Category: 30-sec Stories

This is a special series of 30-second bedtime short stories on various topics. Let your child discover a whole new world in a matter of seconds!

The Fox and The Grapes

The Fox and The Grapes

Once upon a time, a clever fox was walking through the forest when it spotted a bunch of grapes hanging from a high branch. The fox’s mouth watered at the sight.

“I want those grapes!” the fox exclaimed.

The fox took a few steps back and tried to jump up to reach the grapes, but it missed. It tried again, and again, but it couldn’t reach them. The fox started to feel a bit frustrated.

“They’re probably sour anyway,” the fox grumbled, and walked away with a shrug, leaving the grapes behind.

Having no food to eat that night, he slept on an empty stomach.

Moral of the Story: We make excuses when something is too difficult to attain. Instead of working hard for it, we tell ourselves that it’s probably not that great.

Meeting God

Meeting God

A little boy wanted to meet God. So, he packed his lunch with cake and some orange juice and set on his expedition with the hope to meet God.

After some time, he came across a park where he saw an old woman sitting on the bench. She looked upset. The kid went to him and offered her some cake. She smiled and the kid found her smile very beautiful. Therefore, he offered her juice too, only to see her smile again. Both of them felt so happy.

The kid came back home with a wide smile on his face. On being asked by his mother about his happiness, he answered, “Today I shared my lunch with God, she has the most beautiful smile.”

When the old lady reached home, her son asked, “Why are you so happy mother?” She replied, “I ate cake with God in the park. He is much younger than I expected.”

Moral of the Story: God is everywhere and becomes visible when you make others happy.

A Little Help from God

A Little Help from God

After a shipwreck, a man who was the lone survivor managed to reach the shore.

He asked God for help. After waiting too long for God to answer his prayers, he built himself a hut for his protection with sabotaged pieces of a shipwreck.

Few days passed by, each day he spent plenty of time looking for food and gazing at the horizon for God’s help.

One day, when he returned from his food search, he found his little hut burnt to ashes.

Losing all hope, he felt helpless and screamed in anger, “Why God? Why do you never answer my prayers?”

After a few hours, a ship reached the shore for his rescue. The man asked the captain, “How did you find me?” The captain replied, “We saw your smoke signal for help.”

The man’s faith in God’s will was restored.

Moral of the Story: Don’t lose hope because bad things are happening to you. God has his own way of working.

The Farmer And The Crane

The Farmer And The Crane

Once there was a farmer who was worried about his crops. His crops were being eaten by the birds every day.

Agitated, he decided to trap the birds the next day. When the birds came, he managed to capture them with a big net. A crane too got trapped with them.

The crane pleaded the farmer to free him.

To this request, the farmer answered, “You were found in the company of these birds who destroyed my crops. I cannot let you go. I won’t spare you either.”

Moral of the Story: You get judged for the company you keep.

A Walk into the Future

A Walk into the Future

On one fine evening, two mothers crossed each other’s paths along with their kids. A beggar sitting on the footpath nearby asked for money.

One mother refused and told her child, ” Look, this is what you’ll become in the future if you don’t study.”

While the other mother gave food and some cash to the beggar. Turning to her child, she said, “Look son, if you study hard today, you will be able to change the life of these poor people. In the future, you will make the world a better place for them.”

Moral of the Story: Teach your kids to make lives better. The right lessons create better people.

Nature is the Best Teacher

Nature is the Best Teacher

There was a naughty kid who was rude. His parents were tired of his bad habits. They decide to leave him with a wise old man for a week.

The old man told the kid he will only be allowed to eat, play, and speak if he completes the daily tasks given to him.

They went into a forest and the man asked the kid to pluck the grass as his first task. With an arrogant smile, he easily did it.

The next day, the man asked him to uproot a sapling as a second task, he did as told.

The next day, the man asked him to uproot a shrub, with much struggle he was able to complete the task.

Last day, the man wanted the kid to uproot a fully grown tree. The kid looked at the tree and said, “I can’t even try, it is so big. This is impossible.”

The old man replied, “Exactly my dear, same is true for your bad habits. If you let them grow, they become difficult to remove.”

Moral of the story: Stop your kids from doing wrong at the young age. Don’t let their bad turn into deep-rooted habits.

Making A Little Difference

Making A Little Difference

An old man once walking by the beach saw a girl throwing something gently in the sea.

He went closer to ask the lady what was she doing.

She said, “The sun is up and the tides are going low. If I don’t help the starfish, they will die.”

The man said, “What difference does it make? There are thousands of them. You can’t save them all. Your efforts will be in vain.”

The girl replied, “Maybe I can’t save them all. But every life I save makes a big difference.”

Moral – Even a single life saved is worth the effort.

Who is Richer

Who is Richer

A father once took his daughter to a village to show her poverty.

After spending a full day at the farm of a poor family, the father asked his daughter, “Tell me what you saw today? Did you learn anything?”

The daughter replied, “Yes Dad, we have a pool, they have rivers, we have lanterns while they have stars, we have a dog, they have so many animals, we buy our food, they grow theirs, we have walls for protection, they have friends, we have television, they have family and relatives, we read the encyclopedia for knowledge, they read Bible. Thanks for showing me how poor we are.”

The father was speechless. He learned a lesson that day from his little daughter which changed his perspective for happiness.

Moral – Happiness lies in small things. Kids know this, and sometimes we can share their knowledge for better life lessons.