Free stories to read

18 Great Short Stories You Can Read Free Online

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(Editor’s note: this post was updated in August, 2021, with current links to all stories.) When I have no idea what to read, I find a bunch of free short stories online, save them onto the Pocket app, and read them as if I’ve compiled my own short story collection. Like a music playlist I create to match a mood, I create short story playlists to break a book slump, or to sample a bunch of different authors’ writing.

As to where to find great stories, The New Yorker stories are generally best, but require a subscription if you read too many in a month. I also like Narrative Magazine, which will ask you for an email, but their stories are free too. Tor of course has some great free stuff, and you can find most of the classics through Gutenberg. The stories on this list that are not from any of these publications, I found through simple Google searches. If I’m interested in an author, but don’t necessarily want to read a whole book, I look to see if they have any short fiction available that I can read first.

From this list, my favorites are Zadie Smith and Italo Calvino’s stories. I’d never read Zadie Smith, but after loving “The Embassy of Cambodia” I started On Beauty (a 500 page book) and I absolutely love it. Both stories satisfied a reading itch I needed scratched.

Here are a few of my favorite free short stories you can read online right now.

“

The world is a library that contains all the books that have ever been written, but most of them are indecipherable. Many people venture to the library to find the meaning of life. It reminded me of Terry Pratchett’s Discworld library.

“Perhaps my old age and fearfulness deceive me, but I suspect that the human species—the unique species—is about to be extinguished, but the Library will endure: illuminated, solitary, infinite, perfectly motionless, equipped with precious volumes, useless, incorruptible, secret. ”

“The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson

This used to be my favorite short story, and I might only think that because I read it when I was a freshman in high school and I remember being shocked by the ending. It’s always stayed with me.

“A Good Man is Hard to Find” by Flannery O’Connor

Another story with an ending that you won’t forget anytime soon. O’Connor was a master. If you’ve never read any of her work I would start here.

“In the Penal Colony” by Franz Kafka

It’s a chilling story. A man known as the Traveller is visiting a foreign penal colony where he is shown a special machine used to execute prisoners. The machine inscribes the prisoner’s crime onto their body until they die (kind of sounds familiar if you’ve read the fifth Harry Potter book). It takes twelve hours of torture before the prisoner dies. I told you it was chilling!

“The Devil in America” by Kai Ashante Wilson (Tor)

Kai Ashante Wilson has quite a talent. This ties present day police brutality towards African Americans to post-emancipation America and a family of freed slaves that are living with the Devil that followed them from Africa.

“The City Born Great” by N.K. Jemisin (Tor)

Cities, once they are old enough, must be born. New York City is ready to be born, and must be led into the world by a reluctant midwife.

“Spider the Artist” by Nnedi Okorafor (Lightspeed Magazine)

Okorafor is a wonderful storyteller, and if you’ve never read her books, this would be a great place to start. And if you like this short story, Binti: The Complete Trilogy was released in February!

“Exhalation” by Ted Chiang (Lightspeed Magazine)

Oh, you’ve never read Ted Chiang? Well, you must go out now and read this story and then read Stories of Your Life and Others and his new collection Exhalation: Stories, which comes out in May. I was shocked by how good and complex his writing was. I had no idea that the movie The Arrival was based on one of his short stories.

“The Daughters of the Moon” by Italo Calvino (The New Yorker)

I don’t know. It’s either Zadie Smith’s “The Embassy of Cambodia” or this story that is my favorite on the list… I can’t decide. I think it’s this story. A story about the people of Earth deciding to throw away the Moon. It’s a story of consumerism. Luckily, I own “The Complete Cosmicomics“, so I can continue reading Calvino’s magnificent short story collection.

“The Embassy of Cambodia” by Zadie Smith (The New Yorker)

After you read “The Devil in America” read this story and see if you can find the parallels. This was my first time reading Zadie Smith because I’d always heard mixed reviews, but if her longer fiction is anything like this short story, I’m in love. If you need help figuring out where to start with Zadie Smith’s books, check out our Reading Pathway guide to Zadie Smith.

“Sweetness” by Toni MOrrison (The New Yorker)

A prelude to Morrison’s book God Help the Child, this is the story of Bride’s mother, and her rationale for raising her daughter in a loveless home.

“Girls, At Play” by Celeste Ng (Bellevue Literary Review)

“This is how we play the game: pink means kissing; red means tongue. Green means up your shirt; blue means down his pants. Purple means in your mouth. Black means all the way.”

The first four sentences of this short story sent chills down my spine. A superbly told story of the extremes of girlhood and adolescence; the pressures girls face as they get older.

“On Seeing the 100% Perfect Girl One Beautiful April Morning” by Haruki Murakami (Genius)

Love at first sight, if you believe love is predestined rather than a choice. Fated love, to me, no matter how hard my heart becomes, still seems ridiculously romantic. I haven’t read Murakami in a long time but now I’m itching to pick up one of his books (I really want to read 1Q84, but it’s soooo long!).

“Chechnya” by Anthony Marra (Narrative Magazine)

This was Anthony Marra’s first published short story, and works as an outline for his novel A Constellation of Vital Phenomenon. It’s the kind of story you read while holding your breath.

“The Fruit of My Woman” by Han Kang (Granta)

This story was written in 1997 before the publication of The Vegetarian. The two stories share many of the same themes, and it’s evident that this story served as a blueprint for the later book. In “The Fruit of My Woman” the wife is slowly turning into a tree (something that also comes up in The Vegetarian). The allusions to Daphne turning herself into a laurel tree to escape the advances of Apollo are hard to miss, but there’s no clear indication that Daphne was an actual influence on either story. Han Kang can do no wrong in my eyes.

“A Lady’s Maid” by Sarah Gailey (Barnes & Noble)

I love Sarah Gailey. This is a great introduction if you’re unfamiliar with her work. It’s Victorian London with androids—so much to love!

“A Bruise the Size and Shape of a Door Handle” by Daisy Johnson (American Short Fiction)

A hot and bothered story about a house falling in love with the girl who lives in the attic. I loved everything about this story. This is included in Johnson’s short story collection, Fen, and I can’t wait to get my hands on it. Also, the writing style reminded me of Samantha Hunt.

“Hollow” by Breece D’J Pancake (The Atlantic)

Breece D’J Pancake died when he was 26. He was from West Virginia, and I would label his writing “grit-lit”. This story was almost too gritty for me. He’s the kind of writer that other writers love. His short story collection has a blurb from Joyce Carol Oates.

Want more short stories? Check out our post on the 100 best short story collections!

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For those spending time at home, looking for a cozy adventure or bedtime story for kids, we offer this imaginative rhyming picture book, read by the author, Daniel Errico. Follow the Marmabill on her quest through the rainforest, where she meets fantastical creatures like wugs, tankadiggies, and flying fluthers. As her journey takes her from treetops to glowing underground caves, the Marmabill finds out for herself the true meaning of home. Remember, our stories for kids are here for you to read at any time. And remember, Dream Big!

Gemma is a middle grade novel that follows a curious explorer and her ring-tailed lemur, Milo, as they hunt for the “most greatest treasure in the world”. Solving riddles, battling a bell-wearing jaguar, and traveling the Eight Seas, Gemma’s adventures take her from a young girl to a brave captain, whose only limits are the stars.

While drawing in class at Stagwood School, 12-year old Cal sees a frog staring at him through the window. Stranger than that, is the fact that this frog happens to be wearing glasses.

Cal and his best friend, Soy, learn that the frog (who prefers the name Deli) has sought them out for a reason. When a school administrator named Ream reveals himself to be a dragon, the boys discover that fairytales are real, and that there is magic afoot in Stagwood. With Ream on their tail, the trio must unearth a powerful tool protected by riddles and rile (the magic that fuels nightmares) to save the fate of all fairytales past. But, before Cal can defeat Ream, he has to deal with Soy's knack for arguing with magical creatures, discover the truth about Deli's identity, and earn his place as the hero of the story. The Guardians of Lore is a middle grade novel that centers around two life-long friends, infusing humor and fantasy-based riddles into a modern fairytale.

This quirky tale is about our most infamous character of all. If you don’t have a soufflé-baking, trumpet-blaring, sleigh-riding friend, then maybe it’s time that you met Ms. McKay. Told as a monorhyme poem. “Say what you will or say what you may, you’ll remember the day that you met Ms. McKay…”

Mr. McKay is a most mischievous fellow. His hair and eyes have been known to change color with the seasons. If you ever feel a warm breeze on a very cold winter day, be sure to keep your coat on, because it may be Mr. McKay playing his trick! A light-hearted, rhyming bedtime story about keeping your coat on when it’s awfully cold outside.

Ages 3-8, Narrated, Read Along

Explore the ocean floor and discover the location of Orangebeard's Treasure in this series of adventure stories for kids! Each location that you visit under the sea reveals a unique story from the gnarble. Piece together the clues with reading comprehension and reasoning skills to solve the mystery!

The Journey of the Noble Gnarble is a number one best-selling ebook that has been adapted into a hardcover book and play. Through rhyming verse and engaging illustrations, the Noble Gnarble teaches kids about perseverance and determination in the face of obstacles. Dream Big!

Ages 3-5, Narrated, Read Along

One of our most popular children’s stories, this is the tale of a group of robots winding down for the night. The Robot Bedtime Book is a playful bedtime story that encourages interaction, imagination, and a fun bedtime routine. 

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Stories for children. Interesting and funny stories for kids.

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 ...

An interesting and informative story about two friends who bought two toy phones to talk to each other. Yes, only Mishka decided to disassemble his apparatus and see how it works. And to collect, as it was, and ...

Dragunsky's story about Denisk and Mishka, who did their homework together. At the same time, Deniska tells a friend about lemurs. Then the boys decide to check each other's work and find many mistakes - everything needs to be redone. After…

A story about two friends who were left alone at the dacha for two days. When leaving, my mother explained how to cook porridge and soup. Yes, only the boys did not listen to advice at all. Read how the friends caught the escaping porridge, got out the bucket...

A funny story about how the yard dog Bobik came to visit his master Barbos. Bobik was surprised by everything in the house: a wall clock, a hairbrush, a mirror, a TV set. Watchdog, as a hospitable host, explained to a friend about the purpose of objects. And then...

A funny story about Mishutka and Stasik, who told each other all sorts of fables - they competed who would misrepresent whom. One day neighbor Igor sat down on the bench. The boy told how he really deceived his mother by eating half a can of jam ...

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 Denisk, who came to visit his friend Mishka. Mishka gathered a lot of guys. And then it was decided to play hide and seek. Deniska decided to outsmart everyone and hide in one of the communal rooms….

A story about rescuing a dog and a kitten on the river during the ice drift. The guys threw a board on the ice floe and the dog in its teeth with the kitten moved to the shore. She missed her master very much and was very happy when he ...

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…

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… Zateinika's story read We and…

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 ...

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 a 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...

A story about how a teacher witty weaned Fedya Rybkin from laughing in class. The boy was smeared with mascara, the whole class could not look at him without laughing. This made Fred very happy. The teacher, discovering the reason for the fun, said that on ...

Nosov's instructive story, which teaches that it is impossible to take someone else's. Pavlik and Kotka once picked cucumbers in the collective farm garden. Kotka's mother saw cucumbers in her son's pocket and found out how he got them. This is strong for her…

An instructive story about honesty. Minka got an A at school and got so upset that he forgot his diary on a park bench. They brought him a new diary and again put a unit there. In the evening a guest came and brought a forgotten diary...

A story about a boy, Kotka, who was sitting at home and did not want to build a hill. However, when the guys built a slide and went home, Kotka went out into the yard to skate. And he wanted to ride from a new mountain. Climb up...

A humorous story about Denis and Mishka, who were assigned to sing a duet with satirical verses at a concert. The boys rehearsed for a long time, but during the performance Mishka got excited and repeated the first verse three times. The whole hall was falling from…

The best stories of Russian writers are collected here. Children love to read about adventures and funny stories from the life of their peers, as well as about funny animals. Funny dialogues, unusual plots and vivid illustrations make young readers fall in love with them from the first pages.

Use the menu to select a story and quickly search.

Interesting and exciting stories for children of preschool and primary school age are collected in this section. More than one generation of people grew up on the wonderful works of the classics of children's literature Nosov, Dragunsky, Zoshchenko, Permyak, Golyavkin and other equally popular authors. Surprisingly, all these writers so deeply and penetratingly revealed the character of the characters, so interestingly and with humor conveyed the situations that happen to them, that one can only be surprised at their abilities and insight. They seemed to experience the mood of the characters themselves, as if they were describing their own lives. The emotionality of the word, which holds attention, and the detailed description of the nature that is happening around are striking. Each of the options presented here deserves attention, do not miss the chance to enjoy reading quality literature addressed to children.
From the first lines, these works make you fall in love with an eloquent word, an unbanal and fascinating plot. Can't stop reading. Here are collected those stories that will be of interest to children, stories about school and peers, about animals, about nature. The first emotional experiences, insults, emotions, sympathy and kindness towards animals are shown. These are the most popular and demanded works. A unique student library is presented to your attention. It is difficult to imagine life without a book; love for it arises at a young age precisely from such short, but such fascinating stories.
Masterpieces of Russian writers are printed without abridgements, you will find options from the school curriculum recommended for additional reading. All this indicates the high quality of the presented material. Each book is accompanied by illustrations, colorful, unusual, which increases the interest in reading. The child will like the characters described by the masters of children's literature. You can read any of the works at any time at your request or on the instructions of the teacher. And having considered the corresponding illustrations, it is easy to imagine the essence of what is happening.

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• The legend of Arion

  Herodotus

  This legend was recorded by the ancient Greek historian Herodotus, who widely used myths and legends in his works. Arion defeated the greed and greed of people with his art, beauty and charm. "The Legend of Arion" read ... Periander was a tyrant1 of Corinth. S…

• Labors of Hercules. Animal Farm of King Avgiy

  Myths of Ancient Greece, Kun N.A.

  The feat of Hercules, when in one day he cleared the entire barnyard of Avgius, who had innumerable herds, of manure. "Animal Farm of King Avgiy" read Soon, Eurystheus gave a new assignment to Hercules. He had to clear the whole of manure…

• Heracles' exploits. Apples of the Hesperides

  myths of Ancient Greece, Kun N.A.

  The myth about the last, twelfth, feat of Hercules, when he had to get three golden apples from the gardens of the great titan, who holds the vault of heaven on his shoulders. "Apples of the Hesperides" read The most difficult feat of Hercules in the service of Eurystheus ...

• Colorful fairy tales

  Odoevsky V.F.

  In unusual stories, alternating like pieces of glass in a kaleidoscope, Odoevsky depicts the negative qualities of people covered from above with a cloak of decency… Table of contents: ♦   Chapter I Introduction ♦   Chapter II finds friends

  Astafiev V.P.

  A story about an Even boy Girmanchu, whose parents died trying to help a sinking ship. The boy was left alone on the beach. The next day, the captain of the ship sailed for him and took him to an orphanage . .. "Girmancha finds friends" read ...

• Gadfly

  Voynich E.L.

  The novel describes the activities of members of an underground revolutionary organization in the first half of the 19th century. The author shows what sacrifices a person can make for the sake of his goal, for the sake of faith. “Leave; what have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth?” Table of contents: ♦ …

• Aelita

  Tolstoy A.K.

  A fantastic story about how the inhabitants of the sunken Atlantis flew to Mars. They adapted to this planet and created a new civilization. But one day two scientists from the Earth flew to them and staged a revolution there... Contents: ♦...

• Stolen letter

  Edgar Allan Poe

  A personal letter was stolen from the royal chambers, which endangers the honor of a noble person. Moreover, the robbed lady knows who the kidnapper is. The kidnapper uses the power given to him by the letter for political purposes, blackmailing the owner of the letter...

  Contents: ♦ I. Princess Trubetskaya ♦ Part one ♦ Part two ♦ Princess M.N. Volkonskaya ♦ Chapter I ♦ Chapter II ♦ Chapter III ♦ Chapter IV…

• Tam Glen

  Burns R.

  Ah, aunt, I ask for advice! With such a young man, I don’t need 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 I give my blood In that life-creating battle, What 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!

• 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, ... 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 ...

• 2 - Three little pigs

  Mikhalkov S.

  A fairy tale about three pig brothers 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 - Little Red Riding Hood

  Charles Perrault

  A short story 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 . ..

• 4 - Turnip

  Russian folk tale

  The turnip is a famous fairy tale for the little ones with a lot 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….

• 5 - Bremen town musicians

  Entin 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 ...

• 6 - 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 ...

• 7 - The Snow Queen test and melt even an icy heart! "The Snow Queen" read Contents: ♦   The first story, which tells about ...0003

• 8 - A wolf and seven kids

  Russian folk tale

  The fairy tale tells about an evil wolf who changed his voice, made his way into the goat's house and ate the 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 ....

• 9 - 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, . ..

• 10 - 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 in every bed, ...

• 11 - Geese-Swans

  the swan geese carried the boy away and the little 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…

• 12 - 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's skin and had to ...

• 13 - 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 ...

• 14 - 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 ...

• 15 - The Wizard of the Emerald City

  Volkov A.M.

  "The Wizard of the Emerald City" - a fairy tale by Alexander Volkov written at 1939 based on the fairy tale by the American writer Frank Baum "The Wise Man of Oz" with some changes. In 1959, a new edition of the book was published, significantly revised ...

• 16 - 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 ...

• 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. A chicken laid an egg, yes...

• 18 - 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 desire. The old man didn’t ask for anything, but when he returned home, he told about…

• 19 - The Little Mermaid

  Hans Christian Andersen

  A touching tale of the Little Mermaid's strong 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. The Little Mermaid read In the open…

• 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 she rescued earlier endures...

• 21 - 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 a cunning and smart cat made him the richest man and son-in-law of the king ... The cat in ...

• 22 - Sleeping Beauty

  Charles Perrault celebration in honor of his 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 ...

• 23 - 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…

• 24 - 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…

• 25 - The 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 hen…

• 26 - 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 the collection of M.M. Serova ) Fear has big eyes to read Once upon a time there was an old grandmother, a laughing granddaughter, a hen-klohtushka and a mouse-leaf. Each…

• 27 - 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 gave her a test ......

• 28 - Sister Alyonushka and brother Ivanushka

  Russian folk tale

  Sister Alyonushka and brother Ivanushka is a fairy tale about how the younger brother hooves and 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...

• 29 - 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 ... good cat ... Baba Yaga read Once upon a time there was a husband and wife, and they had a daughter. The wife fell ill and died. Grieved, grieved ...

• 31 - Teremok

  Russian folk audio tale

  Listen to the Russian folk tale "Teremok" online on the Mishkina Books website!

• 32 - Twelve months

  Samuil 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…

• 33 - 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…

• 34 - Crocodile Gena and his friends

  Uspensky E.N.

  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 ...

• 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. It 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 Alice's rabbit hole tired of sitting with my sister doing nothing on the shore ...

• 37 - The Little Prince

  Antoine de Saint-Exupery

  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. Dedication I ask the children to forgive me for dedicating this book to an adult. I'll justify it: this one…

5 sites and apps to read for free, short stories every day

If you don't read fiction yet, you should! Research has shown that reading fiction has several benefits, from stress relief and improved sleep to improved mood and mental sharpness as we age.

It is now desirable to target one brain-stimulating habit each year. habit that stimulates So, for 2016, let's make it so that every day we read a little fiction. As with any habit, the less resistance you get when you start, the easier it will be.

We scoured the world wide web to find the best sites and apps offering multiple stories at any given time. Here's what you need.

Short morning (e-mail): stories delivered to your mailbox daily

Do you know what's better than finding stories every day? Having delivered them to your mailbox, you will not even forget to visit the site. In addition, there is a team of editors who hand-pick these stories to make sure you get a quality story every morning at 10am.

Emails arrive neatly formatted for desktop or mobile viewing, so you're ready to start reading. Also, if you enjoy listening to audiobooks, the sister site Listen To Morning Short publishes one great story every morning, recorded by professional actors. And all this is completely free!

TaleHunt (Android/iOS): Exciting fantasy of 250 characters or less

When TaleHunt promises short stories, they take the "short" part seriously. Much like the Twitter celebrity @VeryShortStory , small episodes of TaleHunt are limited to 250 characters or less. And anyone can write a new fairy tale by registering for free!

By default, TaleHunt shows trending stories that will be upvoted based on the number of likes they get. You can also follow specific users to get all the stories they write. Also, each story has a hashtag so you can get the ones that interest you.

Download: TaleHunt for iOS (Free) | Android (Free)

Poop Fiction (Web): Choose how many minutes you have and get a story

Don't let the fun concept of "Poop Fiction" put you off - stories are not about empty space. In fact, the stories are carefully selected and divided into four categories: tiny (1-2 minutes of reading), short (2-3 minutes), medium (3-4 minutes), long (4+ minutes).

Select the amount of time you want to read and press or press Find me history . Poop Fiction works great on mobile and desktop. You will be presented with a short story, and once you have finished reading it, you can either choose to read another story, or return to the main menu and select a different amount of time. It's similar to what Longreads offers, but instead of long articles, you get short fiction here.

r / ShortStories (Web): Large, frequently updated collection of amateur stories

We already know that Reddit has great true stories from real people. real stories from real people. , but you can also get sci-fi from the great community forum. The most active subreddit for this is r/shortstories where anyone can write a story and submit it for the world to read.

Check the sidebar first so you can understand what the tags mean for each post. For example, SF is science fiction, FN is science fiction, HM is humor, and so on. You can also see where the link leads (marked at the end of the title). If it is the name of another site, you will be banned from Reddit. If it's "self.shortstories", you stay on Reddit and participate in the community.

Speaking of science fiction, if you're the kind of person who loves the 10 science fiction books every reader should read, then you'll probably want to stay on Daily Science Fiction. As the name suggests, you get one new fantasy tale every weekday.

The site has been around for a while, so the archives contain a wealth of material on topics such as aliens, virtual reality, future societies, space travel, time travel, and more. Hell, there is even some kind of fantasy! It's basically a geek's delight, so if you're into those genres, you'll love it here.

Whom do you like to read?

The Internet is full of fantastic short stories that you can read for free. Some of them must be downloaded in PDF format, some can be read directly.

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