheating will not get you anything. If you do cheat, you’ll pay for it soon enough.
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Fables From Everywhere

11. True Friends Love You Anyway

Lord Krishna and Sudama were childhood friends. While Krishna thrived and prospered,
Sudama didn’t. He lead the life of a poor Brahmin man, living in a small hut with his wife and
kids. Most days, the kids wouldn’t even get enough to eat from what Sudama got as alms. One
day, his wife suggested that he go and ask his friend Krishna for help.

Sudama was reluctant to seek favors, but he also didn’t want his kids to suffer. So his wife
borrows some rice from the neighbors to make some rice snacks that Krishna liked, and gave it
to Sudama to take it to his friend. Sudama took it and set out to Dwaraka. He was amazed at the
gold that was used to build the city. He reached the palace gates and was obstructed by the
guards, who judged him by his torn dhoti and poor appearance.

Sudama requested the guards to at least inform Krishna that his friend Sudama has come to meet
him. The guard, although reluctant, goes and informs the lord. On hearing that Sudama was here,
Krishna stops doing whatever he was doing and runs barefoot to meet his childhood friend.
Krishna hugs Sudama welcomes him to his abode and treats him with utmost love and respect.
Sudama, ashamed of the poor man’s rice snacks he got for Krishna, tries to hide it. But the all-
knowing Krishna asks Sudama for his gift and eats his favorite rice snacks that his friend brought
for him.

Krishna and his friend spend time laughing and talking about their childhood but Sudama,
overwhelmed by the kindness and compassion showed by his friend, is unable to ask Krishna for
help. When he returns home, Sudama finds that his hut has been replaced by a huge mansion and
his wife and kids are dressed in fine clothes.

Sudama realized how lucky he was to have a true friend like Krishna. He didn’t even ask, but
Krishna knew what Sudama wanted and gave it to him.

Moral
True friends do not distinguish between rich and poor. They are always there for you when you
need them.

[ Read: Akbar And Birbal Stories ]

12. Elephant And Friends

A lone elephant wandered the forest looking for friends. She came across a monkey and asked,
“Will you be my friend, monkey?” “You are too big and cannot swing on trees as I do. So I
cannot be your friend”, said the monkey.

The elephant them came across a rabbit and asked him if she could be his friend. “You are too
big to fit inside my burrow. You cannot be my friend”, replied the rabbit.

Then the elephant met a frog and asked if she could be her friend. The frog said “You are too big
and heavy. You cannot jump like me. I am sorry, but you cannot be my friend”.

The elephant asked a fox, and he got the same reply, that he was too big. The next day, all the
animals in the forest were running in fear. The elephant stopped a bear and asked what was
happening and was told that a tiger has been attacking all the animals.
The elephant wanted to save the other weak animals and went to the tiger and said “Please sir,
leave my friends alone. Do not eat them”. The tiger didn’t listen and asked the elephant to mind
her own business. Seeing no other way to solve the problem, the elephant kicked the tiger and
scared it away.

She then went back to the others and told them what happened. On hearing how the elephant
saved their lives, the animals agreed in unison, “You are just the right size to be our friend”.

Moral
Friends come in all shapes and sizes!
[ Read: Animal Stories For Kids ]

13. The Wolf And The Shepherds

Image: iStock

This is one of the many Aesop’s fables that one can relate to in any day and age.
One day a wolf was chased away from a farm for trying to steal some of the sheep for food.
Later that week, the wolf came back to the farm hoping to find some food. He peeped inside the
house and found the farmer and his family feasting on lamb roast.

“Aha!”, he thought. “If I were to do the same thing that the farmer and his family are doing now,
I would be shunted and chased, or even killed for killing a weak, innocent lamb.”

Moral
We are quick to judge and condemn others for what they do, but see nothing wrong in doing so
ourselves.

14. The Young Crab And His Mother

Image: Shutterstock

One day, a young crab and his mother were on the beach, spending some time together. The
young crab gets up to move, but it can only walk sideways. His mother scolds him for walking
sideways and asks him to walk forward by pointing his toes out front. The young crab responds,
“I would like to walk forward mom, but I do not know how to”.
Hearing this, his mom gets up to show him how, but even she is unable to bend her knees
forward. She realizes that she was being unfair, apologizes sheepishly, and sits back in the sand.

Moral
Don’t condemn someone for not doing something that you yourself are unable to do.

15. The Other Side Of The Wall

Image: iStock

A young woman inherited a beautiful garden from her grandmother. She loved gardening too and
was very proud of her garden. One day, she saw a very beautiful plant in a catalog and wanted
that for her garden. She ordered it and planted it at the base of the stonewall in her backyard. She
took great care of the plant, which grew quickly and had beautiful green leaves on it.

Months passed, but not a single flower bloomed on the tree. Vexed, she almost wanted to cut the
tree down. At such a time, her invalid called and said, “Thank you so much for the beautiful
flowers. You have no idea how much I enjoy looking at the blooms of the vine you have
planted”.

Hearing this, the young girl rushes to the neighbor’s side of the wall and sees the most beautiful
flower in bloom. All the care she took had paid off. Only the vine crept through the crevices
because of which it did not flower on her side of the wall but did generously on the other side.

Moral
Just because you cannot see the good results of your efforts does not mean that it bore no fruit.
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Modern Moral Stories

16. The Dog At The Well

A dog and her pups lived on a farm, where there was a well. The mother dog told the pups, do
not go near the well or play around it. One of the pups wondered why they shouldn’t go to the
well and decided to explore it. He went to the well. Climbed up the wall and peeked inside.

In there, he saw his reflection and thought it was another dog. The pup saw that the other dog in
the well (his reflection) was doing whatever he was doing, and got angry for imitating him. He
decided to fight with the dog and jumped into the well, only to find no dog there. He barked and
barked and swam until the farmer came and rescued him. The pup had learned his lesson.

Moral
Always listen to what the elders say. Question them, but do not defy them.
[ Read: Mahabharata Story For Kids ]

17. Controlling Anger

There was once a young boy who had problem controlling his temper. When he became angry,
he would just say anything that came to his mind and hurt people. So his father gave him a bag
of nails and a hammer and said, “Every time you get angry, hammer one nail into the fence in
our backyard”.

The first few days the boy hammered so many nails that he emptied half the bag. Over the
weeks, the number of nails he hammered to the fence reduced and gradually, his temper was
much in control. Then came a day when he didn’t lose his temper at all. His father asked him to
remove one nail each day that he manages not to lose his temper.

Finally, on the day the child was removing the last nail, his father says, “You have done well,
boy. But do you see the holes in the wall? The fence is never going to be the same, even after
repainting. Likewise, when you say mean things in anger, you will leave a scar in the person’s
mind, as the nails did to the fence”.

Moral
Anger is a dangerous weapon like a knife. When you put a knife in a man and draw it out, the
wound heals but the scar remains.

18. The Wet Pants

A nine-year-old boy was sitting at his desk in class, when suddenly, his pants felt wet, and there
was a puddle at his feet. His heart almost skipped a beat, as he got worried that his classmates
would see that and make fun of him.

He quickly wanted to do something, and saw the teacher and his classmate Susie walking
towards him. Susie was carrying a bowl of goldfish. As they came closer, the boy thought that
the teacher noticed his wet pants, and suddenly Susie trips and drops the fishbowl in his lap.
While thanking God for helping him, he pretends to get angry with Susie and yells at her.

Everyone in the class thinks it is Susie’s fault that the boy’s pants got wet. The teacher helps the
boy change into dry clothes, and the class continues. Later that evening, the boy asks Susie,
“You did that on purpose, didn’t you?” “I wet my pants once too”, whispers Susie.

Moral
Each one of us goes through good days and bad days. Only those who help you out on your bad
days are your true friends.
[ Read: Magic Pot Story For Kids ]

19. Bad Habits

Image: iStock

A wealthy businessman was worried about his son’s bad habits. He sought counsel from a wise,
old man. The old man met the man’s son and took him out for a stroll. They walked into the
woods, and the old man showed the boy a small sapling and asked him to pull it out. The boy did
so with ease, and they walked on.

The old man then asked the boy to pull out a small plant. The boy did that too, with a little effort.
As they walked, the old man asked the boy to pull out the bush, which he did. The next was a
small tree, which the child had to struggle a lot to pull out. Finally, the old man showed him a
bigger tree and asked the child to pull it out.
The child failed to pull it out even after trying several times, in different ways. The old man
looks at the boy, smiles and says, “So is the case with habits, good or bad”.

Moral
Bad habits are hard to get rid of once they have settled in our system. It is best to get rid of them
early on.

20. Good Company, Bad Company

Image: iStock

Two parrots built a nest in a banyan tree. They lived with their two young ones, which they took
good care of. The mother and the father parrot went out to gather food in the morning and came
back home by evening. One day, when their parents were away, the young parrots were taken by
a cruel hunter.
One of the birds managed to escape and flew away from the hunter. He ended up at a hermitage
and grew up listening to kind words and compassion. The hunter put the other parrot in a cage,
and soon it learned a few words and phrases. The hunter and his family were crude and didn’t
care much about kind words.

One day, a passerby was resting outside the hunter’s hut. Sensing someone outside, the parrot
said, “Fool, why are you here? Fool! Leave! I’ll cut your throat”. Scared, the traveler went away,
and on his journey, he reached the hermitage where the other parrot was. The parrot at the
hermitage spoke, “Welcome traveler. You are free to stay here as long as you want”.

Surprised, the traveler told the parrot that he encountered a similar parrot elsewhere and it was
very cruel. How is that you are so kind?” The parrot replied, “That must be my brother. I live
with the sages, and my brother lives with hunters. I learned the sage’s language, and my brother
learned the hunter’s language. The company we keep decides who we will be”.

Moral
Keep good company if you want to be a good person.

21. The Man And The Cat

One day, a man was walking by a road when he heard a cat meowing from the bushes nearby.
The cat was stuck and needed help getting out. When the man reached out, the cat got scared and
scratched the man. The man screamed in pain but didn’t back down. He tried again and again,
even as the cat continued to scratch his hands.

Another passerby saw this and said, “Just let it be! The cat will find a way to come out later”.
The man didn’t pay heed but tried until he helped the cat. Once he let the cat free, he told the
other man, “The cat is an animal, and its instincts make him scratch and attack. I am a human
and my instincts make me compassionate and kind”.

Moral
Treat everyone around you like you want to be treated. Adhere to your own rules or ethics, not
theirs.
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Morals are nothing but lessons that we learn from a story. If you pay attention, every story has
some moral in it. Teach your kids to draw lessons from their experiences, and the experiences of
their friends or family. When they do, they will have so many more short moral stories to share
with the world.