10 Bedtime Stories That Your Kids Must Know.

Bedtime stories are important for children as they aid in developing their imagination and language skills. They also strengthen parent-child bonds, establish a bedtime routine, and help children relax. Additionally, these stories can teach moral lessons and encourage empathy by exposing children to different perspectives and cultures.

The Rabbit and Tortoise Story:

A long time ago, there lived a hare in the forest who always boasted of his running speed and a tortoise who lived life on his terms. Rabbit would often tease the tortoise for being the slowest animal around. 

One day, Rabbit boasted to Tortoise, "I am the fastest animal around! I can beat anyone in a race, even you, Tortoise!"

Tortoise, though slow, was wise. He replied calmly, "Speed isn't everything, Rabbit. Sometimes, being steady is more important."

But Rabbit just laughed. "We'll see about that! Let's race to the big tree at the end of the meadow!"

Tortoise agreed, knowing he might not be as fast as Rabbit, but he had a plan. Other animals gathered to watch the race.

The race began at the count of one, two, and three! Rabbit dashed ahead, leaving Tortoise far behind. The other animals cheered for Harry, amazed by his speed. But Timmy kept going, slowly but steadily. Soon the hare reached a long way ahead almost a few yards from the finish line. He looked back to check if the tortoise was anywhere nearby. 

The hare decided to pause and take some rest on the way before he completed the race. He looked around and to his left, he noticed a field of cabbages and carrots. He decided to snack on cabbage and take a short nap so that he would quickly run past the finish line in a fresh mood. Meanwhile, Tortoise continued on his path, never stopping.

Soon the hare fell into a deep sleep and dreamt of winning the competition When Rabbit woke up, he was surprised to see Tortoise near the finish line. He hurried as fast as he could, but it was too late. Tortoise crossed the finish line first, winning the race!

 Moral of the Story:

In this story, the hare lost the race despite being a faster runner. He was overconfident and did not take the competition seriously. On the other hand, the tortoise was the slowest animal and yet did not lose confidence while competing with the hare. Hard work and consistency always pay off.

The Fox and the Grapes Story:

Once upon a time, in a lush forest, there lived Fox.  Fox loved to eat all kinds of delicious food, but he was always on the lookout for something extra special.

One sunny day, as the fox was exploring the forest, his nose caught a delightful scent. It led him to a beautiful vineyard with rows and rows of plump, purple grapes hanging from the vines.

"Oh, those grapes look so yummy!" exclaimed fox, licking his lips with excitement. He tried to reach for them, but they were just too high up.

Fox jumped and stretched, but no matter how hard he tried, the grapes remained out of reach. He even tried climbing the vineyard, but it was no use.

After many attempts, the fox sat down, feeling sad and frustrated. "I'm so hungry, and those grapes look so tasty," he sighed.

But then, the fox had an idea. "Maybe if I convince myself that I don't want the grapes, I won't feel so disappointed."

So, with a huff, the fox stood up in anger and said, "Those grapes are probably sour anyway. I don't want them!"

But deep down, he still wished he could taste those delicious grapes. He walked away from the vineyard, pretending not to care, but he couldn't stop thinking about them.

As the fox continued his journey through the forest, he learned an important lesson: sometimes, things we want might be out of reach, and it's okay to feel disappointed. But pretending we don't care won't make the hunger go away.

From that day on, Fox decided to be honest with himself about his feelings and to keep trying, even when things seemed difficult.

And who knows? Maybe one day, the fox would find a way to reach those grapes. But until then, he would keep exploring the forest and enjoying the simple pleasures it had to offer.

 

Moral of the Story:

This story teaches us that though it is easy to dislike something that’s out of reach, we shouldn’t give up. We can only build our true strength by fighting till the end and till we succeed. Another important takeaway from this story is that we shouldn’t talk ill or complain about others when we face rejection. We should also learn to accept defeat with grace and learn from our failures. 

The Foolish Lion and The Cleaver Rabbit:

Once upon a time, in a large forest, many animals used to live together happily. But one day a mean, cruel, powerful, and vicious lion walked into the forest. He used to go into the forest and kill the other animals, even when he did not want to eat them. Soon the number of animals started dwindling in numbers. The animals in the forest started getting worried and were even afraid of roaming in their jungle. So they sat together and thought of a plan.

"We need to do something about this Lion, else he will kill all of us", said the monkey.

" yeah, we can't let him keep doing this", replayed the deer.

"We need to come up with a plan to stop him", said the elephant.

So the animals collectively went to the lion, and they agreed to send one animal each day to the lion as his food.

"Oh! mighty lion we request you to rest in the cave and we would serve you every day with an animal for food", said the rabbit on behalf of all the animals.

"ha! You foolish animals have finally understood that I am the king of this forest. You all must serve me and respect me!", said the lion and he happily accepted the proposal as he no longer needed to hunt now.

The lion would proudly walk up to his cave. He calmly rested in his cave while each day one animal came into the cave and became his food.

One day it was the rabbit's turn. The rabbit was very clever and so, he had already devised a strategy to kill the lion. As per his plan, he arrived at the lion's cave somewhat late. This made the lion very angry. 

" where is my food? I am starving! These foolish animals !!!", roar the lion. Just then, the clever rabbit arrived and started narrating a planned story to fool the lion.

"Oh, great lion please forgive me for being late", said the rabbit.

"You foolish rabbit! come here", roared the king with anger.

"oh, first listen to me my lord", pleased the rabbit. "I had left home on time but on the way, another big lion met me. He would not let me go, so I told him we already have you as our mighty king. He was extremely angry and he had sent me to tell you that he is the only king of this jungle. You must leave the jungle else he will kill you", said the rabbit.

"What, a new lion! Take me to him I will show him who is the real king of this jungle ", roared the angry lion.

"As you say, my lord, but you better be careful, he is much more bigger and stronger than you", said the clever rabbit.

"yeah, we will see", replied the foolish lion.

Rabbit looks the lion away from his cave bit deep in the jungle to an old well.

"Look the lion is there in that well ", informed the rabbit pointing towards an old well.

"Let me see who is that stupid lion", Saying this the lion walked towards the well.

when the lion peeped inside the well he saw his reflection and misjudged it as another lion. 

"I am the king of this jungle", roared the lion, and the next moment he heard his echo. Hearing the echo of his own, he got very angry and jumped into the well to kill the other lion and soon realized that he was stuck in the well and was unable to get out.

The foolish lion roared, "Where is the other lion?, help me, I am drowning".

"you were too foolish to confuse your reflection with another lion! You cannot be our king. You better stay there, you evil bastard", said the clever rabbit. The rabbit was wise and could beat the lion with his intelligence.

The lion was stuck inside the well and could not come out. All the animals became very happy and lived together happily without any fear thereafter.

Moral of the Story:

Wisdom is always stronger than physical strength If you can use your intelligence properly then you can overcome any obstacles and cross any hurdle coming your way to become a winner and lead a happy life.

on the other side, the lion was cruel to other animals so he had to pay for it at the end. With jealousy and anger, the lion did not think of the action and only acted on impulse. We should always be kind to others and should think twice before doing any action.

The Blue Jackal :

Once upon a time, in a dense forest, there lived a jackal. He was known for his mischievous nature and his cunning ways. One day, while wandering through the forest, Jackal stumbled upon a pot of blue dye that had been left behind by a group of travelers.

Curious, Jackal dipped himself into the pot of blue dye and emerged with his fur dyed a vibrant shade of blue. Excited by his new appearance, he paraded around the forest, showing off his unusual color to all the animals he encountered.

The other animals were stunned by the sight of the blue jackal. They believed he was a magical creature sent from the heavens. They bowed down before him, offering him food and gifts, hoping to gain his favor.

Jackal, reveling in the attention and adoration, pretended to be a divine being. He declared himself the king of the forest and promised to protect the animals from any harm. The animals, believing his words, followed his every command.

However, as time passed, Jackal's true nature began to reveal itself. Despite his promises of protection, he started to act selfishly, demanding more and more from the other animals. He would steal their food and hoard it for himself, leaving them hungry and miserable.

The wise old owl, who had been observing Jackal's behavior, decided to intervene. He called a meeting of all the animals and revealed the truth about the blue jackal. He explained how Jackal was just a regular jackal who had tricked them all with his blue appearance.

Feeling foolish and betrayed, the animals confronted Jackal and demanded that he leave the forest at once. Jackal, realizing that his deceit had been uncovered, slunk away in shame, never to return.

From that day forward, the animals learned to be wary of appearances and not to be fooled by outward displays of grandeur. And though they had been tricked by the blue jackal, they emerged wiser and stronger, united in their resolve to live peacefully in the forest.

Moral of the Story:

The story of the blue jackal served as a cautionary tale, teaching everyone the importance of honesty and humility, and reminding them that true greatness lies not in appearances, but in one's actions and character.

The Snake And The Crow:

 

 

A long time ago somewhere outside the kingdom, there lived a crow family happily in a beautiful tree. One day, the female crow laid eggs. Both the male and the female crows were happy as very soon a young crow would be joining their family. 

Once a big snake was passing by the tree and he saw the crow family with the eggs in the nest. The evil snake wanted to eat the eggs so he searched for a place to live nearby, and he found a hole beneath the tree trunk and started to live there. The crows were not happy at the arrival of the snake. But they could do nothing as they had already built their nest on the tree. The snake soon crawled to the nest for eggs noticing that the crows had left the nest in search of their food and ate all the eggs.

After some time, when the crows were back in their nest happily with their food. When the crows came back, they were deeply sad and grieved as they lost their eggs. They realized that it would be the work of the big snake. But the crows couldn’t do anything as the snake was very big and strong. 

Time passed away and the female crows laid eggs again. But this time both the crows were afraid to go out leaving the eggs alone in the nest. So, they stayed there as long as they could, to check if anyone was coming to their nest. The snake noticed the crows were still in their nest and stayed in the hole waiting for the crows to leave. After waiting for some time, the crows saw no one coming to their nest. So, they decided to go in search of food and come back to the nest early. As soon as the crows left the nest, the snake immediately crawled up the tree and ate all the eggs again. The crows were very deeply upset about the loss of their eggs again. They wanted to leave the tree but they could do nothing as they had already built their nest on that tree.

But this time the male crow decided to teach the snake a lesson rather than leave the place.

After thinking for a while, the crow thought of a brilliant plan. The queen of the kingdom and other royal women go to the river every morning for a bath. Every time they put their ornaments on the side of the river before they go into the river. meanwhile, some guards watch over those ornaments from a distance. So, both the crows decided to go to the riverbank the next morning and take one of the ornaments while the guards were watching and put the ornament in the snake’s hole.

As per the plan, the very next morning, the crows flew to the river bank. The female crow slowly took the necklace and flew off, meanwhile, the male crow shrieked loudly to attract the guard’s attention. The guards noticed that the crows had taken away the necklace, so they ran after them. Soon they reached the big tree. The female crow immediately dropped the necklace into the snake’s hole. As the guards were trying to take the necklace out from the hole with the stick, the big snake came out of the hole and hissed at the guards. The guards killed the snake with sticks thinking that the snake might bite them. They took the necklace and went away. The crows were happy as the snake got killed and lived happily with their young ones in that big tree thereafter. 

Moral of the Story:

Intelligence is always greater than strength. In the story, though the crowd was not strong enough to beat the big snake, they taught the snake a lesson using his intelligence. 

Also, the big snake has the die at the end because of his evilness. We should always be wise to others. We always have to back for our bad behavior. 

The Ugly Duckling:

 

 

Once upon a time, a mummy Duck lived on a farm. In her nest, she had four little eggs and one big egg. One day, the five little eggs started to crack. Tap, tap, tap! And four pretty, yellow baby ducklings came out. But one egg did not crack—one very big egg.

Mother Duck sat on the big egg for a few more days. Finally, it cracked open. The mom was surprised the see the new duck, as the baby bird was big, Grey, and ugly. He had huge feet and a broad beak and didn’t look like a duckling. Even though the mother duck was so happy to see her ducklings.

 But the little yellow ducklings made fun of the new bird.“You do not look like us,” they said, " You are an ugly duckling, go away.” No one used to play with the poor duckling. This made him sad and lonely. The ugly duckling looked for someone to play with. He went to the farm pond.“Will you swim with me?” he asked.“No,” said the ducklings. “You are too ugly.” No,” said the frogs and turtles. “You are an ugly duckling”, "Go away! Go away!"

 Then he tried the farmyard.“Will you play with me?” he asked.“No, no,” said the horses. “You are too ugly.” No,” said the pigs, and they laughed at him. The sad, ugly duckling went back to the farm pond.

 “No one will play with me,” said the sad little duckling to Mother Duck. “I am too ugly.” You do not look like the other ducklings,” said Mother Duck, “but I am your mother, and I love you.”But the ugly duckling was not happy. So he flew away.

 Time passed, and the ugly duckling grew up. His wings were wider. His neck was longer. His feathers had turned white. He had changed, but he did not know it.

 Then one day, two big white birds flew over the pond.“What beautiful birds!” thought the ugly duckling. “I hope they stop to visit. I am lonely.” The birds flew lower and lower and landed in the pond.

 Hello,” said the ugly duckling. “Who are you?” We are swans,” said the big white birds, “just like you.”I am not a swan,” said the ugly duckling.“I am an ugly duckling.” The swans laughed. “Look down at the water,” they said. “What do you see?”.

 The ugly duckling piped down into the water and he was very surprised to see at himself. “I am such a beautiful swan!”, said the ugly duckling happily.

Realizing that he was a beautiful swan he returned to his pond back and told everybody that he was the ugly duckling. All the birds and animals were amazed by the beauty of the swan, you are such a beautiful swan said his duck siblings. The Mother duck was so happy with the arrival of her lost ugly duckling. All of them lived happily together, thereafter. The ugly duckling was no more lonely now.

Moral of the Story:

Never judge someone by his looks. Accept people for their values, their humanity, and their friendship. The other ducklings were cute when they hatched, but they were cruel of spirit as they never accepted the ugly duckling as their sibling. It is always better to accept a person for their many good qualities than accept them based on physical looks. 

The baby swan thought of himself as an ugly duck whereas, in reality, he was a beautiful swan, so never judge yourself upon what people say about you, trust yourself, have faith in yourself and you will grow up like a beautiful Swan.

The Monkey and the Crocodile story:

Once upon a time, there lived a monkey on a rose apple tree on the banks of a river. The monkey used to live alone but very happily on the tree eating the tasty fruits and playing on the tree. 

One day, a crocodile swam up to tree and he told the monkey that he had travelled a long distance and was in search of food . The monkey offered him some delicious apples from the tree. The crocodile loved those apples and thanked the monkey for the same. From then on, the crocodile used to visit the monkey every day and they became good friends.

One day the crocodile thought to take some rose apples for his wife .So the generous monkey plucked many rose apples from the tree and gave it to the crocodile for his wife. His wife liked the rose apples. But she got greedy and thought to herself that," these fruits are so tasty, then how delicious will be the flesh of that monkey who regularly eats these rose apples! 

The crocodile’s wife was adamant about getting the monkey’s heart. She told the crocodile that she is not keeping well and the doctor has recommended her to eat a monkey’s heart to recover. She even threatened him that if the crocodile didn’t get the monkey’s heart for her, she would surely die. The crocodile was stupid enough to believe his wife.

With a heavy heart, the crocodile left to get the monkey. He went to the monkey and said, “Friend, my wife loved the rose apples sent by you. She has invited you to our house to thank you.” The crocodile told him that he could ride the monkey on his back to the other side of the river. The monkey agreed and sat on the crocodile’s back so that the crocodile could take him to his house. 

In the middle of the river, the crocodile began to sink. The monkey got frightened and he asked the crocodile as to why he was sinking. The crocodile, knowing that now there was no escape for the monkey, replied, “Forgive me, my friend. My wife needs to eat your heart to save her life. That’s why I am taking you with me.” 

The monkey was shocked and started thinking fast. The monkey and told the crocodile that he would gelidly give his heart to save his wife’s life but he left his heart at the tree. The monkey told him that they can quickly go and get his heart from the tree. 

The crocodile become happy when he heard that the monkey was kind enough to give his heart .The thought of not killing hid friend while proving his love for his made him very happy. He accepted it at once and turned back. As soon as they reached the tree, the monkey jumped onto the tree and said, “O foolish crocodile, how can someone take out his heart and keep it somewhere else? You have deceived me as a friend. Now go and never come back. The ashamed crocodile went back to his home.

Moral of the Story:

we should not trust anybody blindly.

Quick Intelligence can save you from problems .

The Lion and the Mouse :

Once upon a time, in a big forest, there lived a mighty lion. He was strong and fierce, and all the animals were afraid of him. One day, while the lion was taking a nap under a tree, a little mouse accidentally ran over his paw.

 

The lion woke up with a start and caught the tiny mouse with his huge paw. "How dare you wake me up, little mouse!" roared the lion angrily.

 

The mouse trembled in fear and pleaded, "Please, Mr. Lion, forgive me! I didn't mean to disturb you. I'm just a tiny mouse, and I promise I won't bother you again. Please let me go!"

 

The lion chuckled at the mouse's words. "You think you can do anything to help me? You're so small and weak."

 

But the mouse begged the lion to give him a chance. He promised that one day he would repay the lion's kindness.

 

The lion found the idea amusing but decided to let the mouse go. "Very well, little mouse. Off you go, but remember your promise."

 

Days passed, and one day the lion found himself caught in a hunter's net. He roared and struggled but couldn't break free.

 

Hearing the lion's cries, the little mouse hurried to the scene. He saw the lion trapped and immediately started gnawing at the ropes of the net with his sharp teeth. It took some time, but eventually, the mouse managed to chew through the ropes, setting the lion free.

 

The lion was amazed and grateful. He thanked the mouse for saving his life. From that day on, the lion and the mouse became the best of friends.

 

Moral of the Story:

The moral of the story is that no act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted. And sometimes, even the smallest creatures can make the biggest difference.

The Unhappy Crow:

 

 

Once upon a time, a crow lived in a jungle and was very unhappy with his life. One day he started crying while sitting on a branch of a tree. A monk was sitting under the tree. A drop of the crow's tears fell on the monk's cheek. The monk raised his head and saw that a crow was crying sitting on the branch of a tree," what is the matter my friend, why are you crying"?

The crow said, "Oh wise one I am very upset with my life no one loves me, people shoo me away with disgrace, no one gives me anything to eat everyone hates me, Death is better than such a life".

Hearing the crow's words monk's heart was filled with compassion.

He said to the crow, "Dear one, we should learn to be happy in whatever condition we are in". But the crow could not understand the wisdom of the monk and kept on crying.

Then the monk said, "Don't be upset my friend tell me what do you want to be? I can make you that with my mantra. The crow became very happy and said," Oh blessed one if you want to do me a fever then please make me a swan ".

The monk said," ok, I will make you a swan. But first go to the swan and ask him whether he is happy with his life or not. You go and find out till then I will wait for you here".

The crow happily flew away to meet the swan. He saw a sawn swimming in a pond. he went to the swan and said how beautiful you are, you are as white as milk, everyone loves you you must be the happiest bird in the world.

Swan said to the crow with a sad heart, "No my friend I am not happy, there are so many beautiful colors in the world, but I don't have any color, white is nothing color. I think a parrot must be the happiest bird in the world. He is so colorful",

Hearing this the crow flew away from there and reached the parrot.

He said to the parrot, "Oh! parrot you are so colorful and beautiful, you must be the happiest bird in the world."

The parrot said to the crow with a sad heart, "No my friend I am not happy, you see people keep parrots in cages, I am always afraid that someone will catch me and lock me in a cage. I think that the peacock is the happiest bird in this world. He is also much more colorful than me".

Hearing this the crow flew around looking for a peacock. After searching for a long time he finally got a peacock which was in a cage in a zoo. He saw that hundreds of people have gathered to see him, After the people left, the crow approached the peacock and said, "Oh, dear peacock you are so colorful and beautiful, every day thousands of people come to see you. And look at me when people see me they immediately shoo me away. I think you must be the happiest bird in this world."

The peacock replied with a sad heart. He said, "I always thought that I was the most beautiful and happiest bird in the world. But because of my beauty people entrapped me into this zoo. when people pluck my colorful feathers to make decorative things it hearts me a lot. The peacock deep breath and said I am not happy my friend."

The crow was very surprised to hear this from the peacock, he asked him," If you are not happy then who do you think is the happiest bird in this world". 

The peacock replied, "Dear one, I have examined this zoo very carefully and I have realized that you, the crow are the only bird that is not kept in the cage. People don't try to catch you and entrap you in the cages. So for the past few days, I have been thinking that, If I were a crow, I could happily roam everywhere and I would be free."

Hearing this the crow flew away from there and today for the first time he was feeling happy to be a crow.

he came back to that monk and said, "Oh wise one I do not want to be anything else, I am fine with what I am."

Moral of the Story:

We should not make unnecessary comparisons with others. We should learn to be happy with what we have instead of looking at something that we don't have. There will always be someone who will have more or less than us.

A person who is satisfied with what he or she has is the happiest in the world.

The Loyal Mongoose :

Once upon a time, in a small village nestled between hills and forests, there lived a hard-working couple. A peasant was delighted to be blessed with a son after a few years of marriage he and his were delighted to be blessed with a son. Both used to work hard all day long. One day the husband returns home with a small mongoose. His wife immediately asked him, “How can we keep a mongoose at home? I don’t think it would be safe.”

The husband smiled and said, “This mongoose is as young as our son. They will become good friends.” The couple saw their son and the mongoose getting friendly in just a few days. One day, when the husband was out for work the wife had to leave to bring some water from the river. Being sure her son would be safe with the mongoose for company the wife left to bring the water. She was back soon, as soon as she entered the house. She was shocked to see blood all over the floor and on the mouth of their pet mongoose. “You have killed my son!” shouted the handa filled with water on the head of the mongoose to attack it. ran into the other room. She was surprised to see her son fast asleep, but she was more surprised to see a dead snake on the floor. She realized what had happened in her absence. The mongoose had saved her son’s life by fighting with the snake that had crept into their little son’s room through a gap in the window.

“Oh God!” she exclaimed and rushed outside only to see that the mongoose was no longer alive. She held the lifeless body of the mongoose and cried in vain. 

Moral of the Story:

Always think before you act.

 It is wise to get a complete idea of what has occurred before jumping to conclusions. You should never make decisions without understanding the truth because you may regret your actions later.