# Short Stories for Kids > Bedtime stories, moral tales and timeless adventures for young minds. ## Pages - [About](https://stories.tejaspmehta.com/about/): About Short Stories for Kids Short Stories for Kids began with a simple bedtime routine. As a father, I have... - [Home Page](https://stories.tejaspmehta.com/): Welcome to Short Stories for Kids—a collection of bedtime stories, moral tales, animal stories, fairy tales and timeless fables created... ## Posts - [The Silent Helper](https://stories.tejaspmehta.com/the-silent-helper/): Leo was a boy of quiet observations. From his window, he often watched Mrs. Anya Petrova, an elderly widow on... - [The Fox and the Wise Tortoise](https://stories.tejaspmehta.com/the-fox-and-the-wise-tortoise/): One day, in a quiet forest, a cunning fox named Felix was feeling lazy. He didn’t want to hunt for... - [The Rabbit and the Crocodile](https://stories.tejaspmehta.com/the-rabbit-and-the-crocodile/): In a dense jungle, a little rabbit named Coco loved to explore. One day, she reached the edge of a... - [The Clever Goat and the Wolf](https://stories.tejaspmehta.com/the-clever-goat-and-the-wolf/): In a peaceful valley, a clever little goat named Bella was grazing on fresh, green grass. She enjoyed the sunshine,... - [The Proud Peacock and the Wise Owl](https://stories.tejaspmehta.com/the-proud-peacock-and-the-wise-owl/): A beautiful peacock loved showing off his bright feathers. “I am the most beautiful bird in the jungle! ” he... - [The Foolish Goat and the Cunning Fox](https://stories.tejaspmehta.com/the-foolish-goat-and-the-cunning-fox/): On a hot summer day, a thirsty goat wandered in search of water. He found a deep well and saw... - [The Monkey and the Crocodile](https://stories.tejaspmehta.com/the-monkey-and-the-crocodile/): One day, a clever monkey lived on a mango tree by the river. He often threw ripe mangoes into the... - [The Tiger and the Jackal](https://stories.tejaspmehta.com/the-tiger-and-the-jackal/): One day, a sneaky jackal stole a juicy rabbit from a farmer’s garden. He was so happy with his catch... - [The Fox and the Crow](https://stories.tejaspmehta.com/the-fox-and-the-crow-2/): One bright morning, a clever fox was strolling through the forest when he saw a crow sitting on a tree... - [The Wise Owl and the Misguided Tweets](https://stories.tejaspmehta.com/the-wise-owl-and-the-misguided-tweets/): Once upon a time, in the year 2024, in a dense forest nestled far away from the bustling city, there... - [The Perceptive Fish](https://stories.tejaspmehta.com/the-perceptive-fish/): In a river, there once lived many fishes. Nobody ever came there to catch them. There were three tiny fishes... - [The Reward of Kindness](https://stories.tejaspmehta.com/the-reward-of-kindness/): Once, there was a rich man who lived in a city. He was very wealthy and led a luxurious life.... - [The Deceptive Tiger](https://stories.tejaspmehta.com/the-deceptive-tiger/): Once, a tiger got lost and entered a village. The villagers began to live in terror. Every day, children and... - [The Devoted Mother](https://stories.tejaspmehta.com/the-devoted-mother/): Once, there was a beautiful lake in a forest. The animals in the forest came there every day to drink... - [The Holes in the Fence](https://stories.tejaspmehta.com/the-holes-in-the-fence/): Once, there was a boy in a village. His name was Raghu. He lived in a beautiful house with his... - [The Foolish Monkey](https://stories.tejaspmehta.com/the-foolish-monkey/): Long ago, a king had a beautiful garden in his palace. In that garden, there lived a group of monkeys.... - [The Bird with Two Heads](https://stories.tejaspmehta.com/the-bird-with-two-heads/): There once stood a huge banyan tree along the bank of a river. A bird with two heads lived on... - [The Donkey and the Load of Salt](https://stories.tejaspmehta.com/the-donkey-and-the-load-of-salt/): Once, a merchant lived in a city. He had a donkey who was lame. Every day, the merchant used to... - [The Crow and the Pigeons](https://stories.tejaspmehta.com/the-crow-and-the-pigeons/): In a farm, there once lived some white pigeons. They were fed well by the owner of the farm. Near... - [The Silly Hen](https://stories.tejaspmehta.com/the-silly-hen/): Once, a farmer in a village had a plump hen. The dogs in that locality wanted to eat her. So,... - [The Snake and the Gold Coins](https://stories.tejaspmehta.com/the-snake-and-the-gold-coins/): Once, there was a farmer in a village. Every year, he worked very hard in the field and grew a... - [The Lion and the Fox](https://stories.tejaspmehta.com/the-lion-and-the-fox/): Once, a lion had grown very old. He stayed in his cave and could not go out hunting. He had... - [The Rotten Mango](https://stories.tejaspmehta.com/the-rotten-mango/): Once, there lived a farmer in a village. Every day, he left early in the morning, worked very hard in... - [The Decisive Spider](https://stories.tejaspmehta.com/the-decisive-spider/): In a country, there lived a mighty king. He ruled his country wisely. He had won all the battles he... - [The Crooked Jackal](https://stories.tejaspmehta.com/the-crooked-jackal/): In a forest, there once lived a camel and a jackal. Every day, they used to go to the river... - [The Honest Woodcutter](https://stories.tejaspmehta.com/the-honest-woodcutter/): A poor woodcutter who lived in a cottage by the woods thought one day, “Today I shall go to the... - [The Blue Fox](https://stories.tejaspmehta.com/the-blue-fox/): One day a hungry fox was roaming about the jungle in search of food. He had not eaten for a... - [The Grapes Are Sour](https://stories.tejaspmehta.com/the-grapes-are-sour/): It was a hot and sunny day and a hungry fox was looking for food all over the jungle. Soon... - [The Sky Is Falling](https://stories.tejaspmehta.com/the-sky-is-falling/): On a lazy summer afternoon, a little rabbit was snoring under a mango tree. Suddenly a ripe mango fell from... - [Who Will Bell the Cat?](https://stories.tejaspmehta.com/who-will-bell-the-cat/): There lived a family of mice in a big house. They would run about all over the house and eat... - [The Frog and the Mouse](https://stories.tejaspmehta.com/the-frog-and-the-mouse/): Once, a mouse lived in a hole near a pond. A frog visited him every day. Within a few days,... - [The Frog and the Ox](https://stories.tejaspmehta.com/the-frog-and-the-ox/): One day, a young frog was sitting by a pond. In that pond, an ox was quenching his thirst. The... - [The Donkey's Brain](https://stories.tejaspmehta.com/the-donkeys-brain/): In a forest, there once lived a lion in a cave. A jackal also lived with him in his cave.... - [The Hare and His Nasty Friends](https://stories.tejaspmehta.com/the-hare-and-his-nasty-friends/): In a forest, there lived a hare. He had many friends who loved him dearly. He had presumed that they... - [Loyal Mongoose](https://stories.tejaspmehta.com/loyal-mongoose/): Once there lived a farmer with his wife in a small village, and they had a son. They also had... - [The Fox and The Crow](https://stories.tejaspmehta.com/the-fox-and-the-crow/): Once upon a time in a forest lived a cunning fox and a foolish crow. One day, the crow found... - [The Emperor's New Clothes](https://stories.tejaspmehta.com/the-emperors-new-clothes/): A tailor once boasted that he made such wonderful clothes that these could be seen only by intelligent and sensitive... - [George and Georgette](https://stories.tejaspmehta.com/george-and-georgette/): George and Georgette were deeply in love. One day. they lost their way in the woods found an old castle,... - [The Wolf and The Seven Little Goats](https://stories.tejaspmehta.com/the-wolf-and-the-seven-little-goats/): The mother goat left her seven little kids at home one day. Before going, she told them sternly about the... - [Two wise Goats](https://stories.tejaspmehta.com/two-wise-goats/): There was a river in a small village with a narrow bridge over it. The bridge was too narrow that... - [The Donkey in The Lion's Skin](https://stories.tejaspmehta.com/the-donkey-in-the-lions-skin/): One day, a donkey found a lion’s skin. He put it on and looked at his reflection in the river.... - [The Monkey and The Cap Seller](https://stories.tejaspmehta.com/the-monkey-and-the-cap-seller/): Once there was a cap seller who sold beautiful caps. One hot day the cap seller was going to sell... - [The Dove and The Ant](https://stories.tejaspmehta.com/the-dove-and-the-ant/): An Ant was walking back to her home after a day’s work. She walked along the bank of the stream.... - [The Shepherd Boy and The Tiger](https://stories.tejaspmehta.com/the-shepherd-boy-and-the-tiger/): Once upon a time, there lived a shepherd boy who takes care of sheep in a village. Every day he... - [The Bear and The Two Friends](https://stories.tejaspmehta.com/the-bear-and-the-two-friends/): Gangu and Ramu were good friends. One day they were passing through a forest. On their way, they saw a... - [Flagstaff, Fatso AND Big-eyes](https://stories.tejaspmehta.com/flagstaff-fatso-and-big-eyes/): A mighty king once had an enchantingly beautiful daughter. Many prince wanted to marry her. The king laid a condition:... - [The Dog and the Wolf](https://stories.tejaspmehta.com/the-dog-and-the-wolf/): A hungry wolf was on the prowl. He met a dog passing by and requested him for some food. The... - [The Thirsty Ant](https://stories.tejaspmehta.com/the-thirsty-ant/): One day, an ant scurried around in desperation, looking for some water. It was dying of thirst when a drop... - [The Magic Mirror](https://stories.tejaspmehta.com/the-magic-mirror/): Once, a boy, called Tembo had a tomcat for a companion, which he took everywhere. Once, Tembo saved a large... - [The Lovern Lion and The Peasant](https://stories.tejaspmehta.com/the-lovern-lion-and-the-peasant/): Unluckily for him, a lion fell in love with a peasant’s beautiful daughter, and approached him, asking if he could... - [The Pride of Icarus](https://stories.tejaspmehta.com/the-pride-of-icarus/): In olden times, Crete was home to Daedalus, one of the greatest inventors. Ordered by the king, he constructed a... - [The Hen That Laid Golden Eggs](https://stories.tejaspmehta.com/the-hen-that-laid-golden-eggs/): A poultry farmer found a stray hen and took it home. Lo and behod! The next day the hen laid... - [The Thirsty Crow](https://stories.tejaspmehta.com/the-thirsty-crow/): One day a crow was feeling very thirsty. On a hot summer day, she flew here and there in search... - [The Foolish Farmer](https://stories.tejaspmehta.com/the-foolish-farmer/): A farmer and his son were carrying their donkey in a wheelbarrow to the market so as not to tire... - [Country Mouse and Town Mouse](https://stories.tejaspmehta.com/country-mouse-and-town-mouse/): A town mouse decided to visit his cousin in the countryside. They had a wonderful time in the meadows and... - [The Hare and the Porcupines](https://stories.tejaspmehta.com/the-hare-and-the-porcupines/): A porcupine went to the market to buy vegetables. He was walking very slowly as all porcupines do when he... - [King Midas](https://stories.tejaspmehta.com/king-midas/): King Midas was a very greedy king. Even though he was very rich he always craved for more and more.... - [The Elephant and the Ant](https://stories.tejaspmehta.com/the-elephant-and-the-ant/): Once upon a time, there lived a big elephant in the jungle. As the elephant was much bigger than all... - [Two Cats and A Monkey](https://stories.tejaspmehta.com/two-cats-and-a-monkey/): Once upon a time, there lived two cats in a village. They were close friends. They played together, slept together,... - [The Talkative Tortoise](https://stories.tejaspmehta.com/the-talkative-tortoise/): Once there was a tortoise lived in a pond with two Swans. The tortoise was very talkative. It used to... - [The Greedy Dog](https://stories.tejaspmehta.com/the-greedy-dog/): Once, there was a dog searching for food. He got a bone from a meat shop. The dog took the... - [The Lion and The Mouse](https://stories.tejaspmehta.com/the-lion-and-the-mouse/): There lived a lion in a forest. In same forest, near the bush lived a mouse in a hole. It... - [The Grasshopper and the Ant](https://stories.tejaspmehta.com/the-grasshopper-and-the-ant/): It was a beautiful spring day, a grasshopper was playing in a green field. He noticed a line of ants... - [Tenali Raman and a Thief](https://stories.tejaspmehta.com/tenali-raman-and-a-thief/): Once upon a time, Tenali Raman set out on a long journey. On the way, another traveler joined Raman. “This... - [Tenali Raman the horse trainer](https://stories.tejaspmehta.com/tenali-raman-the-horse-trainer/): One day an Arab brought a ship full of horses from Persia. Many in the court of king Krishnadevaraya bought... - [The Three Billy Goats Gruff](https://stories.tejaspmehta.com/the-three-billy-goats-gruff/): Once there were three billy goats gruff lived on the grassy hillside near the river. There was a little billy-goat... - [Peter Rabit and Gard of Mr. McGregor](https://stories.tejaspmehta.com/peter-rabit-and-gard-of-mr-mcgregor/): Mrs. Rabbit had four little bunnies, Mopsy, Flopsy, Cotton-tail and Peter. They lived in a hole under the root of... - [The Wizard of Oz](https://stories.tejaspmehta.com/the-wizard-of-oz/): Once upon a time, a girl named Dorothy lived with her uncle. She was playing with her dog, Toto. When... - [The Princess and The Pea](https://stories.tejaspmehta.com/the-princess-and-the-pea/): Once upon a time, a young prince wanted to get married. So he went around the world looking for the... # # Detailed Content ## Pages About Short Stories for Kids Short Stories for Kids began with a simple bedtime routine. As a father, I have enjoyed telling stories to my children before they went to sleep. These moments were not only about entertainment. They became a special way to spend time together, encourage imagination and introduce meaningful values through simple stories. Over time, I have realised that many parents were also looking for engaging and meaningful stories to share with their children. This inspired him to bring his bedtime storytelling experience online and create a digital collection that parents and children everywhere could enjoy. Short Stories for Kids brings together bedtime stories, moral stories, animal tales, folk tales, fairy tales and timeless fables. Each story aims to entertain young readers while helping them understand values such as kindness, honesty, courage, friendship, patience, responsibility and wisdom. This website is created for: Parents looking for meaningful bedtime stories Children who enjoy imaginative and easy-to-understand tales Teachers searching for stories with positive lessons Families who want to encourage reading and thoughtful conversations Short Stories for Kids is more than an online collection of stories. It is a project inspired by fatherhood, family time and the belief that even a short story can teach a lesson that stays with a child for years. We hope these stories help parents and children create their own special storytelling moments, one story at a time. Welcome to Short Stories for Kids—a collection of bedtime stories, moral tales, animal stories, fairy tales and timeless fables created for children and families. Every story offers a new adventure, memorable characters and an opportunity to explore values such as kindness, courage, honesty, friendship, patience and wisdom. Whether you are looking for a quick bedtime story, an inspiring moral tale or a classic adventure to enjoy together, there is always another story waiting to be discovered. Explore Stories by Category Discover animal stories, moral stories, fairy tales, folk tales, Tenali Raman adventures and other entertaining stories for young readers. Every story offers a new adventure, memorable characters and an opportunity to explore values such as kindness, courage, honesty, friendship, patience and wisdom. Whether you are looking for a quick bedtime story, an inspiring moral tale or a classic adventure to enjoy together, there is always another story waiting to be discovered. Explore Stories by Category Discover animal stories, moral stories, fairy tales, folk tales, Tenali Raman adventures and other entertaining stories for young readers. ## Posts - Categories: Short Story Leo was a boy of quiet observations. From his window, he often watched Mrs. Anya Petrova, an elderly widow on their street. Once, her garden had bloomed with colour, her laughter echoing. Now, weeds choked the flowerbeds, the porch swing hung still, and a deep silence had settled over her home. He’d noticed subtle changes over the past year. Mrs. Anya grew frail, her brisk walk slowing. Grocery bags seemed impossibly light; she’d turn from expensive market items. Recalling his own grandmother's quiet struggles, Leo felt a tightening in his chest, an empathy blossoming. He knew Mrs. Anya's fierce pride meant she would never ask for help. The idea came to him late one night. What if he could help, without her ever knowing? The early morning hours, before the street awoke, seemed perfect. His mother, a passionate baker, always had fresh bread or leftover dinner. He decided he would take a portion and leave it on her doorstep. It felt like a secret mission, fueled by pure kindness. The first time was daunting. The pre-dawn air was cool and crisp. Leo, bundled in a hoodie, heart thumping, tiptoed out. In his hands, a small, carefully wrapped package: warm, crusty bread and chicken stew. He moved like a shadow, placing the bundle gently by Mrs. Anya's front door, ringing the doorbell once, softly, then retreating quickly into the shadows. He watched from his window later that morning. Mrs. Anya emerged, a worn cardigan wrapped tightly around her. She paused, her... - Categories: Animal Stories, Bedtime Story, Moral Story, Short Story One day, in a quiet forest, a cunning fox named Felix was feeling lazy. He didn’t want to hunt for food, so he decided to trick someone into giving him an easy meal. As he walked through the forest, he spotted a slow-moving tortoise named Tim. “Ah-ha! This will be easy,” Felix thought. The fox approached the tortoise and said, “Hello, dear Tortoise! I have heard you are the fastest creature in the forest. ” Tim looked up and raised an eyebrow. “Fastest? I don’t think so,” he said. “Oh, but I insist! ” said Felix. “Let’s have a race! If you lose, you must let me eat you. ” Tim wasn’t fooled. He knew the fox was playing a trick. “Alright, but we need a referee. Let’s ask the wise old owl to watch the race. ” Felix hesitated. The owl would surely see through his plan. “Oh, no need for a referee! ” Felix said nervously. “I trust you. ” Tim shook his head. “No owl, no race. ” Hearing this, Felix grew scared. If the owl found out, he would warn the other animals about Felix’s tricks. Not wanting to be exposed, Felix quickly ran away. Tim smiled and said, “Cleverness always wins over trickery. ” Moral: Cleverness can outsmart danger. - Categories: Animal Stories, Bedtime Story, Moral Story, Short Story - Tags: animal stories, bedtime fables, clever rabbit, crocodile trick, kids fables, learning stories for kids, problem-solving stories, rabbit story In a dense jungle, a little rabbit named Coco loved to explore. One day, she reached the edge of a wide river. On the other side, she saw the juiciest carrots she had ever seen. “Oh, I must get to the other side! ” she thought. Just then, a crocodile’s head popped out of the water. “Hello, little rabbit. Are you looking to cross the river? I can help you,” the crocodile said with a sly grin. Coco knew crocodiles were dangerous, but she didn’t let her fear show. “Oh, thank you! But first, I need to know how many crocodiles are in the river,” she said, pretending to be curious. The crocodile, feeling proud, called his friends. Soon, a line of crocodiles stretched across the river. Coco clapped her paws and said, “Let me count you one by one so I can tell the King of the Jungle how many strong crocodiles live here. ” She hopped onto the first crocodile’s back. “One! ” she counted. She jumped to the next. “Two! ” One by one, she kept counting while making her way across the river. When she reached the last crocodile, she leaped onto the land and laughed. “Thank you for helping me cross! I wasn’t counting—I was escaping! ” The crocodiles were furious but couldn’t do anything. Coco happily munched on her delicious carrots, proud of her clever trick. Moral: Smart thinking helps us avoid trouble. - Categories: Animal Stories, Bedtime Story, Moral Story - Tags: animal fables, bedtime stories for kids, clever animal stories, goat and wolf story, kids moral stories, short stories for children, wisdom stories In a peaceful valley, a clever little goat named Bella was grazing on fresh, green grass. She enjoyed the sunshine, unaware that a hungry wolf was watching her from behind the bushes. The wolf licked his lips and thought, “That little goat will make a delicious meal. ” The wolf stepped forward with a fake smile and said, “Hello, dear Goat! You look tired from all that grazing. Why don’t you come to my side of the hill? The grass is much greener, and I would love to be your friend. ” Bella was no fool. She knew wolves were dangerous and had heard stories about their tricks. She took a step back and said, “Oh, that sounds wonderful! But before I come, let me ask the wise old owl if it’s safe. ” The wolf’s smile faded. If the owl got involved, his trick would be exposed. He didn’t want the other animals to know his plan. “Oh, no need to ask the owl,” he said quickly. “I promise I’m a good friend. ” But Bella shook her head and called out, “Wise Owl, are you there? ” Hearing this, the wolf panicked. He feared the owl would warn everyone about him. Without saying another word, he turned and ran into the forest. Bella laughed and said, “Better safe than sorry! ” She continued grazing, knowing she had outsmarted the wolf. Moral: Wisdom and caution keep us safe. - Categories: Animal Stories, Bedtime Story, Moral Story, Short Story - Tags: BedtimeStoryForKids, ClassicFolkTales, EducationalAnimalStories, JungleFables, MoralStoriesForChildren, OwlWisdomTale, PeacockAndOwlStory, ShortStoriesWithLessons, StorytellingForKids, WisdomVsPride A beautiful peacock loved showing off his bright feathers. “I am the most beautiful bird in the jungle! ” he boasted. The wise old owl, sitting on a tree branch, said, “Beauty is not everything. What matters is wisdom and kindness. ” One day, a hunter entered the jungle. The peacock danced to impress him, but the hunter threw a net over him! “Help! Someone, save me! ” the peacock cried. The owl swooped down and distracted the hunter, allowing the peacock to escape. “Today, I learned that wisdom is more valuable than beauty,” the peacock admitted. Moral: Wisdom is more valuable than beauty. - Categories: Animal Stories, Bedtime Story, Moral Story, Short Story - Tags: AnimalTalesForChildren, BedtimeFables, ClassicShortStories, CunningFoxStory, FoxAndGoatStory, GoatAndFoxLesson, KidsFablesWithMorals, ShortStoryForKids, SmartVsFoolish, ThinkBeforeYouAct On a hot summer day, a thirsty goat wandered in search of water. He found a deep well and saw a fox inside. “How did you get there? ” the goat asked. The fox smiled and said, “The water here is the sweetest you’ll ever taste! Jump in and have a drink! ” Without thinking, the goat jumped into the well. After quenching his thirst, he realized he was trapped. “How do we get out? ” the goat asked. The fox climbed onto the goat’s back and jumped out. “You should have thought before jumping in! ” the fox laughed and ran away, leaving the goat stuck in the well. Moral: Think before you act. - Categories: Animal Stories, Bedtime Story, Moral Story, Short Story - Tags: BedtimeStory, ChildrenStoryTime, ClassicFolkTale, CleverMonkey, FunStoriesForKids, JungleTales, MonkeyAndCrocodile, MoralStoryForKids, ShortAnimalFables One day, a clever monkey lived on a mango tree by the river. He often threw ripe mangoes into the water for a friendly crocodile. The crocodile enjoyed the sweet fruit and soon became the monkey’s friend. But one day, the crocodile’s greedy wife said, “If the mangoes are so sweet, the monkey’s heart must be even sweeter! Bring me his heart to eat! ” The crocodile felt sad but obeyed his wife. He invited the monkey to his back, offering to take him across the river. As they reached the deepest part, the crocodile said, “My wife wants to eat your heart. ” The monkey quickly thought and laughed, “Oh no! I left my heart in the mango tree! Take me back so I can fetch it. ” The foolish crocodile swam back, and as soon as they reached the shore, the monkey jumped onto the tree and said, “You tricked me, but I am smarter than you! ” The crocodile swam away in shame. Moral: Clever thinking can save you from danger. - Categories: Animal Stories, Moral Story, Short Story - Tags: AnimalStories, BedtimeFables, ClassicTales, FairnessMatters, JungleTales, KidsFables, MoralStories, ShortStoriesForKids, StoryWithMoral, TigerAndJackal One day, a sneaky jackal stole a juicy rabbit from a farmer’s garden. He was so happy with his catch that he quickly ran towards his cave to enjoy his meal. But on the way, he met a strong and fierce tiger. The tiger’s eyes gleamed as he saw the rabbit in the jackal’s mouth. The jackal held on tightly and said, “This is mine! I caught it first. ” The tiger laughed and said, “Oh? But I see you are carrying my dinner! ” Before the jackal could say another word, the tiger grabbed the rabbit and took a big bite. The jackal watched helplessly as the tiger finished the meal. The tiger licked his paws and said, “You must thank the farmer for such a tasty treat! ” The jackal sighed and walked away, learning that what is taken unfairly can be taken away just as easily. Moral of the story: What is stolen never truly belongs to you. - Categories: Animal Stories, Moral Story, Short Story - Tags: AnimalFables, BedtimeStories, ClassicTales, FablesForKids, FoxAndTheCrow, KidsStories, MoralStories, ParentingTips, ShortStories, StoryWithMoral One bright morning, a clever fox was strolling through the forest when he saw a crow sitting on a tree branch. The crow had a big, tasty piece of bread in her beak. The fox’s mouth watered. He wanted that bread! So, he looked up at the crow and said, "Oh, beautiful crow! Your feathers are so shiny. You must have the most wonderful voice. Would you sing a song for me? " The crow, feeling proud, opened her beak to sing—but oh no! The bread fell right down! The fox quickly grabbed it and laughed. "Thank you for the snack! " he said, running away. The crow sighed. She had been tricked! Next time, she would be more careful. Moral of the story: Think before you act, and don’t fall for sweet words too easily! - Categories: Animal Stories, Moral Story, Short Story Once upon a time, in the year 2024, in a dense forest nestled far away from the bustling city, there lived a wise old owl named Ollie. Ollie was not just any ordinary owl; he was renowned for his sagacious advice and insightful wisdom. Animals from far and wide sought his counsel whenever they faced dilemmas or challenges. One day, a young and impulsive rabbit named Robbie stumbled upon Ollie's tree hollow while frolicking through the forest. Robbie was known for his love of social media and his tendency to share every thought that crossed his mind on "BirdsChirp," the popular animal social networking platform. "Hey, Ollie! " exclaimed Robbie, his ears twitching with excitement. "Have you heard the latest gossip about the squirrels? I just tweeted about it, and everyone is buzzing! " Ollie, perched solemnly in his nest, looked down at Robbie with a twinkle in his wise old eyes. "Ah, Robbie," he sighed, "Remember, not everything you hear or see on social media is true. It's essential to think before you tweet. " But Robbie was too enamored by the attention his tweets received to heed Ollie's advice. He continued to spread rumors and half-truths without considering their consequences, much to Ollie's dismay. One day, a wildfire broke out in the forest due to dry conditions and a lightning strike. Panic spread among the animals as the flames grew closer to their homes. In the midst of the chaos, Robbie tweeted frantically, spreading misinformation about the cause... - Categories: Animal Stories, Bedtime Story, Moral Story, Short Story In a river, there once lived many fishes. Nobody ever came there to catch them. There were three tiny fishes who were very good friends. One day, the three fishes swam near a town. There, they saw many people coming to the river for various purposes. "We have never seen so many people together," said one fish in astonishment. "I like this place a lot. Let's not go back," said another fish. But, the third fish was thinking about something else. "We won't be safe here. We might get trapped in the fishermen's net anytime. Let's go back to our old home. Since that place is isolated, it is out of any danger," he said. The other two fishes were very disappointed with the idea of going back. They kept on insisting until the third fish also agreed to dwell there. But, he was always very careful. One morning, the fish were playing in the water. Two of them had not noticed the fishermen's net. They swam to it unknowingly. The third fish was alert. He rushed towards it to save his friends. He splashed water around the net. "A large fish is caught in the net," the fishermen said among themselves. They immediately pulled the net by one corner to check. This helped the two fishes to spot the net and they swam in the opposite direction. The third fish swam towards them and said, "I had warned you earlier, but you didn't listen to me. " "We had... - Categories: Bedtime Story, Folk Tales, Moral Story, Short Story Once, there was a rich man who lived in a city. He was very wealthy and led a luxurious life. He always bragged about his wealth to his friends and neighbors. He was very unkind to his servant. He treated him so badly that he fell ill. "I'll run away someday and never come back again," the servant thought. He began making plans. One day, when his master left for work, he ran away. He reached a forest outside the city. Wandering in the forest for some food and water, he found a cave. It was empty, so he decided to hide in it. "I am free now. Master can never find me here," he thought gladly and went to sleep. He was woken up by the howling of a tiger. He stood up and saw a pair of blazing eyes coming towards him. He got scared. He neither had the strength to scream nor to run away. The tiger came close to him limping and said, "A thorn is stuck in my paw. If you remove it, I'll be grateful to you. " The servant gently took out the thorn and they became good friends. A few days later, the master's men came to that forest looking for the servant. They caught him and took him to the master. "Put him before a hungry tiger," the master ordered. On the day of punishment, people from all over the city came to see the fight. When the tiger was about... - Categories: Animal Stories, Bedtime Story, Folk Tales, Moral Story, Short Story Once, a tiger got lost and entered a village. The villagers began to live in terror. Every day, children and cattle were taken away by him. "We must somehow entrap the tiger and teach him a lesson," a villager suggested. Within a few days, they succeeded in catching the tiger. They put him inside a huge cage and placed it at the center of the village. People from distant places came to see the trapped tiger and felt relieved. As the days passed, the tiger grew weaker due to hunger and thirst. "I am a poor animal. Please open the cage for me," he would say to everyone who came to watch him. But, the villagers never paid any attention to what he said. They feared that he might eat them if he is released from the cage. One morning, a farmer was passing by the cage. The tiger kept on pleading for help until the farmer was convinced. As soon as the tiger came out, he desired to eat the farmer. The farmer began to scream. Hearing this, a fox who lived in the nearby forest, came there. The farmer told him how he was deceived by the tiger. The tiger also explained how he had survived without any food or water. After having listened to both of them, the fox said, "Dear tiger, I can understand your pain. But, I can't imagine how such a great tiger like you could enter that small cage! " The tiger wanted... - Categories: Animal Stories, Bedtime Story, Folk Tales, Moral Story, Short Story Once, there was a beautiful lake in a forest. The animals in the forest came there every day to drink water. In that lake, there lived a mother duck with her babies. The ducklings were very small and had not learned to fly. One morning, the mother duck was playing with the ducklings near the lake. Many birds from the nearby trees had also joined them. As they played merrily around the lake, they heard the rustling of the bushes. A fox was hiding there. "Oh, it's a fox! Quick, let's go! " said the birds and flew away to their nests. "Mother, he will eat us! Please do something! " the ducklings cried out in horror. The mother duck was very scared. She was worried about her babies as they couldn't fly. She thought for a while and said to them, "All of you rush to the lake immediately. " As they moved towards the lake, the mother duck walked away from them. She dragged her wings on the ground. Seeing this, the sly fox thought, "The duck must be injured. If I catch her, she won't be able to fly. " He sneakily went behind her. The mother duck walked very fast. She went ahead and took the fox far away from the lake. She looked towards the lake. Her babies had reached the middle of it. "Now they are safe. The wicked fox can't harm them anymore," she assured herself. As the fox came closer to the... - Categories: Bedtime Story, Folk Tales, Moral Story, Short Story Once, there was a boy in a village. His name was Raghu. He lived in a beautiful house with his parents. He was very brave and intelligent. Still, nobody liked him as he was very bad-tempered. He used to get annoyed easily and insult others with his words He was so short-tempered that people avoided his company. His parents always tried to mollify him in every possible way. But, their kind words had no effect on him. He remained as adamant as before. One day, Raghu's father thought of a plan. He bought a hammer and a bag full of nails. He was waiting for his son to return from school. As soon as Raghu entered the house and started to shout, his father took him to the garden outside the house. Both of them stood near the fence. Giving him the hammer and the nails, Raghu's father said, "Every time you feel angry, hammer one nail on the wood. This will help you to control your temper. " Though it seemed very amusing, Raghu agreed to the idea. From then, whenever Raghu got annoyed, he rushed to the garden with the hammer and the nails. In this way, many days passed. But, his behavior didn't change. A day came when not a single nail was left with him. "What shall I do now? " he thought. He ran to his father and asked for more nails. But this time, his father didn't give him any nail. Instead, he said,... - Categories: Animal Stories, Folk Tales, Moral Story, Short Story Long ago, a king had a beautiful garden in his palace. In that garden, there lived a group of monkeys. One day, the king announced a holiday on the occasion of his son's wedding. Everybody in the kingdom was celebrating. The gardener of the royal garden wished to spend the holiday with his family. But, he could not do so as he had to water the plants in the garden. After thinking for some time, he decided to talk to the monkeys. He went to the tree where the chief of the monkeys lived. Seeing him, the chief jumped down and asked, "My lord, how can I help you? " "Everyone is enjoying the holiday. I too can join my family if you water the plants for me," replied the gardener. "Certainly! I'll take good care of the garden. You go and celebrate," the chief assured him. When the gardener had left, the chief of the monkeys gathered the group and said, "Friends, you'll have to water the plants today as the gardener is away. "But we don't know how to do that! " said the monkeys. "That's very simple," said the chief. "Pull out the plants to check the length of the roots. Give more water to those having longer roots and less to those with shorter roots. " The monkeys followed their chief's instructions. Soon, they finished pulling out all the plants and watering them. The next day, the gardener returned and found the plants dead. He began... - Categories: Animal Stories, Bedtime Story, Folk Tales, Moral Story, Short Story There once stood a huge banyan tree along the bank of a river. A bird with two heads lived on that tree. The two heads always quarreled with each other. One day, the bird was flying in search of food. Suddenly, one of his heads saw a tree laden with fruits. The head wished to eat the fruits, so the bird flew to that tree. The fruits had a very sweet smell. Picking up fruit, the bird flew to the river bank. The head started eating it. Seeing this, the other head said, "The fruit seems to be delicious. I want to taste it once. " But, the first head refused to share it. He said, "Why do you need to eat it? We have only one stomach. Whoever eats it, it'll go to the same stomach. " "I won't eat the entire fruit, but only see how it tastes," the second head said. "No. You can't even taste it. I saw it first, so only I'll have it. Now, keep quiet and let me eat. " The other head felt subdued but kept silent. Another day, when the bird was flying, the first head spotted some fruits on a tree. When the bird plucked a fruit, some other bird cried, "Don't eat it! It's poisonous! " But, the first head was adamant. "As I have already plucked the fruit, I'll definitely have it," it said. "If you eat it, both of us will die," said the second head trying... - Categories: Animal Stories, Bedtime Story, Folk Tales, Moral Story, Short Story Once, a merchant lived in a city. He had a donkey who was lame. Every day, the merchant used to load his donkey with salt and took him to other cities. He would sell the salt in the market and return home at night. To go to the neighboring cities, they had to cross a stream. As the donkey was lame, he found it difficult to cross the stream. Also, the load on his back was very heavy. One day, while crossing, the donkey fell into the stream. A lot of salt got dissolved in the water. As a result, the load on his back felt lighter. That day, he easily crossed the stream. The next day, he again fell into the water. But, this time he did it knowingly. The same thing now happened regularly. The master understood the ploy. "This fellow is playing a trick with me every day. Tomorrow, I'll play a trick with him," he thought. As the merchant had planned, he loaded the donkey with cotton. While crossing the stream, he deliberately fell into the water. However, this time, the load became heavier. He had to carry it with great difficulty. Since then, he never repeated the trick again. Moral: Evil tricks will not work all the time. - Categories: Animal Stories, Bedtime Story, Folk Tales, Moral Story, Short Story In a farm, there once lived some white pigeons. They were fed well by the owner of the farm. Near that farm, there was a mango tree. Some crows lived on its branches. The crows saw the pigeons on the farm and said to each other, "Those pigeons are so lucky! The man at the farm takes good care of them. Every day, he gives them grains to eat. So, they don't need to wander in search of food. " While the crows were talking about the pigeons and their good fortune, one of them thought, "I wish that I could do something to look like the pigeons. Then I could have lived with them and shared their food. " As he had decided, he painted his body white and went to live with the pigeons in the farm. He never spoke to anybody and pretended to be one of them. Initially, no one could recognize him. But, one day, the owner of the farm was away from the village. There was no one to feed the pigeons. The crow could not control himself anymore. He cried loudly in hunger. Now his companions knew who he was. They attacked him. The crow was able to save himself from the pigeons and flew to the tree. The crows on the tree could not identify him as one of them and drove him away. The poor crow, who had been greedy, now became homeless. Moral: Never pretend what you are not. - Categories: Animal Stories, Bedtime Story, Folk Tales, Moral Story, Short Story Once, a farmer in a village had a plump hen. The dogs in that locality wanted to eat her. So, one day, a dog went to her and said, "I have no friends in the village. If you be my friend, I won't feel lonely. " The hen was very kind to everyone. She felt sorry for the dog. "I too have no one in this world. Let's be friends. We'll enjoy each other's company, I am sure," she said. The dog was very happy. "Don't trust him, you fool! " said a crow. He was watching them from a nearby tree. The hen however paid no heed to the crow. She accompanied the dog to the river. In this way, the dog was able to gain the hen's confidence. One day, a hunter came to the village to catch birds. He had laid traps in the fields and the forests. When the hen was eating grains in the field, she got trapped in the hunter's net. She cried for help. The dog came there to find what the matter was. "Help! Help! " the hen pleaded. But the dog was very clever. He said, "If I come close to you, I too might get trapped. It's better for me to escape from here. " The hen was startled. She knew that her death was near. She continued crying for help. She was heard by the crow. He came to her and said, "You had not listened to me earlier.... - Categories: Animal Stories, Bedtime Story, Folk Tales, Moral Story, Short Story Once, there was a farmer in a village. Every year, he worked very hard in the field and grew a good crops. One year, there was no rain in the country. All the rivers and lakes had dried up. The farmer could not cultivate any crop. One day, he sat under a tree beside his house. He was worried about how to buy food for his family. While he was lost in his thoughts, a little anthill caught his attention. He looked at it, scared. A snake was crawling in the mud around the anthill. He at once fetched a saucer of milk from his home. Placing it near the anthill, he went home. The snake slowly crept towards it and drank the milk. The next morning, when the farmer came near the tree, he found a gold coin in the saucer. He was overjoyed to see it. "I'll bring milk daily for the snake and get a gold coin in return," he said and ran to his house. He showed the coin to his wife who willingly gave him another saucer of milk. Thus, the farmer continued to offer milk to the snake. Within a few days, he became rich. One day, the farmer's wife was taken ill. The farmer decided to call the village physician. While leaving the house, he told his son to keep a saucer of milk near the anthill. The son did as he was told. In the evening, when he went under the tree,... - Categories: Animal Stories, Bedtime Story, Folk Tales, Moral Story, Short Story Once, a lion had grown very old. He stayed in his cave and could not go out hunting. He had not eaten anything for several days and grew very weak. One day, he thought, "I must somehow get something to eat or I'll die. " He thought for a while and came up with a plan. He crawled outside his cave and lay there. "Whoever comes to see me will become my food," he hoped. Presuming the lion to be gravely ill, many animals visited him to find out how he was. The lion ate all of them one by one. In this way, the animals in the forest reduced in number. Someone or the other was missing every day. They had no idea about the lion's trick. They kept visiting him and got killed. One day, a fox came to see the lion. He saw the footprints of the animals who had come there before him. He noticed the footprints going into the cave, but none came out. As he was very clever, he soon understood the matter. "Why are you standing outside? " asked the lion. The fox became cautious. He replied, "If I step inside the cave, I'll become your prey. Others had been a fool and could not save their lives, but I am not that fool. I'll inform everyone that you are well now so that no one comes here again. " Saying this, the fox left. Moral: Keep your eyes open. - Categories: Bedtime Story, Folk Tales, Moral Story, Short Story Once, there lived a farmer in a village. Every day, he left early in the morning, worked very hard in the field and returned home in the evening. He used to stay depressed as his only son had got involved in bad company. He was disobedient and never respected his father. The poor farmer tried hard to bring his son to the right path, but all his efforts failed. He advised his son to stay away from his friends which he never obeyed. Finally, the farmer came up with a plan. One day, when his son was not at home, he picked up some fresh mangoes from his garden. He kept a rotten mango along with the fresh mangoes and waited for his son to return. When the son returned home, his father said, "Here are some mangoes. Please keep them in a corner in the kitchen. " The son did what he was told. He noticed that within a few days, all the mangoes had rotten. He became unhappy and went to his father. His father said, "I had kept a rotten mango among the fresh ones. You might not have thought that a single rotten fruit can spoil the rest in the lot. That is why you didn't bother to throw it away. Likewise, you are not able to realise the ill effects of the bad company you keep. " The son understood what his father meant to say. He promised his father to give up all his... - Categories: Bedtime Story, Folk Tales, Moral Story, Short Story In a country, there lived a mighty king. He ruled his country wisely. He had won all the battles he had fought in his life. Once, he lost a battle against a large army. All his soldiers had died and his throne had been seized. He escaped from the battlefield and ran into a forest. He found an empty cave and started living in it. He never came out of the cave and went hungry for many days. He was immensely depressed and had lost the desire to live. He gazed at the walls of the cave waiting for his death. In this way, several weeks passed until something interesting caught his attention. A spider was weaving a web across the rocks of the wall. Whenever he climbed a little, a thread broke and he fell down. The same thing happened again and again. But, the spider didn't lose hope. The king watched the spider with great interest. The spider struggled hard to climb the wall and finish weaving the web. Gradually, success came to him and the web was complete. The king was very happy. "The spider has taught me the real meaning of life," he said to himself. With new energy and valor, he decided to fight again. He returned to his country, secretly made a new army, and fought with the ruler. This time, he had faith in himself. He defeated his enemy and acquired his throne and kingdom. Moral: Keep trying and success will come your... - Categories: Animal Stories, Bedtime Story, Folk Tales, Moral Story, Short Story In a forest, there once lived a camel and a jackal. Every day, they used to go to the river to drink water. There was a corn field on the other side of the river. The jackal always thought of crossing the river and visiting the field. But, he could not swim. One day, he said to the camel, "Friend, I want to eat corn from that field. I can't cross the river without your help. Will you carry me on your back? " The camel found it to be a very good idea. "That's easy. Tonight, we'll go there and enjoy the corn together," he said. At night, the two friends met near the river bank. The jackal leaped on the camel's back and together they crossed the river. Overjoyed, they began to eat rapidly. "I have eaten enough," the jackal said. But the camel was still feeling hungry. He could not stop eating. The jackal now started growling. When the camel asked him not to growl so loudly, he said, "It's my habit to growl after eating anything. " Soon, the farmers came running. The jackal hid behind the bushes. The farmers saw the camel and they beat him up. When the farmers were gone, the jackal came out of the bushes and said, "How bad these people are! I feel so sorry for you. " The camel said nothing. He carried the jackal on his back and went to the river. He went deep into the water... - Categories: Bedtime Story, Fairy Tales, Folk Tales, Moral Story, Short Story A poor woodcutter who lived in a cottage by the woods thought one day, "Today I shall go to the deepest part of the forest and cut down as many trees as I can. " He earned his livelihood by chopping wood and selling it in the market. However, he never got enough to eat. The woodcutter trudged along the forest's paths and stopped when he came to the deepest part. He cut trees all day long and then decided to rest. "Let me have a drink from the river nearby," he thought. As he came up to the river to drink water, his axe slipped from his hands and fell straight into the river. "Oh, what shall I do now? " he wailed. Suddenly the river god came out of the water and asked, "Why are you crying? " The woodcutter replied, "I have lost my axe and cannot cut wood anymore. Then I shall have nothing to sell in the market and will die of hunger. " The river god told him not to worry, as he would bring his axe back. He went back into the water and soon emerged with a dazzling golden axe. "That is not my axe," cried the woodcutter. So he went down again and brought another axe. This time it was silver. "That is not my axe either," the woodcutter said. The river god went into the water again and brought out an old and rusted iron axe. The woodcutter jumped up... - Categories: Animal Stories, Folk Tales, Moral Story, Short Story One day a hungry fox was roaming about the jungle in search of food. He had not eaten for a long time and was starving. He kept wandering from one end of the jungle to the other but still could not find anything to eat. At last he decided, "It seems I shall not find food here. Let me go to the nearby village and try my luck there. " So he ventured out of the forest and started trotting towards the village. As soon as he reached the village outskirts, some dogs spotted him and started barking. This scared the fox and he started running. Seeing this, the dogs began chasing the fox. The poor fox got so frightened that he ran straight into a washer-man's house and tripped over a tub of indigo dye kept in the courtyard. The dogs could no longer find the fox and left. After some time the fox scrambled out of the tub and went back to the forest huffing and puffing. As he reached the pond by the forest he thought, "Let me stop by and drink some water. " As soon as he lowered his mouth for a drink, he saw his reflection in the water. He had turned completely blue! This gave him a wicked idea and he thought, "This is my chance to lead a comfortable life. " He called all the animals in the jungle for a meeting. As the animals came by, they were frightened to see... - Categories: Animal Stories, Bedtime Story, Folk Tales, Moral Story, Short Story It was a hot and sunny day and a hungry fox was looking for food all over the jungle. Soon he came to a vineyard and saw ripe and juicy grapes hanging on the branches. "Ah, I found something to eat at last," said the fox happily. He jumped up to reach the grapes hanging high up on the branch above him but failed to reach it. But he was not willing to give up. "I think I must jump higher up to get hold of those tempting fruits," thought the fox. So he jumped and jumped, stood on his hind legs, and tried to pull down the grapes with his paws, but nothing helped. The grapes kept hanging above him, totally out of his reach. At last he gave up. He shook his head in disgust and remarked, "I'm sure those grapes are sour. I do not wish to eat them. " So saying, he went away. Moral: We usually dislike what we cannot get. - Categories: Animal Stories, Bedtime Story, Folk Tales, Moral Story, Short Story On a lazy summer afternoon, a little rabbit was snoring under a mango tree. Suddenly a ripe mango fell from a branch above him and made a loud 'Thud' sound. This made the rabbit wake up with a start. He looked around and became very frightened. He ran as fast as he could and did not stop to look back. As he was running through the forest he met a fox. "Why are you running so fast, dear rabbit? " asked the fox. "Oh, didn't you hear? The sky is falling down and I'm running away to save my life. " The fox too got frightened to hear this and he started running along with the rabbit. They ran and ran till they met a leopard. "Where are you off to, my friends? " he asked. "The sky is falling down and we are running to save our lives," they cried together, panting. Hearing this, the leopard too joined them and started running. Soon they met a wolf, a bear, a giraffe and a monkey. All of them joined the rabbit and his friends and ran with all their might. After running for some time, they met the king of the jungle, the mighty lion. "Why are all of you running? " he roared. "Your majesty, the sky is falling down and we should all run to save our lives," they chorused. Hearing this, the lion started laughing with all his might. "Who told you that? " he asked. The... - Categories: Animal Stories, Bedtime Story, Folk Tales, Moral Story, Short Story There lived a family of mice in a big house. They would run about all over the house and eat up everything they found in the kitchen, in the dining room, in the living room, and also in the bedroom! The people living in that house got so irritated with the mice thatthey brought home a cat. From that day onwards the mice could no longer run about freely like before. Every time they came out of their hole the cat would eat them up. Soon the mice held a meeting. "The cat has eaten up so many of our friends," they squeaked. "We must do somethingabout it. " "We cannot play about in the house like before," complained a baby mouse. "We cannot eat as much food as we wish to," complained a hungry mouse. Suddenly a little mouse declared, "Let us tie a bell around the cat. The bell will ring every time the cat comes to catch us. We can then quickly hide in our holes and save our lives. " All the mice were excited to hear this and started jumping up and down with joy. Only an old mouse remained quiet and slowly said, "You have made a very good plan. But have you decided who will bell the cat? " The mice fell silent as nobody dared to go near the cat. They had to thus let go of their plan and went back to their holes quietly. Moral: It is always easier said... - Categories: Animal Stories, Bedtime Story, Folk Tales, Moral Story, Short Story Once, a mouse lived in a hole near a pond. A frog visited him every day. Within a few days, they had become very good friends. Whenever the frog came to his house, the mouse offered him delicious food that he had stocked in his home. One day, the frog said to the mouse, "I always come to your place, but you never come to mine. Why don't you visit my home someday? " "How can I go to your home? It's on the other side of the pond and I don't know how to swim! " said the mouse. "Look, I have a plan," said the frog. "I'll tie you to me with a string. Then, together we can cross the pond. " "That's a great idea! " said the mouse. The frog tied its leg to that of the mouse with a string. Together, they started swimming in the water. When they were halfway across the pond, a flying kite spotted the mouse. He flew down and picked the mouse in his claws. As being tied to the mouse, the frog too went up while the kite flew with the mouse. Moral: An unwise start leads to a sad end. - Categories: Animal Stories, Bedtime Story, Folk Tales, Moral Story, Short Story One day, a young frog was sitting by a pond. In that pond, an ox was quenching his thirst. The frog had never seen anything as large as the ox. He ran to his father. "Just now I saw a giant near the pond," he said. "A giant! " his father exclaimed. "Tell me how he looks. " "He was large like a mountain with horns on his head. He also had a long tail," the frog described. "Oh, that's the farmer's ox," the father said. "But, he is not that big. " "No father, you don't know. He is bigger than you, the son said. The father blew and swelled himself out and asked, "Am I now looking as large as him? " "No, he was much larger than this," the son said. The father blew, blew, and blew again and asked, "Now see! Was he as large as this? " "Much larger than this," the son replied. "Alright. Let me try once more," the father said. Once again he blew and extended himself, but alas! He burst! Moral: Self-conceit leads to self-destruction. - Categories: Animal Stories, Bedtime Story, Folk Tales, Moral Story In a forest, there once lived a lion in a cave. A jackal also lived with him in his cave. He helped the lion in hunting. In return, the lion shared a portion of his meal with him. Once, the lion fell ill. He didn't have the strength to go out for hunting. He lay inside his cave all day without eating anything. "If the lion doesn't hunt, I too have to starve with him," the jackal thought. So, he decided to bring someone to the cave, so that the lion could kill him. After lurking everywhere for some time, he saw a donkey grazing around. He went to him and said, "The king of the forest wants to meet you. " Surprised by the jackal's words, the donkey said, "But, I am afraid of the wild animals! ""Why? The king himself has sent me to you. He wants to make you his minister," the cunning jackal said. This made the donkey delighted. He accompanied the jackal to the lion's cave. As the donkey came closer, the lion pounced on him and killed him. The lion was thirsty. He went to the river. But, the jackal could not wait for him to return. He ate the donkey's brain. When the lion came back from the river, he wondered where the brain was. He asked the jackal, who said in reply, "If the donkey had a brain, would he have come here? " Moral: Deception with sweet words succeeds beyond limit. - Categories: Animal Stories, Bedtime Story, Folk Tales, Moral Story In a forest, there lived a hare. He had many friends who loved him dearly. He had presumed that they would help him in need. One day, a wild dog spotted him. "The hare will be perfect for my breakfast," the dog thought. He started running after him. With his long hind legs, the hare leaped ahead as fast as he could. On his way, he met his friend, the elephant. "Why are you running, my little friend? " asked the elephant. "A dog is coming after me. Please chase him away or he'll catch me," the hare replied, panting. "Sorry dear, my wife is waiting for me near the lake. She'll be annoyed if I don't go. Ask the bull. He'll help you," saying this, the elephant left for the lake. The hare ran to the bull's house. Seeing the hare at his door, he wanted to know what the matter was. "Can you see the dog hiding behind the tree? He has been chasing me for a very long time. Please drive him away! " the hare pleaded. "Friend, my child is missing since morning. Who knows where he is now? I must find him or the tiger will eat him up," said the bull and went away looking for his calf. Now the hare was really worried. He didn't know where to hide. He began to run again. The dog followed him. The hare met his other friends on the way. But, all of them refused to... - Categories: Animal Stories, Bedtime Story, Folk Tales, Moral Story, Short Story Once there lived a farmer with his wife in a small village, and they had a son. They also had a pet Mongoose. The little boy and the mongoose were good friends. One day the farmer was in his field working. The farmer's wife left her sleeping son and mongoose alone in the house and went to the market. Suddenly, a deadly snake got into the house and tried to attack the boy. But the mongoose stopped it and fought with it. There was a fierce fight between them. Finally, the mongoose bites the snake and murders it. When the farmer's wife returned from the market, she saw the mongoose with blood in his mouth and paws. She misunderstood that the mongoose attacked her son. The farmer's wife took a long stick and gave a heavy blow to the mongoose and the mongoose died. She ran into the house to her son. She was shocked to see the dead snake on the floor. She regretted her decision. - Categories: Animal Stories, Fairy Tales, Folk Tales, Moral Story, Short Story Once upon a time in a forest lived a cunning fox and a foolish crow. One day, the crow found a big piece of bread and sat on the branch of the tree. Fox saw a Crow sitting on the branch of the tree with a big piece of bread in his mouth. The fox said to himself, "The bread looks delicious and I am starving, Let me take it from the Crow". He went to the Crow and said " Good morning. You have a lovely piece of bread with you. Can I please have a bit too? ". But the Crow refused. The Fox begged to the Crow but the Crow wouldn't listen. He just sat quietly and ate his piece of bread. But the Fox didn't give up. The Fox returned to the tree and said to the Crow," Are you the same handsome Crow that everyone in the forest has been talking about? You look beautiful. You also have lovely black feathers and a sharp beak. You have a beautiful voice too. Everyone in the forest is praising your voice. Can you sing a sweet song for me? ". The fox saw the crow swelling with pride. The Crow was thrilled to hear that everyone in the forest was talking about him and praising him. He suddenly forgot all about the bread and began to sing. As the crow began to sing, the piece of bread fell down from the tree and the fox caught it.... - Categories: Moral Story, Short Story A tailor once boasted that he made such wonderful clothes that these could be seen only by intelligent and sensitive people, while they remained invisible to the rest. Hearing of this, the emperor ordered the tailor to make such a becoming suit for him. The tailor demanded a good sum of money and thread, and began working, or rather, he pretended to be working as he had not placed anything on his loom. But, each courtier, who came to check the tailor's work at the emperor's orders, sang the tailor's praises, praising the cloth, design, and his workmanship! Actually, they did not see anything but lied so that the others would not think that they were dull or insensitive! Finally, even the emperor pretended he liked the suit, though he also could not see it! He wore the invisible suit at an important parade. As he passed through his people, they all exclaimed: 'What a wonderful suit! ' But, then, a small boy shouted: 'Look, the emperor has no clothes on! ' And the crowd began to murmur: 'Yes, the emperor is not wearing anything! ' Feeling thoroughly embarrassed, the emperor quickly ran back to his palace! - Categories: Fairy Tales, Folk Tales, Short Story George and Georgette were deeply in love. One day. they lost their way in the woods found an old castle, 'Look here,' called out George. 'Tweet-tweet', was the reply. He spun around. To his surprise he found a thrush beside him instead of his beloved! The thrush flew behind a huge oak tree. And trom behind it emerged a wrinkled old woman, hobbling about with a stick. George realized that this was a witch who had captured his Georgette. He begged her to return his ladylove but she vanished and he could only hope for a miracle. He dreamt that a fatry had brought him a red flower with pearl in its heart. At dawn, he began to look for such a flower and found a rose with a dewdrop nestling in its petals. With this rose, he entered the castle where he saw many cages full of birds. He saw the witch was about to leave with a cage. George grabbed it and touched the witch with the rose. The evil spell was broken. He found his beloved and they left the castle with many other young girls. - Categories: Animal Stories, Fairy Tales, Folk Tales, Short Story The mother goat left her seven little kids at home one day. Before going, she told them sternly about the cunning and wicked wolf. When the wolf knocked on the door, saying he was their mother, they could not be fooled. 'Our mother has a gentle and sweet voice,' they said. 'We know you are the big bad wolf. ' The wolf ran off to eat some honey to make his voice sweeter. But, again failed as his black and hairy paws gave him away! Going to a bakery, the wolf bought a goat's paw of bread dough. This time, the children were fooled and opened the door. Quickly, the wolf swallowed them all up. Except one kid who hid in the cupboard. When the mother goat returned, the little kid told her what had happened. Off she went to find the beastly wolf and found him sleeping soundly. Seeing the shapes of her children's heads in his stomach, the mother goat cut through the his stomach with scissors and freed her little ones. She put stones in his stomach instead and stitched it up very cleverly. When the wolf awoke, he was none the wiser, but when he went to drink water, the heavy stones made him lose his balance. He fell into the water and drowned. The seven little goats grew up healthy, with big horns, to save themselves from wicked wolves. - Categories: Animal Stories, Bedtime Story, Moral Story, Short Story There was a river in a small village with a narrow bridge over it. The bridge was too narrow that only one person can cross at a time. People used the bridge to cross over the river. One day, two dogs wanted to cross over the bridge from the opposite direction. The dogs met in the middle of the bridge. The bridge was too narrow. There was no space for them to pass. They waited, but neither of them moved backward. One dog warned the other dog, "I am older and stronger than you, so go back once. " The other refused and said, "I am stronger. You are old and will take a lot of time to cross the bridge. " Soon, their argument turned into a fight. During fight, both dogs fall into the river and drown. After some time two goats were crossing the bridge at the same time. One goat was wise. He knew if they fight, then they would fall off the bridge and drown. He shouted out to the other goat, "Stop! I shall lie down, and you may walk over me. " The wise goat then lay down on the bridge, and the other goat walked carefully over him. So they finally went past each other and were on their way back home. - Categories: Animal Stories, Bedtime Story, Moral Story, Short Story One day, a donkey found a lion's skin. He put it on and looked at his reflection in the river. " Wow! I look just like a lion! No one can say that it is me, I must take advantage of this" the donkey said to himself. The donkey wore the skin and marched into the village. Seeing a lion in the village, the villagers got scared and started running. They left their stores and kiosks open. The villagers have left their food and belongings out here in the open. The donkey ate as much as he wanted and went back into the jungle. For the next few days, he relaxed and enjoyed what he had brought from the village. When his supply ran out wearing the lion skin he walked into the village once again. The villagers once again ran at the sight of the lion and donkey gathering his loot. This went on for many days. Every time he was successful, the donkey's confidence grew. The villagers thought of doing something about the lion. And so, the villagers decided to follow the lion. The donkey went straight to the wheat fields talking about his loot and started singing loudly. The villagers who were behind him recognized his braying. They were shocked to see a lion braying. It was the donkey braying in lion's skin, let's teach him a lesson" they said. The villagers caught hold of the donkey and beat him mercilessly. - Categories: Animal Stories, Bedtime Story, Folk Tales, Moral Story Once there was a cap seller who sold beautiful caps. One hot day the cap seller was going to sell his caps to a nearby village market. He has to cross the forest to reach the village. He was carrying a basket full of caps on his head and going through a forest. As it was a hot day, he got tired in the heat of the sun and thought of taking a rest for a while. So, he kept his basket on the ground and slept under the tree for some time. There were many monkeys on that tree. The monkeys came down one by one, took all the caps from the cap seller's basket, and then climbed on the tree. Suddenly when the cap seller woke up, he was shocked to see his basket empty. He searched for his caps everywhere. But, to his surprise, he saw the monkeys on the tree wearing them. The cap seller had no idea how to get his caps back. When the cap seller made an angry face, to his surprise the monkeys also made an angry face. He laughed at them, and the monkeys also laughed. He realized that the monkey was imitating him. So, he thought of an idea, the cap-seller took the cap and threw it on the ground. Seeing him the monkeys did the same with their caps. The cap seller collected all the caps thrown by the monkey and put them back into his basket. He went... - Categories: Animal Stories, Bedtime Story, Moral Story, Short Story An Ant was walking back to her home after a day's work. She walked along the bank of the stream. But suddenly, she slipped and fell into the stream. The ant was petrified and tried to look for something to hold on to. She then realized she was sailing with the stream, away from her home. The Ant Panicked and started crying out loud, "Help! Help! ! Please help me! ". The dove was watching all this from a nearby tree. Thinking smartly the dove plucked some leaves from the tree and dropped it into the water near the struggling ant. The ant climbed safely over the leaf and reached the shore safely. The ant was grateful to the dove and thanked him. The Dove replied, "It is my duty to help someone in need. I am glad I could be of help to you. " Then the Dove flew into the open sky. A few days later, the Ant was walking through the forest. She noticed a hunter with a gun. He was aiming his gun at a pretty bird sitting on a tree. The Ant immediately recognized the dove and ran toward the hunter. As the hunter was about to pull the gun trigger, the Ant climbed up his shoes and bit him on the leg. The hunter shouted in pain and missed his aim. The Dove flew away from the tree. The Dove was saved just in time. The ant walked away happily as she was able... - Categories: Animal Stories, Bedtime Story, Moral Story, Short Story Once upon a time, there lived a shepherd boy who takes care of sheep in a village. Every day he used to take the heard of the sheep on top of the hill and bring them down by evening. But one day he felt really bored. He decided to have some fun. So he shouted loudly, "Tiger! Tiger! Help ! ". The farmers in the neighboring area heard the boy's cries for help. All the villagers came to the top of the hill to save the sheep. When they came to the spot, they did not notice any sign of a Tiger. The farmers asked the boy, "Wasn't it you who cried for help? ". The boy laughed and said, " There is no Tiger here. It was a joke, ha! ha! ha! ". Next day the boy played the same trick and annoyed the farmers once again. A few days later, a Tiger really came. The shepherd boy shouted for help. But no help came. Everybody thought that the stupid boy was again playing his childish joke. The Tiger killed many of the boy's sheep. The boy felt sorry for his silly joke. - Categories: Animal Stories, Bedtime Story, Folk Tales, Moral Story, Short Story Gangu and Ramu were good friends. One day they were passing through a forest. On their way, they saw a bear coming toward them. Gangu ran and climbed up a nearby tree. Ramu did not know the skill of climbing a tree. But he showed the presence of mind. He had heard that wild animals do not hurt dead bodies. So he lay down still on the ground. He closed his eyes and held back his breath. The bear came to Ramu. He sniffed Ramu's Ears. He thought that the man was dead and went away. When the bear was out of sight, Gangu climbed down the tree. He went to Ramu and asked, "What did the bear tell you into your ear? ". Ramu said, "The Bear told me to keep away from a selfish friend like you". - Categories: Short Story A mighty king once had an enchantingly beautiful daughter. Many prince wanted to marry her. The king laid a condition: the princess must be guarded for three nights so that she remained in her room. Everyone failed. A handsome young prince from a rival kingdom also tried his luck. On his way, he was met by a youth in rags, Flagstaff, who said that nobody was willing to employ him but proved that he could grow to an amazing height! Another young beggar, Fatso, also came and said that nobody kept him as he was very fat. To prove it, Fatso held his breath and his stomach grew immensely large! Soon, a third youngster, called Big-eyes came and he could make his eyes grow very huge! The prince employed all of them. The next morning, he met the king, and fell instantly in love with the princess, who also seemed to favour him. That night, he got the king's permission for his three servants to remain with him as he guarded the princess. Around midnight, the prince, Flagstaff and Fatzo dozed off. When the prince awoke, the princess had disappeared! Luckily, Big-eyes had seen her change into a wild duck and fly to a lake! Flagstaff covered the distance in ten steps! Fatso drank all the water and Flagstaff handed the duck to the prince. At once, she turned into the princess! The next night, the princess changed into an apple and after that, into a needle. Each time, Big-eyes... - Categories: Animal Stories, Moral Story, Short Story A hungry wolf was on the prowl. He met a dog passing by and requested him for some food. The dog took pity on the wolf and said, "Cousin, you should also work for a master like me. You will be given good food every day". The wolf agreed to go with the dog to his master's place so that he could share the dog's work. On the way, the wolf noticed that the hair on a certain part of the dog's neck was worn away. He asked the dog how that happened. "Oh", the dog replied, "it's just a little thing that's happened because of the collar that's put to chain me every night. Earlier it used to annoy me but now I'm used to it so it hardly matters. " On hearing this the wolf said, "I think this is not the right place for me to work, so I am leaving. " The wolf thought that it is better to be free and starve than to be a slave and eat well. He thought that he was better off than the dog and went away. - Categories: Short Story One day, an ant scurried around in desperation, looking for some water. It was dying of thirst when a drop of water landed near its mouth, which saved it from dying. It was a tear actually, containing all the virtues that flow out of suffering, and the ant realized that it was now able to understand and speak the human language! Visiting a grain store one day, the ant found a little girl, sitting on the floor and crying. When the ant asked her why she was crying, the little girl said that she had been imprisoned by an ogre. He had told her to make three heaps of grain, rye, and barley out of huge mounds of seeds all mixed together. The ant said: 'But that will take at least one month. ' In between tears, the girl said: 'If I do not finish by tomorrow, the ogre will make mincemeat of me and eat me for supper! ' The ant cheered her up. He fetched all his friends. They set to work. By the next morning, the ogre found the three mounds he had wanted! So, it was actually a tear that came to the rescue of a little girl! - Categories: Bedtime Story, Short Story Once, a boy, called Tembo had a tomcat for a companion, which he took everywhere. Once, Tembo saved a large snake who gave him a mirror as a reward. It was a magic mirror! Tembo commanded the mirror to give him a house and, in a flash, the house was ready! Tembo went to the King and asked for his daughter's hand. The King said, 'If you can build a house in one minute, you can marry my daughter. ' Using his magic mirror, Tembo did what the King wanted! Though unhappy, the King kept his word but sent his soldiers after Tembo. Tembo tricked the soldiers with his magic mirror. The King learned about a magic mirror and sent an old woman to steal it who replaced the mirror with another one. The King again sent his soldiers and this time they took his wife back to her parents and put Tembo with his cat in jail! As Tembo sat unhappily, the cat caught a huge rat. The rat helped them to bring back the magic mirror. Tembo got his wife and house back and lived happily ever after. - Categories: Animal Stories, Short Story Unluckily for him, a lion fell in love with a peasant's beautiful daughter, and approached him, asking if he could marry his daughter. Worried for his daughter, the peasant searched for an excuse, as he lacked the courage to openly refuse the lion. Finally, he told the lion: 'As my daughter has an allergy to teeth and claws, you will have to get yours' removed, if you wish to marry her. ' The lovesick lion did exactly that and returned. But, as he was harmless now, lacking teeth and claws, the peasant beat him badly with a stick and sent him running away. - Categories: Short Story In olden times, Crete was home to Daedalus, one of the greatest inventors. Ordered by the king, he constructed a maze for imprisoning Minotaur, a monster, who was half-man and half-bull, so that it would never escape. But later, he helped Theseus, a famed hero, to kill Minotaur. The king punished him for this by imprisoning Daedalus in the same labyrinth, along with Icarus, his young son. Daedalus cheered up his son, telling him that he knew of a way out of their labyrinthine cell! He made a large pair of wings, which could be moved up or down, by moving the arms, and fixed them with wax onto Icarus's shoulders. He made another pair for himself. Then, the two men flew off! With a few strokes, they crossed the walls of the labyrinth. Icarus felt very proud of his feat and wanted to fly higher. But the sun's heat melted the wax from his wings and these fell off, causing Icarus to fall to the ground and die. Filled with sadness, Daedalus flew on, till he was safe. - Categories: Moral Story, Short Story A poultry farmer found a stray hen and took it home. Lo and behod! The next day the hen laid a golden egg! The farmer and his wife couldn't believe their luck. The farmer soon became very rich because the hen laid a golden egg every day. The foolish farmer then became greedy. One day, he thought, "If I kill this hen, I can take out all the golden eggs from its stomach together. Then I can sell all the eggs and become rich, even faster! " In the hope of finding lots of golden eggs within, he killed the hen. But of course, he found no eggs. He was very upset and cried over his foolishness. Out of greed, he had robbed himself of even what he had. He had learned his lesson but it was too late. - Categories: Animal Stories, Bedtime Story, Short Story One day a crow was feeling very thirsty. On a hot summer day, she flew here and there in search of water but in vain. She continued to search hard but couldn't find any water to quench her thirst. Then after a long time, she found a pitcher, with a little water in it. The neck of the pitcher was too long and the water level too low. The crow could not reach the water with her beak. She saw many pebbles around. Suddenly, the crow had an idea. She picked the pebbles one by one and dropped them in the pitcher. And lo! The level of water slowly rose to the top. The crow drank it thirstily. She was very happy. This story proves that if you try hard enough you can overcome any problem. - Categories: Short Story A farmer and his son were carrying their donkey in a wheelbarrow to the market so as not to tire the animal. Seeing them the villagers laughed. "Whoever has seen a man wheeling a donkey? " they said. This worried the farmer who then rode the donkey. Then the people said, "Look at the selfish man! He is sitting on the donkey while his poor son is running behind! " The farmer put his son on the donkey and began to walk. The people said, "Look at that boy! He is making his old father walk while he sits happily! ". Now, both the farmer and the son sat on the donkey and went to the market. The people cried, "Look at them! They are so cruel to the animal! " The farmer decided to tie the donkey's legs to staff and carry it. The frightened donkey struggled to free himself and fell into the river and drowned. - Categories: Animal Stories, Bedtime Story, Short Story A town mouse decided to visit his cousin in the countryside. They had a wonderful time in the meadows and fields. After a few days, the town mouse invited his cousin to the town. When the country mouse saw the town mouse's house, he was surprised. There were so many things to eat! While they ate, a woman came into the kitchen and saw the mice. She shrieked so loudly that her husband came running. "It's those mice again! Let me bring the cat in here," he said. Within seconds, a huge black cat chased the mice out of the kitchen. The country mouse said, "Cousin, I am happy that you have so many things to eat, but I would rather live safely in the country eating my simple meals! " Saying this, the country mouse returned home. - Categories: Animal Stories, Short Story A porcupine went to the market to buy vegetables. He was walking very slowly as all porcupines do when he met a hare. The hare made fun of him saying, "Look how slowly you walk! " The porcupine replied, "I am slow, but I can still beat you in a race! " "Fine! " said the hare, If you win, I will give you a penny! " The clever porcupine went home and told his brother about the race and they thought of a plan to fool the hare. The race began and the hare ran as fast as he could. But when he reached the finish line, he found the porcupine waiting for him saying, "Slow poke! Look how fast I can run! " The hare had lost the race. He was amazed that the porcupine had won and gave the porcupine a penny. He did not know that there were two porcupines in the race. One had started with him and the other had been waiting at the finish line! - Categories: Short Story King Midas was a very greedy king. Even though he was very rich he always craved for more and more. One day, he called his court magician and commanded, "Find me a spell that can get me more treasures than I already have. " The magician said, "Your majesty, I can give you a power that no one else in this world has. Anything that you touch will turn into gold! " The king was delighted with his good fortune. Everything he touched turned into gold. He turned trees, grass, tables, chairs, flowers, and vases into gold. He thought that he must be the richest man in the world. But in the evening, when he sat down for supper, King Midas was dismayed. His food turned into gold the moment he touched it and he had to goto bed without any food! However, King Midas was too greedy to be sad about it. The next morning, the king's daughter ran to hug her father. But alas! The minute she kissed him, she turned into a gold statue! King Midas, who loved his daughter very much, was very sad and he ran to the magician for help. He cried, "Please help me, O Magician! I don't want to be rich anymore. I only want my beloved daughter back. " The magician changed everything back to normal. King Midas had learnt his. lesson and was never greedy - Categories: Animal Stories, Bedtime Story, Short Story Once upon a time, there lived a big elephant in the jungle. As the elephant was much bigger than all the other animals, he always trouble them. In the same forest, there lived a family of ants. They were a hard-working family who always gather food. One day as ants were walking big mean elephant threw water at them. The ants got angry and asked the elephant to stop troubling others. But the elephant did not listen. The next day the ants noticed the sleeping elephant. The ant thought of teaching a lesson to the elephant. She quietly climbed onto the elephant's trunk and entered it. Once inside, she started biting the elephant. The elephant shouted because of pain. He tried everything but couldn't get the ant to stop biting him or come out of its trunk. Such an enormous elephant became helpless ahead of the tiny ant. The elephant pleaded to the ant to stop biting. The ant stopped and came out of its trunk. The elephant apologized to the ant and promised never to disturb others again. - Categories: Animal Stories, Bedtime Story, Short Story Once upon a time, there lived two cats in a village. They were close friends. They played together, slept together, and went everywhere together. Suddenly one day there was no food for both of them. The two cats went in search of food, they found a loaf of bread. They both wanted the bread as they were very hungry. They began to fight over it. one cat said, "I found it first it's mine. " Another cat said, "No I found it first, give it to me. " A monkey in the tree seeing them fighting said to himself, 'It will be great if I get that bread. It looks yummy. ". He came to the cats and said, "Friends why are you fighting? Let me help you to settle your fight". Both the cats agreed to his proposal. The Monkey split the bread into two uneven pieces. One piece was large and the other piece was small. Then he ate a portion from the larger piece. But this made the other piece larger. So it took a bite from the other piece. likewise, the monkey ate the whole loaf of bread. It climbed back from the tree laughing at the cats. Two foolish cats couldn't able to eat anything. - Categories: Animal Stories, Bedtime Story, Folk Tales, Short Story Once there was a tortoise lived in a pond with two Swans. The tortoise was very talkative. It used to talk to swans for a very long time. Tortoise and Swans become good friends. Once there was a drought and it lasted for long time. Due to drought, the water in the pond got dry. There was no water for them to drink. The swans decided to move out to some other place. The tortoise asked swans to take him alone with them. After lots of thinking, The swans suggested a plan, according to which tortoise would have to hold a piece of stick by its mouth and the swans will hold its two ends of that stick. They told the tortoise not to speak otherwise it would fall and die. The tortoise understood and promised them not to open its mouth during that journey. while crossing a village, many saw the tortoise and got surprised. They shouted at the tortoise with surprise. Tortoise tried to reply to them and opened its mouth to speak. But as soon as it opened its mouth, it fell down to the ground. The swans were very shocked to see their friend's end. The tortoise died because of its foolishness. - Categories: Animal Stories, Bedtime Story, Folk Tales, Short Story Once, there was a dog searching for food. He got a bone from a meat shop. The dog took the bone and went towards his house. He reached at the bridge of the river which was near his house. The dog saw his own reflection in the water and mis-understood that some other dog is there in the water with a bone in its mouth. The greedy dog made a plan to snatch away the bone from the other dog. It opened the mouth for snatching away the bone. Splash! , the bone in his mouth fell down in the river. The poor dog lost its bone and went home with lesson of Don't be Greedy. - Categories: Animal Stories, Bedtime Story, Short Story There lived a lion in a forest. In same forest, near the bush lived a mouse in a hole. It was a hot day and the lion was taking rest after a long hunt. The playful mouse came out of his hole and started climbing up and down the lion. The running of the mouse tickled the lion and he woke up. He caught the mouse and said. "You silly fool! You disturbed my sleep. I am going to kill you". The mouse looked at the lion and replied humbly. "Oh king! Please do have mercy on this small creature! I have committed a mistake. If you release me I will surely repay you in the future". The lion was surprised by the bravery of the mouse and he let the mouse free. Days Passed. Once, when the lion went for a hunt he got trapped in a net. He started roaring. The mouse heard the roaring and thought, "The lion must have been trapped. I should help him". He ran to the net and started cutting it. Soon, the net was cut enough for lion to get away. They became good friends. - Categories: Animal Stories, Bedtime Story, Short Story It was a beautiful spring day, a grasshopper was playing in a green field. He noticed a line of ants marching along carrying some grains of wheat. The grasshopper asked, " Where are you going with that food? ". "We are taking these grains to our nest," said the Ant. "But it's such a beautiful day, come and have fun with me," said the grasshopper. "No, I think you should come work with us it's going to be a long winter with lots of snow. You had better start storing your food now" replied the ant. "Why worry about the winter? It's only spring, and there are lots of food everywhere," said the grasshopper. The grasshopper did not listen to ant. All through the spring, the grasshopper did nothing except eat, sleep and play. He became quite fat. Later Autumn came. Ant advised the grasshopper to collect food for winter but he didn't listen. "Winter is not here yet, and when it comes, I am sure I will be able to find some food". A few weeks later, winter came, and the snow began to fall. Just as the ants said, the snow was very deep. Ants were warm and comfortable in their nest with lots of good food to eat. The grasshopper, however, had trouble finding food. He was very hungry and miserably cold all winter. The grasshopper had learned a valuable lesson. Next spring onward, the grasshopper went out to gather food with the ant. - Categories: Bedtime Story, Folk Tales, Short Story, Tenali Raman Once upon a time, Tenali Raman set out on a long journey. On the way, another traveler joined Raman. "This place is full of thieves. I am afraid they will rob me. Can I travel with you? " the man asked Tenali Raman. Tenali Raman agreed. That night, the two of them stopped at some place to rest. Tenali Raman was tired and fell asleep soon. His companion was waiting for this moment. In fact, he was a thief who used to rob travelers. He got up and looked under Tenali Raman’s pillow without disturbing him. He found nothing. He carefully searched Tenali Raman’s pockets looking for money. To his disappointment, he did not find anything. Then he opened the bundle Tenali Raman was carrying. Again, he found nothing. The next morning, the two resumed their journey. They halted for the night. Tenali Raman had a sound sleep. His companion searched Tenali Raman’s belongings, looking for money and valuables. Again, he was disappointed. The next day, they reached Tenali Raman reached his destination, and they had to part thier ways. The companion confessed that he was a thief. "As we are parting our way, please tell me where did you hide the money in the night? " pleaded the thief. "Unless I know your secret, I may not be able to sleep," he confessed. Tenali Raman smiled, "I knew you were a thief the moment I saw you. I took care to hide money where you would never find it.... - Categories: Bedtime Story, Folk Tales, Short Story, Tenali Raman One day an Arab brought a ship full of horses from Persia. Many in the court of king Krishnadevaraya bought the horses from the Arab. Raman maintained that Vijayanagara’s horses were superior to the horses from Arabia. The ministers who bought the Arabian horses challenged Raman to prove this point in a horse race. Every ministers put in much effort to train their horses. They fed the horses well to make sure they were strong and sturdy. On the day of the race, all the ministers brought their well-fed horses to a field with well-trained jockeys to ride the horses. Raman brought his horse which looked lean and thin. He had a hungry look, as though he had not eaten for days. Raman announced that he himself would ride his horse. All the horses were lined up with the jockeys in position. Raman sat on the hungry looking horse. He had a long pole in his hand. He had tied a bundle of grass to one end of the stick. Holding the stick from the other end, Raman set the grass in front of the horse. The horse wanted to grab the food. So, he ran fast. But no matter how fast he ran, the grass remained outside his reach. The horse kept running with greater speed until it crossed the finish line, coming first in the race. Raman hugged his horse and fed it lush green grass. - Categories: Bedtime Story, Short Story Once there were three billy goats gruff lived on the grassy hillside near the river. There was a little billy-goat gruff, middle billy goat gruff, and big billy-goat gruff. The three brothers lived happily on the hillside. They ate and ate and ate all day soon they realized that they had eaten up every last blade of the grass on the hill where they lived. "Oh no! what will we eat now? " cried, little billy-goat brother. "Don't worry little brother! there's a lush green grass to the other side of the river. All we have to do is cross the bridge and enjoy the delicious green grass" said middle billy-goat brother. Little billy-goat gruff said he will cross the bridge first. He trotted down the hillside. Tip tap tip tap tip taps his hooves made the sound on the wooden bridge. "Who is that tip-tapping over my bridge? " growled the troll jumped up the bridge who was living under the bridge. I am little billy-goat gruff. I am crossing the river to eat the sweet grass on the other side of the river," said the little billy goat gruff. "Oh no, you are not! I am going to eat you up! " roared the troll. The little billy-goat gruff was very scared, but he was also very smart. He said, "Oh! Please you can't eat me, I am too small, and you won't be satisfied eating me, I won't make a very good meal, but you can eat... - Categories: Bedtime Story, Short Story Mrs. Rabbit had four little bunnies, Mopsy, Flopsy, Cotton-tail and Peter. They lived in a hole under the root of a big tree. One day Mrs. Rabbit she was going to town to buy some bread and asked four bunnies not to go into Mr. McGregor's garden. The bunnies put on their jackets and shoes then they went outside. Mopsy, Flopsy, and Cotton-tail started to pick blackberries. But Peter, who was not interested in blackberries, hopped through the path that led to Mr. McGregor's garden gate. Peter Squeezed in from under the gate and looked around. Mr. McGregor's garden was full of green leaves and vegetables. Peter ate some lettuce, green beans and radishes. He suddenly felt sick, so he went looking for some parsley a plant which will help him to recover. On the way to finding parsley, he saw Mr. McGregor. He grabbed his rake and chased Peter, waving a rake. Peter ran as fast as he could. He rushed all over the garden. He lost one shoe near the cabbages and another shoe near the Potatoes. After losing them, he ran into the net and got caught by the big buttons on his jacket. Quickly peter slipped out of his blue jacket, But Mr. McGregor was still chasing him. He rushed into the tool shed and searched for the hiding place. He found a watering can and jumped into it. The can was filled with icy water. Mr. McGregor rushed into the shed and searched for the... - Categories: Fairy Tales, Short Story Once upon a time, a girl named Dorothy lived with her uncle. She was playing with her dog, Toto. When a scary cyclone came their way, Dorothy and Toto hurried to thir house. The hurricane lifted their house and blew it away. After a few minutes, it fell somewhere with a big sound. Dorothy stepped out of the house and was shocked to see that the house had landed on someone. Just then, Dorothy and Toto heard people behind them rejoicing. They thanked Dorothy for saving them from the evil witch of the east. Just then, another witch appeared. She was the good witch. She thanked Dorothy for saving them and asked whether she needed anything. Dorothy asked the witch how she could return to her City. The witch advised her to seek assistance from The Wizard of Oz and to follow the yellow brick road that would lead to him. She also gave magical slippers to Dorothy. Dorothy thanked her for the slippers and followed the yellow brick road with Toto. On the way, she met a scarecrow who could talk. Scarecrow said he wanted to be a great thinker but didn't have a brain. She asked him to follow her so that he could ask for help from The Wizard of Oz. Walking a few minutes further, they met a tin man. He was sad as he didn't have a heart. She said they were on their way to see The Wizard of Oz, and he could ask... - Categories: Fairy Tales, Short Story Once upon a time, a young prince wanted to get married. So he went around the world looking for the right princess to marry. Alas! He found none! Something or the other was always a miss in all princesses he met to be a true princess to his people. One stormy night after the prince came back home, He and his family were having their dinner when there was a noise outside the castle door. The king went to see what was going on. When he got there he was surprised to see a young girl drenched. He asked her who was she. She said, " I am a princess, I was passing through the storm and the horses got frightened and dragged my carriage into slush and mud". Nobody who looked at the young girl could believe that she could ever be a princess. She looked like a poor peasant girl. The prince asked the queen whether she is really a princess. The queen said we must wait till morning to know it. The queen went to the room prepared for the princess. The queen took out a pea from her pocket and placed it right in the middle of the princess's bed. She ordered the maid to bring ten mattresses and place them on top of the pea. All night long the princess didn't get much sleep. In the morning, the queen asked the princess whether she slept well. The princess said, "My bed was really soft but...