3 minute stories

Three-Minute Fiction : NPR

Three-Minute Fiction How long does it take to tell a good story? We're betting you can do it in just a few minutes — three, to be exact. For our contest, we want to hear your original short stories that can be read in three minutes or less.

A Contest For Listeners' Original Short Stories

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Karen Russell's debut novel, Swamplandia! was a Pulitzer Prize finalist in 2012. Her most recent work is a collection of short stories, Vampires in the Lemon Grove. Michael Lionstar hide caption

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Michael Lionstar

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Lisa Rubenson of Charlotte, N.C., wrote our Round 10 winning story, "Sorry for Your Loss." Courtesy of Lisa Rubenson hide caption

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Courtesy of Lisa Rubenson

Author Mona Simpson is the judge for Round 10 of Three-Minute Fiction. She has written five works of fiction (among other short stories and essays): Anywhere but Here, The Lost Father, A Regular Guy, Off Keck Road and My Hollywood. Alex Hoerner hide caption

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Alex Hoerner

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3MinuteStories has helped startups in hiring, sales & brand-building. – 3 Minute Stories

Not just startups, but companies that have been around for a long time too. But mostly startups.

First two examples are on hiring

Example 1 – Setu (fintech)

Main purpose – hiring (so audience was prospective applicants)
Video content – company philosophy + super broad product overview

I helped a fintech startup Setu, help explain what is it that they do / plan to do (at a time when they had less than 10 employees but had secured funding and were in the process of expanding rapidly).

Setu mainly wanted a video like above that they could use in their overall effort to attract the best talent out there in the industry . When many haven’t heard of your brand, it’s not an easy task. This video came handy to them. I was able to put together the voice-over and storyline after recording a candid style interview of the two co-founders.

Example 2 – Hyperverge (AI startup)

Main purpose – hiring (same as Setu)
Video content – origin story & company vision (former explains the latter)

I made a bunch of videos for Hyperverge. The above is one of them. The primary objective of all this video was to communicate how the ‘vision’ of the company has evolved based on the journey the company went through. It was important for the co-founders and early employees of Hyperverge that this understanding is easily accessible to every potential techie applying for a job at Hyperverge.

I worked with the team to go ahead and create another internal 30min+ video which further details out the above philosophy – that the company uses at a more advanced stage of interviewing (compared to the above video which sort of serves a primer and is easy to watch and understand for even a general audience).

Example 3 – iDC (ed-tech)

Main purpose – sales
Video content – short product overview

I have created several short documentary style videos for Ayush, the founder of iDreamCareer. Each video had a different focus. The one that you see above was created specifically as part of the marketing material that iDC could use to target schools. I spent almost a week in Jaipur, observing and documenting Career Counselors from across India as they used the systematic approach developed by iDC to guide the students and their parents.

If you watch the video, you will notice that after few minutes it gets a little long and almost ‘salesy’ towards the end – that was by design. When the target audience are school teachers and principals and such stakeholders, one can still retain their attention, especially when the opening and the beginning relies on solid honest storytelling approach. A video like this will most likely not go viral on YouTube but when a company shows it to schools, it becomes a super effective tool after which say any presentation can be delivered. Ayush confirms that this video has been super effective for them.

Some of my other work for iDC involved making a 3MS on what happens in their Career Counseling training workshop and how being a Career Counselor is a great career option in itself.

Short stories for children - read online with pictures.

A famous story about two friends and a kitten whose hat fell off a chest of drawers. The boys at first thought that the hat had come to life and were very frightened. But soon the secret of the hat was discovered... The story The living hat read The hat lay on...

Dragunsky's funny and instructive story about how Denis imagined himself as an adult. The boy dreamed about how he would scold his father, mother and grandmother for misbehavior: being late, walking without a hat, talking at dinner, etc. This ...

A funny story about a boy who didn't want to eat semolina. Mom promised to take him to the Kremlin if he ate all the porridge. Deniska adds sugar, salt, water and even horseradish to the porridge to make it more…

Dragunsky's story about three guys who didn't pronounce the letter Sh. It all started when a truck with a Christmas tree drove into the courtyard of the house. Alyonka says: “Look, there are detectives hanging on the Christmas tree.” This is where it started…

An instructive story about shame, about not taking other people's things, about the fact that a misdemeanor will be punished. Read the story about Lela and Minka, who ate sweets from the New Year tree and opened gifts ... Christmas tree read ...

A story about a boy and a girl who read the fairy tale Three Little Pigs and decided to build a house out of blankets and chairs. And suddenly it seemed to the boy that a gray wolf grabbed him by the leg… Entertainer's story read We and…

An instructive story about the blacksmith's son Vasya. The boy was very fond of riding a cart drawn by his father's horse. The blacksmith did not approve of this. Once Vasya took a cart and went to the forest. A branch got into the wheel and started whipping the boy…

A story about the boy Bobka, who had wonderful khaki pants. Climbing over the fence, the boy tore his pants, and his mother got angry and did not sew them up. Bobka decided to put the patch himself... The story Patch to read U...

Once Deniska and Mishka played hockey and were late for the lessons. They came up with a good reason, but never agreed. As a result, the deceit came out. A fire in an outhouse or a feat in the ice read We…

Pyotr Terentyev, preparing to go to war, received from his son a beetle, which he found in the garden, as a gift. Peter put him in a box, fed him and let him fly. The beetle went through the whole war with the soldier. Adventures of a rhinoceros beetle…

This story is about a four-year-old boy, Petya. Mom took great care of him, fed him with a spoon and dressed him. One morning, mother put Petya on his feet from the bed, and he fell. Mom was terribly scared and even called ...

A funny story about how two friends dreamed of driving a car. Once a car drove into the yard and the boys began to find out what brand it was. And then Mishka sat on the bumper and offered to ride it... Story. ..

Dragunsky's humorous story about two friends, Denisk and Pavel, who met on the last day of summer. The boys ate watermelon and talked about how they spent their holidays. And then Pavel began to brag that he had been studying English all summer. Deniska…

A story about Mishenka, to whom his mother promised a lollipop for his good behavior. While mom was not at home, the boy climbed into the sideboard, found a lollipop in the sugar bowl and began to suck it. After eating all the candy, he decided to put the sugar bowl on ...

A story about two brothers who came to Moscow with their mother to visit their aunt. When the adults left home, the boys also decided to see the city and ride the subway. Yes, but the brothers are underground...

A story about Lyola and Minka, who were visited by their grandmother. Grandma brought cakes. But Lele wanted something else and she asked her grandmother about it. The grandmother was angry with the girl, depriving her of a gift - new coins. They are all…

“Four Wishes” tells about the delights of all seasons. The boy Mitya did not want winter to end, then he really liked spring, then summer ... And all because every season is beautiful in its own way! Four desires to read Mitya ...

A short story about how dad taught Mitya to be neat. The boy quickly planed the stick and it turned out not very smoothly. Papa said that the knife was in a hurry and he had to be taught patience. A hurried knife read Mitya planed his stick, planed it...

A story about a boy, Alik, who was very afraid of policemen. Once Alik got lost, a policeman approached him, but the boy started to run. Then he was caught, but he still did not want to talk to the law enforcement officer ... The story of the Policeman read More ...

A story about a girl Tanya, who herself grew currants from cuttings. To do this, she had to work hard: pull out the mugs, dig up the sod, plant cuttings and take care of them. But the work was not in vain. Already next year…

This section of our site contains short stories by Russian writers for children of all ages.
Small works are more easily perceived by young readers. The child can listen to short stories to the end with pleasure. A little later, he himself will begin to read these small masterpieces of literature. nine0043 Parents often do not have enough time to read long stories. For example, before going to bed or on the road. In these cases, our selection of short stories will be very useful to you.
In addition, short stories will help the child learn to retell texts:
— Before reading the story, explain to the child the meaning of all incomprehensible words and situations;
- After reading a short story, ask questions to find out the degree of understanding of the text. If the child is not ready to retell the text in full, then you can start with a partial retelling. For example, you tell the text, and the child completes individual words or sentences. nine0043 - Then ask them to retell the text on their own. If difficulties arise, then your tips and leading questions will help to master the retelling!
- You can tell the text in turn. So you teach your child not only to talk, but also to listen carefully.

Mouse Fairy. Incredible Escape
Emily Byrne

The quiet life of the worthy mouse couple Nutmaus is again under threat. A very restless guest appeared in their cozy house - General of the Royal Mouse Army Marshmaus with his jumper ... “Mouse Fairy. The Incredible Escape read 1 For Mr. and Mrs. Nutmouth from Nutmouth Hall...
Mary Poppins and the house next door
Pamela Travers

This is the last book in the series about the famous nanny. “Everyone should have their own home,” says the wonderful English writer Pamela Travers. This is a fairy tale for children who love to live in such a way that a fairy tale becomes real life, and life is . ..
Mary Poppins from Cherry Street
Pamela Travers

A fairy tale story about an extraordinary nanny Mary Poppins. which appears from nowhere with the East Wind and disappears when it pleases. Table of contents: Chapter 1. East wind Chapter 2. Day off Chapter 3. Laughing gas Chapter…
Kitten who forgot how to ask for food
Kipnis I.N.

In the morning the kitten woke up and wanted to eat. He ran to the mistress, but suddenly forgot how to say it like a cat. The kitten ran out into the yard crying ... "The kitten who forgot how to ask for food" read In the morning the kitten woke up and ... -year-old friend Elizabeth Stanton from a wealthy family and a cat prince - a Russian cat, Kaspar, who, after the death of his mistress, also became an orphan. First they all met at the Savoy Hotel, after many trials...
Danny the world champion
Roald Dahl

A story about a young English boy Danny and his father William, who live in a gypsy caravan and make a living repairing cars and poaching pheasants. This is a wonderful story about the ideal relationship between father and son. Table of contents: Gas station...
Geruso wants to become a man
Mateos P.

The story of a little peddler from Geruso's grocery store, life for the first time confronts the need for a moral choice. With the help of his peers and adult friends who did not leave him in difficult times, Geruso comes to the realization that the main moral values in ...
Geese in the polynya
Astafiev V.P.

A story about how a goose and her goslings got into a polynya on the Yenisei. The hero of the story and his friends saved the geese from death, they risked themselves. "Geese in the polynya" read Freezing on the Yenisei comes gradually. First…

Russian women
Nekrasov N.A.

Contents: I. Princess Trubetskaya Part One Part Two Princess M.N. Volkonskaya Chapter I Chapter II Chapter III Chapter IV Chapter V Chapter VI I. Princess ...
Tam Glen
Burns R.

Ah, aunt, I ask for advice! With such a young man, I don’t have to be afraid of the fate of change. I’ll be glad of poverty, - If only I would be with me ...
Lines about war and love give yours in that life-creating battle that we call love. I glorify the triumph of the world, Contentment and prosperity. It is more pleasant to create one Than to destroy a dozen! nine0003
What's a girl to do
Burns R.

What's a girl to do? What shall I do, little girl? How shall I, little girl, live with my hubby? He is grouchy and sick, always dissatisfied. There is cold in his chest, ice in his hands. He grunts, ...

1 - Little Red Riding Hood
Charles Perrault

A short tale about a trusting girl and a cunning gray wolf. Disobeying her mother, the girl turns off the road and talks to a stranger - a gray wolf . .. "Little Red Riding Hood" read Once upon a time there was a little girl. Her mother loved her without memory, and her grandmother ...
2 - Three little pigs
Mikhalkov S.

A fairy tale about three little pigs who built houses for themselves. One brother built a house out of straw, another out of twigs and twigs, and a third out of bricks. "Three Little Pigs" read Once upon a time there were three little pigs in the world. Three brothers. All…
3 - Kolobok
Russian folk tale

The tale about Kolobok is found in Russian and Ukrainian folklore, and also has analogues in the tales of many other peoples. Our site presents a version of a folk tale in the processing of A.N. Tolstoy. "Kolobok" read Once upon a time there was an old man with an old woman. Here ...
4 - Puss in Boots
Charles Perrault

The tale of an unusual cat that was inherited by a younger brother from a miller's father. The young man was not very happy at first with his share of the inheritance, but the cunning and smart cat made him the richest man and son-in-law of the king ... “The cat in ...
5 - Turnip
Russian folk tale

Turnip is a well-known fairy tale for the smallest with a large number of repetitions. The child quickly remembers the sequence of presentation and a simple plot. "Turnip" read Grandfather planted a turnip and says: - Grow a turnip, sweet, sweet! Grow big, big! A turnip has grown, sweet and big, big…. nine0003
6 - A wolf and seven kids
Russian folk tale

The story tells about an evil wolf who changed his voice, made his way into the goat's house and ate little kids. But the mother goat will be able to save her children and get rid of the wolf. "The Wolf and the Seven Kids" read Once upon a time there was a goat with kids ....
7 - The Tale of Tsar Saltan
Pushkin A. S.

The tale of Tsar Saltan, of his son, the glorious and mighty hero Prince Gvidon Saltanovich, and of the beautiful Swan Princess was created on the basis of the folk tale "Wonderful Sons". Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin enriched the folk work with new plot twists, ...
8 - The Snow Queen
Hans Christian Andersen

The Snow Queen is one of Hans Christian Andersen's most famous fairy tales about love that can overcome any trial and melt even an icy heart! "The Snow Queen" read Table of Contents: The first story, which tells about the mirror ...
9 - Bremen Town Musicians
Yu.S. and Livanov V.B.

The story of the animals and the young Troubadour who went to the city of Bremen to become street musicians. In the city they stopped in front of the royal castle. The king and princess came out onto the balcony of the palace, the townspeople ran to the square and it began ...
10 - Seven-flower flower
Kataev V. P.

A fairy tale about a girl Zhenya, who was presented with a magic seven-flower flower. It had seven petals and could grant any seven wishes. Zhenya spent the first six wishes, but did not get any pleasure and only made her last wish...
11 - Three Bears
Russian folk tale

Three Bears is a fairy tale about a girl who got lost in the forest and ended up in a house of bears. There she behaved very rudely: without permission, she ate from every cup, sat on every chair, lay down in every bed, ...
12 - Wizard of the Emerald City
Volkov A.M.

"The Wizard of the Emerald City" - a fairy tale story by Alexander Volkov written in 1939 based on the fairy tale "The Wise Man of Oz" by American writer Frank Baum with some changes. In 1959, a new edition of the book was published, significantly revised ...
13 - Winnie the Pooh and all-all-all
Alan Milne

A cheerful and beloved fairy tale about Winnie the Pooh does not obey the laws of the fairy tale genre. The tale is devoid of negative characters, the struggle between good and evil forces. The main characters of the tale are the toys of the boy Christopher, with whom funny situations happen in a magical ...
14 - Geese-swans
Russian folk tale

Geese-swans - a fairy tale about how a boy was carried away by swan geese and his sister went to look for him. The stove, apple tree and river helped the girl save her brother. Read the fairy tale in the processing of A.N. Tolstoy. "Geese-swans" read There lived a man and a woman. At…
15 - The Frog Princess
Russian folk tale

The Frog Princess is a Russian folk tale where the main character, Ivan Tsarevich, married a frog by the will of fate. Ivan had no idea that his wife was Vasilisa the Wise, turned by Koshchei into a frog. Ivan hurried, burned the frog skin and had to ...
16 - The Tale of the Fisherman and the Fish
Pushkin A. S.

The tale of a poor fisherman who caught a golden fish in his net. The old man took pity on the fish, released it into the sea. For this, the fish promised to fulfill his every wish. The old man did not ask for anything, but when he returned home, he told about…
17 - Hen Ryaba
Russian folk tale

Hen Ryaba is the first fairy tale-parable that mothers read to their babies. Children quickly grasp a simple plot and remember it by heart. Hen Ryaba read Once upon a time there was a grandfather and a woman. And they had a Ryaba Hen. The chicken laid an egg, yes ...
18 - Masha and the Bear
Russian folk tale

Masha and the Bear is a fairy tale about a girl who got lost in the forest and ended up in a bear's hut. The bear did not let Mashenka go home, however, the girl came up with a way to return to her grandparents. “Masha and…
19 - The Fox and the Crane
Russian folk tale

The Fox and the Crane is a fairy tale about friendship between a cunning fox and a clever crane. The crane could not eat the semolina porridge, which the Fox smeared on a plate. He invited her to his place and treated her to a delicious okroshka, which he put ...
20 - Thumbelina
Hans Christian Andersen

The fairy tale about Thumbelina is loved by children all over the world. A tiny girl born from a flower goes through many trials on the way to her happiness. Fate rewards Thumbelina for her kind heart. The swallow, which she saved earlier, endures…
21 - Gena the crocodile and his friends

Tale about a lonely crocodile Gena. Coming home from work from the zoo, he was left alone and bored. Crocodile Gena decided to make friends with someone. He wrote an ad that he was looking for friends, hung them around the city and ...
22 - The Little Mermaid
Hans Christian Andersen

A touching tale of the Little Mermaid's intense love for the prince. The little mermaid is ready to give up everything that is dear to her for the sake of the human soul and the love of the prince . .. The fairy tale formed the basis of the plots of many films, cartoons and musicals. Little Mermaid read In the open…
23 - Sleeping Beauty
Charles Perrault

A fairy tale about a beautiful princess who was cursed by an offended fairy at a celebration in honor of her birth. The old fairy predicted the girl's death from a spindle prick, but the good fairy was able to commute the sentence. The girl did not die, but fell asleep on ...
24 - Ax porridge
Russian folk tale

Ax porridge is a short fairy tale about a witty soldier. The greedy old woman did not want to feed the soldier, but he outwitted her and got porridge with butter ... Read porridge from an ax The old soldier went on a visit. Tired of…
25 - The Ugly Duckling
Hans Christian Andersen

A fairy tale about the miraculous transformation of an ugly duckling into a beautiful swan. The duckling was born unlike his brothers, the inhabitants of the poultry yard disliked him for his dissimilarity to the others. The duckling had to leave the house and go through many trials before he…
26 - The Princess and the Pea
Hans Christian Andersen

A short story about how a prince wants to marry a real princess. One day, a girl knocked on the gate, who was soaked to the skin, but assured that she was a real princess. They let her in for the night, and the old queen arranged for her to be tested ......
27 - Sister Alyonushka and brother Ivanushka
Russian folk tale

Sister Alyonushka and brother Ivanushka is a fairy tale about how the younger brother disobeyed his sister, got drunk turning into a goat... Sister Alyonushka and brother Ivanushka read Once upon a time there was an old man and an old woman, they had...
28 - Bean seed
Russian folk tale

The cockerel and the bean seed is a Russian folk tale about a rooster who was always in a hurry when pecking at the seeds. The hen warned him all the time and asked him to peck more slowly. One day he choked on a bean seed and fell down. But the chicken…
29 - Fear has big eyes
Russian folk tale

Fear has big eyes — a short fairy tale about the fact that from fear you can see what was not really… (from M.M. Serova’s collection) fear eyes are great to read Once upon a time there was an old grandmother, a granddaughter-laughter, a hen-klokhtushka and a mouse-leaf. Each…
30 - Teremok
Russian folk audio fairy tale

Teremok is a short fairy tale for kids about a house that sheltered many animals. However, the tower could not accommodate a huge bear and broke.
31 - Twelve months
Samuel Marshak

Do you know how many months there are in a year? - Twelve. And what are their names? — January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December. As soon as one month ends, another immediately begins. And…
32 - Sivka Burka
Russian folk tale

Sivka-Burka is a fairy tale about the adventures of Ivan the Fool and his gallant horse. Sivka Burka read The old man had three sons: two smart ones, and the third Ivanushka the Fool; day and night the fool is lying on the stove. The old man sowed wheat, and it grew ...
33 - Baba Yaga
Russian folk tale

A fairy tale about a girl who was able to get out of the clutches of Baba Yaga, thanks to the advice of her own aunt and kind cat … Read Baba Yaga Once upon a time there was a husband and wife, and they had a daughter. The wife fell ill and died. Grieved, grieved ...
34 - The tale of the priest and his worker Balda
Pushkin A.S.

The tale of the stingy priest and resourceful worker Balda. Somehow Balda was hired for the service for three clicks on the forehead of the priest. When the time of reckoning was approaching, the priest decided to give Balda an impossible task in order to get rid of him. But Balda…
35 - Little Humpbacked Horse
Ershov P.

There was an old man in a village who had three sons. They grew wheat and sold it in the market. But then someone got into the habit of trampling wheat in the field at night ... Table of contents: Part one. The fairy tale begins...
36 - Alice in Wonderland
Carroll L.

A fascinating story about a girl Alice who met a talking White Rabbit and ended up in amazing worlds where she met very unusual characters ... Chapter 1. Down the rabbit hole Alice got bored of sitting with her sister idle on the shore…
37 - The Little Prince
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

A fairy tale about how a pilot, who remained a child at heart, met the Little Prince in the desert, who arrived from another planet. Table of contents: Dedication Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter…

“Love Story” in 3 minutes. Summary of Bradbury's story

Eng. Ray Bradbury. A Story of Love 1951

Summary of the story

Reads in 3 minutes, original — 20 min

Very briefly: A teenager falls in love with his teacher, but due to the age difference, they are forced to end the relationship. Many years later, he learns that the teacher died young and now he is older than her forever.

24-year-old teacher Ann Taylor came to Greentown to teach at the school. The children immediately became attached to her and vying with each other offered their simple help. nine0003

…She was the kind of teacher all the kids wanted to bring huge oranges or pink flowers to…

Her 14-year-old student Bob Spalding was a dreamy, lonely teenager. From the very first day, he showed increased attention to the teacher: he met and saw her off after work, carried a bag, and washed the blackboard. However, he understood that the townspeople would perceive the obvious courtship of Miss Taylor negatively, so he disguised him as best he could. The teacher treated the boy's falling in love calmly, without encouraging him in any way. She gave him a book, they discussed literature a lot - Bob wanted to become a writer. nine0003

Bob invited her out of town several times to a wonderful meadow where he used to catch butterflies. At first Miss Taylor refused. At the same time, she noticed that she herself had a special attitude towards Bob: she could not call him to the board and often thought about him.

...Some days...she caught herself looking at him for long moments before returning to her notebooks.

Finally, she came to a clearing outside the city, and they both had a wonderful day: catching crayfish and butterflies, sitting on the sand, eating sandwiches, drinking lemonade, talking a little. Bob casually remarked that such an innocent pastime of a teacher and a student would not please anyone in the city, although they do nothing reprehensible. nine0003

Miss Taylor tried to end this friendship, but the boy continued his innocent courtship. Finally, the teacher called Bob to a frank conversation. She explained to him that their relationship can only be friendly and nothing else, because there is a 10-year difference between them. And although they are both decent people and have done nothing wrong, their meetings must be stopped before they begin to pay attention.

The teacher softly and delicately explained to the boy that otherwise they would both become unhappy, because there are unwritten rules and it is dangerous to break them. To Bob's desperate question about how this happened to them, Miss Taylor replied that no one knows what causes love. nine0003

People either love each other or they don't, and it happens that those who shouldn't should love each other.

She was about to transfer to another school, but the teenager said that his family was moving to another city where his father found a job.

3 minute stories

Three-Minute Fiction : NPR

3MinuteStories has helped startups in hiring, sales & brand-building. – 3 Minute Stories

Example 1 – Setu (fintech)

Example 2 – Hyperverge (AI startup)

Example 3 – iDC (ed-tech)

Short stories for children - read online with pictures.

“Love Story” in 3 minutes. Summary of Bradbury's story

Learn more