The Two Goats – Bedtime Moral Stories for Children

Once there was a river in a small village. The people of the village built a narrow bridge over the river to cross it. The bridge was so narrow that only one person could cross it at a time.

One day a goat was crossing the bridge. He saw another goat crossing the bridge, walking at him from the opposite direction. The bridge, of course, was so narrow that there was no space for both of them to pass.

Both the goats waited a while for the other to go back. But neither of them wanted to go back.

One goat said to the other goat, “You should go back since I am older than you.” The other goat denied, saying, “I am stronger and can cross the bridge faster. You are old and will only amble along.”

The first goat said, “I may be older, but I am stronger than you.”

The second goat refused, saying it was stronger. This way, both of them argued for a while about who was stronger. Soon the argument turned into blows and one goat struck a blow at the other with its horns.

They fought furiously and soon, both of them lost their balance and fell into the river below. The swift current of the river carried them away in deep water and both of them drowned and died.

After some time, two more goats came to the same bridge from opposite directions. Both of them started arguing about who should back off from the bridge and let the other pass. This time, one of the goats thought for a while and told the other goat, “Stop! The bridge is too narrow. If we both fight, we will fall into the river and be drowned. Instead I have a plan. I will lie down, and you walk over me.”

The other goat understood that it was the sensible thing to do. He appreciated the other goats wisdom.

The wise goat lay down on the bridge, and the other goat walked over him. This was they both got across each other and across the bridge.

Moral: Anger and ego leads to destruction. Humility leads to fulfillment.

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