Children love good story time, whether they understand the words or not.
And even a lot better if you do so with a little bit of voice acting and facial expressions.
For children who can read, they do enjoy for different reasons – it could be learning new morals for some, or imagining different fantasy worlds depending on the story.
At the age of 5, most kids already have an idea of morals and lessons in stories, they are also able to identify the heroes and villains in them.
We have put together a list of some of the short stories that your little one might really enjoy.
The cows and the tiger
Four cows lived in a forest near a meadow.
They were good friends and did everything together.
They grazed together and stayed together, because of which no tigers or lions were able to kill them for food.
But one day, the friends fought and each cow went to graze in a different direction.
A tiger and a lion saw this and decided that it was the perfect opportunity to kill the cows.
They hid in the bushes and surprised the cows and killed them all, one by one.
The tortoise and the bird
A tortoise was resting under a tree, on which a bird had built its nest. The tortoise spoke to the bird mockingly, “What a shabby home you have! It is made of broken twigs, it has no roof, and looks crude. What’s worse is that you had to build it yourself. I think my house, which is my shell, is much better than your pathetic nest”.
“Yes, it is made of broken sticks, looks shabby and is open to the elements of nature. It is crude, but I built it, and I like it.”
“I guess it’s just like any other nest, but not better than mine”, said the tortoise. “You must be jealous of my shell, though.”
“On the contrary”, the bird replied. “My home has space for my family and friends; your shell cannot accommodate anyone other than you. Maybe you have a better house. But I have a better home”, said the bird happily.
The farmer and the well
A farmer looking for a source of water for his farm bought a well from his neighbor. The neighbor was cunning, though, and refused to let the farmer take water from the well. On asking why, he replied, “I sold the well to you, not the water”, and walked away. The distraught farmer didn’t know what to do. So he went to Birbal, a clever man and one of the nine courtiers of Emperor Akbar, for a solution.
The emperor called the farmer and his neighbor and asked why the man was not letting the farmer draw water from the well. The cunning man said the same thing again, “I sold the well, not the water. So he cannot take my water”.
To this, Birbal replied, “All that sounds fine to me. But if you have sold the water and the water is yours, then you have no business keeping your water in his well. Remove the water or use it all up immediately. If not the water will belong to the owner of the well”.
Realizing that he’s been tricked and taught his lesson, the man apologized and left.
The wolf and the shepherds
This is one of the many Aesop’s fables that one can relate to in any day and age.
One day a wolf was chased away from a farm for trying to steal some of the sheep for food. Later that week, the wolf came back to the farm hoping to find some food. He peeped inside the house and found the farmer and his family feasting on lamb roast.
“Aha!”, he thought. “If I were to do the same thing that the farmer and his family are doing now, I would be shunted and chased, or even killed for killing a weak, innocent lamb.”
The man and the cat
One day, a man was walking by a road when he heard a cat meowing from the bushes nearby.
The cat was stuck and needed help getting out.
When the man reached out, the cat got scared and scratched the man.
The man screamed in pain but didn’t back down. He tried again and again, even as the cat continued to scratch his hands.
Another passerby saw this and said, “Just let it be! The cat will find a way to come out later”.
The man didn’t pay heed but tried until he helped the cat.
Once he let the cat free, he told the other man, “The cat is an animal, and its instincts make him scratch and attack. I am a human and my instincts make me compassionate and kind”.