Animal Short Stories For Kids
Short Story one: Two goats and a bridge
There was a small village on the banks of a river. There was a narrow bridge on top of the river to cross over to the other bank. The bridge was so narrow that only one person could cross at a time.
One day, two goats wanted to cross over the bridge from the opposite direction. The goats met in the middle of the bridge. The bridge was too narrow. There was no space for them to cross. They waited, but both of them focused on moving forward only. One goat warned the other goat, "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. One goat struck the other goat with his horns.
The second goat was shocked. He knew if they continued fighting, then they would fall off the bridge and drown. He shouted out to the other goat, "Stop! If we fight, we will fall into the river and drown. Instead, 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.
Moral of the Story
We often come across unexpected hurdles in life. During such times, it is a good idea to stop and rethink how we want to move forward in life.
You can also have a conversation about negotiation.
The other conversation is “sometime it is ok to lose small battles to win a war”. If the wise goat hadn’t given in, both the goats would be dead.
Short Story Two: The Honest Cow
Once upon a time, there was a cow. The cow, along with her calf, lived in a small shelter near a forest.
The cow would graze the nearby forest during the day and spend the evening happily with the calf.
One day, as the cow was grazing, she saw a tiger approach.
On seeing the tiger, the cow was scared. The first thought that struck her mind was who would take care of the calf, if she were to be harmed. Thinking of this, her heart sunk.
The cow somehow gathered some courage. She requested the tiger, “Oh mighty tiger, I have a calf at home. He is a newborn and doesn’t know how to eat. If you permit me, I will go home, give him some milk and tell him about how to take care of him in my absence. After I am done, I will return to you. Then you can eat me.”
The tiger was wholly surprised. He thought, “No animal can even stand before me. This cow is requesting me with sincerity. She is not scared for her life, but is thinking about her calf. Maybe the request is genuine!”
Thinking so, the tiger said, “Oh cow, okay please go home and feed your calf and come back. But do not delay, I would be waiting here.”
On listening to this, the cow was happy. She thanked the tiger for permitting her to go home to her calf.
The cow went to her shed, licked the calf, and caressed him. She gave the calf a lot of milk.
The cow also explained to the calf about her promise to the tiger.
She kissed the calf one last time and returned to the spot where the tiger stood.
Meanwhile, the tiger thought that the cow would not return. He simply waited to test his luck
To the tiger’s astonishment, the cow returned. The tiger could not believe his eyes. He fell into a great dilemma!
“Should I eat the cow or leave her?” the tiger was a bit confused.
Finally, he came a decision, “Eating an honest cow like this will bring me all bad luck. I should let this cow go!”
Making his decision firmly, the tiger said to the cow, “Hey cow, I appreciate your honesty. I made up my mind not to eat you. Please go and take care of your calf and live.”
The cow was completely surprised and she thanked the tiger wholeheartedly and returned to her shed and spent the rest of her life in gratitude.
Moral of the Story
This is a fun story you can tell the kids about how honesty is a very important virtue in life.
You many consider having a conversation about carnivorous animals and their right to prey.
If your kids love Animals check out our India Map Animals Poster .
These short stories were written by Jasmine. Jasmine is a editor, proof reader and a children's short story writer. She writes in English and Tamil. In her free time she likes to read, travel and work on her organic farm.
