Honesty & Truth
Read 118 folk tales about honesty and truth from storytelling traditions around the world. These stories show the power of truthfulness and the inevitable downfall of liars and deceivers. From boys who cry wolf to merchants who cheat their customers, these moral stories about honesty teach children that integrity is the foundation of trust and lasting success.
Bengal Folk Tales
Ages 9-12
The Demon Slayer of the Sundarbans
The Demon Slayer of the Sundarbans: In the vast mangrove forests of the Sundarbans, where water and land mingled in an endless dance of tides, there lived a
Chinese Folk Tales
Ages 9-12
The Legend of Nian
The Legend of Nian: Long ago, before the dynasties grew great and the kingdoms sprawled across the land, there existed a creature of terror known as Nian.
Indian Folk Tales
Ages 9-12
The Clever Monkey and the Crocodile
The dual-rooted Indian fable of Raktamukha — "Red-Faced," the rhesus macaque of the jambū tree — and his crocodile friend Karālamukha, "Hideous-Mouthed," who carries him out into the river to be eaten on his wife's orders. The tale comes to us through two ancient traditions at once: the Buddhist Pali Canon as Suṃsumāra-Jātaka 208 (with two further variants, Vānarinda 57 and Vānara 342), and the Hindu Panchatantra as the FRAME story of Book IV, Labdhapraṇāśam. It is not, as is often claimed, a tale of Aesop. The Sanskrit names are restored, the Buddhist Devadatta frame is explained, the jambū rose-apple tree replaces the modern misattributed mango, and the story's two-thousand-year journey through Pahlavi, Arabic (where the crocodile becomes a tortoise), Persian, Hebrew, Latin, and finally into European folklore is traced. ATU 91.
Aesop's Fables
Ages 9-12
The Shepherd Boy and the Wolf
The Shepherd Boy and the Wolf: In a valley where green meadows rolled like gentle waves beneath endless sky, there lived a young shepherd boy named Thomas.
Aesop's Fables
Ages 9-12
The Donkey in the Lion’s Skin
The Donkey in the Lion's Skin: In a time when the beasts of the earth still held council and wisdom was sought from all creatures, there lived a donkey of
Grimm's Fairy Tales
Ages 9-12
Little Red Riding Hood
Little Red Riding Hood: Once upon a time, when wolves still roamed the deep forests and villages were small islands of light in darkness, there lived a girl
Aesop's Fables
Ages 9-12
The Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing
The Wolf in Sheep's Clothing: In the rolling hills of ancient Macedonia, where olive groves stretched across sun-baked valleys and shepherds tended their
Panchatantra Stories
Ages 9-12
The Wedge-Pulling Monkey
The Wedge-Pulling Monkey: In a great forest of central India, where enormous trees grew close together and the undergrowth formed an intricate maze of paths
Panchatantra Stories
Ages 9-12
The Washerman’s Donkey
The Washerman's Donkey: In a village that existed on the boundary between civilization and wilderness, there lived a washerman named Hari who owned a donkey
Indian Folk Tales
Ages 9-12
Sura and Baya: The Shark and the Crocodile
Sura and Baya: The Shark and the Crocodile: In the waters where the great Brantas River of Java spreads into the sea, there existed a boundary that was
Indian Folk Tales
Ages 9-12
The Legend of the Merlion
The Legend of the Merlion: In the days when the seas between lands were still being charted by explorers and when magic and reality existed in closer proximity
Bengal Folk Tales
Ages 9-12
Gopal the Jester and the King’s Dream
Gopal the Jester and the King's Dream: In the prosperous kingdom of Dhaka, there ruled a king named Vikram who was respected for his strength and feared for