Bal Ganesha and the Moon: A Lesson in Kindness
One night, little Ganesha fell from his mouse, and the Moon began laughing at him. But the Moon had no idea what would happen next! Would Ganesha forgive him or teach him a lesson he would never forget?
In this story
One night, the Moon laughed at little Ganesha.
But the Moon had no idea that his laughter would bring a terrible curse!
What made the Moon laugh? And why did Ganesha become so angry?
The Moon Laughs at Ganesha
One night, little Ganesha ate lots of his favorite sweets, modaks and laddoos.
His tummy was full, and he was feeling very happy.
He climbed onto his tiny mouse and started riding home.
Suddenly, a snake appeared on the path!
The little mouse got scared and jumped.
THUD!
Ganesha fell to the ground, and his sweets scattered everywhere!
High in the sky, the Moon saw everything.
"HA! HA! HA!" laughed the Moon.
"Look at your big tummy! You cannot even ride your little mouse!"
Ganesha felt hurt and angry.
"It is wrong to laugh at someone who falls!" he said.
Then Ganesha gave the Moon a curse.
"From now on, anyone who looks at you will face false blame!"
The Moon stopped laughing. He became frightened.
The Moon Learns a Lesson
The Moon quickly realized his mistake.
He bowed before Ganesha and said, "Please forgive me! I should never have laughed at you."
Ganesha saw that the Moon was truly sorry.
He decided to soften the curse.
"Your curse will not affect people every day," Ganesha said. "But people should avoid looking at you on Ganesh Chaturthi."
The Moon thanked Ganesha and promised never to make fun of others again.
Since then, according to tradition, people avoid looking at the Moon on Ganesh Chaturthi.
And the Moon learned an important lesson: Never laugh at someone else's mistakes.
Moral of the Story
Always be kind to others. If someone falls or makes a mistake, help them instead of laughing at them.
Quick quiz
Test what you learned from this story.