In today’s day and age of streaming services, free videos, and ample content that’s available at the click of a button. It’s easy to lose track of what your toddler is watching.
Even the funniest cartoons can be entertaining, but they may not necessarily teach them a thing or two.
But kids need to learn about morals when growing up. It’s a way to shape their character and build them into good samaritans of society.
That’s where short stories and fables come into play. Most short stories for kids do come with a moral at the end for the child to learn something.
Things like compassion, kindness, empathy, dignity and more can be taught and short stories have been doing a fantastic job for centuries inculcating them in children.
That’s why parents should take the opportunity time and again to tell moral stories to children. And what better time to do this than bedtime?
Your toddler has all your attention and once they’ve invested themselves in these tales, they are bound to learn from it. All of these short stories have animals or human characters going through life experiences and share the morals they learn from them.
So, when you go to your little one’s room to put them to sleep tonight, try reading any of these five short bedtime stories for toddlers that offer a moral in the end.
1. The Hare And The Tortoise
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This remains one of the most loved short bedtime stories for toddlers across the world.
Once lived a hare and a tortoise in a forest. The hare was fast and proud of his speed. On the other hand, the tortoise was slow and calm. The hare would make fun of the tortoise for not being as fast enough.
One day, the tortoise decided to challenge the hare to have a race between them. Knowing that he had the speed to his advantage, the hare accepted the challenge.
The race started the hare was quick off the line, leaving the tortoise way behind. The tortoise took small steps and made a slow walk to the finish line.
The hare stopped after running fast and decided to rest under a tree. He thought the tortoise would take a lot of time to catch up. However, the hare fell asleep.
The tortoise passed him and crossed the finish line first. The hare woke up and realising what happened, he ran quickly towards the finish line. But there he saw the tortoise with the winning trophy in his hand. The hare had lost, while the tortoise won the race.
Moral: Slow and steady wins the race.
2. The Elephant And His Friends
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Once upon a time, an elephant wandered in the forest wanting to make new friends.
He came across a monkey and asked, “Will you be my friend?” The monkey looked at him and replied, “You are too big and can’t swing trees as I do. I cannot be your friend.”
The elephant then came across a rabbit and asked him if she could be his friend. The rabbit replied, “You are too big and won’t fit inside my burrow. I cannot be your friend.”
The elephant then met a frog. He asked the frog, “Will you be my friend, frog?” And the frog replied, “No, you are too big and heavy. I cannot be your friend. Sorry!”
The elephant continued to wander in the forest and all the other animals declined his friendship.
Disheartened, the elephant spent the night alone.
The next day, all the animals started running after a tiger started attacking them. The elephant went to the tiger and pleaded, “Please tiger, do not eat my friends.” But the angry tiger did not pay heed. He said, “You mind your own business and go away.”
But the elephant wasn’t the one to leave his friends away. He kicked the tiger and scared him away.
The forest animals rejoiced at the victory and approached the elephant. They thanked him for saving their lives and offered their friendship to him.
Moral: Friends come in all shapes and sizes.
3. The Golden Goose
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This is one of those short bedtime stories for toddlers that teaches you about why you should not give into greed.
Once upon a time, a farmer had a goose that laid a golden egg every day. The farmer was struggling to make ends meet, and the golden goose made all his financial problems go away.
The golden egg was enough to meet all his day-to-day needs.
The farmer and his wife were happy for a long time. But they now wanted more. One day, the farmer got an idea. He thought to himself, “What if I take all the golden eggs from the goose instead of one golden egg every day.”
The farmer’s wife too agreed to this and they decided to cut the goose’s stomach open. They hoped to see a treasure of golden eggs, but all they could find was blood and guts.
The farmer realised that they had killed the bird foolishly by becoming greedy for more.
Moral: Think before you act.
4. The Boy Who Cried, Wolf
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The short bedtime stories for toddlers are incomplete without some empathy and compassion. This one is about that.
This part of those short bedtime stories for toddlers that teach you about honesty.
Once upon a time, a shepherd boy was bored watching his flock of sheep on the hill. He thought of making some mischief and decided to shout, “Wolf! Wolf! The sheep are being chased by the wolf!”
Upon hearing this, the villagers came running to help the boy and save his sheep. But they did not find the wolf. Instead, the boy just laughed and laughed and fell to the ground.
The villagers were angry. They said, “Don’t cry ‘wolf’ when there’s no wolf boy!” But the boy did not pay attention.
A couple of days passed and the boy decided to pull this little trick once again. The villagers came running once again, only to find out they’ve been fooled.
The boy laughed again and the villagers left in anger.
A few days later, the shepherd boy was back on the hill grazing his sheep. Only this time, there was a real wolf there.
“Wolf! Please help! The wolf is chasing the sheep. Help!” said the boy.
But the villagers weren’t having any of it. They decided to ignore his calls for help.
When the night came and the boy did not return home, the villagers went in search of him. They found weeping on the hill.
He asked angrily, “Why didn’t you come when I called out that there was a wolf? The flock is scattered.”
An old villager came close to the boy and said, “We believed you the first time but you made a fool of us. We did it the second time too but you laughed at us. People won’t believe liars even when they tell the truth.
Moral: It’s easy to break trust but takes ages to build it. No one trusts a liar even when he is telling the truth.
5. The Lion And The Mouse
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Once upon a time, the lion was sleeping in his den. There was also a mouse living there and ran up and across the sleeping lion.
The lion woke up and captured the mouse between his claws.
The mouse begged for mercy. He said, “Oh great lion, I beg you to forgive me and let me go. I will not do this in the future.”
The lion pitied the mouse and let him go, deciding not to eat him.
A couple of days later, a hunter set up a trap for the lion in the forest. The lion was on a stroll and fell for the trap. Entangled in ropes, the lion couldn’t get himself out.
He called for help but other animals were too scared to help the lion. Then, the mouse showed courage and chewed the ropes that trapped the lion.
He was now free and thanked the mouse for his help.
Moral: Giving and receiving kindness is an important part of life.
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