Fun fairy tales


10 Best Classic Fairy Tales For Your Kids

If you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairy tales. If you want them to be more intelligent, read them more fairy tales.” ― Albert Einstein.

Fairy tales often take people to the sweet memory lane of their childhood. The memories of magic, dragons, and evilness getting defeated never fail to bring a smile to our faces. 

Reading or listening to classic tales can help parents bond better with their children and nurture their creativity.

So, if you are looking for the best bedtime stories for your children, this blog will surely help you. Let’s explore some of the fascinating and timeless fairy tales that can bring lots of colors and blooms to your kid’s childhood. 

10 Best & Timeless Fairy Tales For Children 

 

1. Cinderella

Cinderella is one of the most popular fairy tales of all time. Its story remains an all-time classic and will remain the same for future generations as well.

Cinderella was a young woman who lived with her wicked stepmother and stepsisters. Thanks to her glass slipper, she found her Prince Charming and escaped her difficult life. 

Cinderella’s story has been adapted in many variations over history. Cinderella’s popular version “The Brother Grimm” was published in 1812. Recently, in 2021, Disney has released a new Cinderella movie with a modern outlook. 

Moral: This story tells kids how they should never stop dreaming despite all the hardships that life presents them with.

2. Beauty and the Beast
Related Reading: Top Reading Apps for Kids: How to Use Screens For Stories 

Beauty and the Beast is a fairy tale that celebrates real royalty. In the story, a spoiled prince turns into a beast and imprisons a beautiful young lady named Belle. It’s only when he learns to love Belle that he becomes the prince again. 

This fairy tale is assumed to be inspired by a real-life couple who lived in France in the 1500s. The man had a condition called hypertrichosis. This condition causes abnormal hair growth on the body. 

So, he was referred to as a wild man and was kept in a cage for a long time. In a surprising turn of events, he married a royal court servant’s daughter, and they had 7 children.

Moral: We should value internal characteristics such as kindness over other superficial or physical qualities. 

3. Rapunzel

Rapunzel is a beautiful and motivational fairy tale. The story shows how a poor couple lost their daughter Rapunzel when they stole fruit from their neighbor’s garden. It also focuses on how the angelic voice of Rapunzel reunites her with her lover. 

Moral: This story gives two bold messages that one should never steal, and evilness never wins. 

4. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs 
Related Reading: Best Children’s Books to Stimulate Kids’ Imagination & Creativity

Snow White is a young princess and is defined by her inherent kindness and pure beauty. In the story, an evil queen spends all her life envying Snow White’s beauty. 

But, in the end, Snow White finds her happiness by marrying the prince. In contrast, the evil queen loses her peace and leads an unhappy life while chasing meaningless physical beauty. 

Moral: This story has an insightful moral — if you lust over physical beauty, you lose your peace in the way. The story also encourages kids to be kind and pure like Snow White. 

5. Little Red Riding Hood

A rebellious Red sets off alone to meet her grandmother with instructions to never step off the forest path. But she disobeys the instructions and attracts the attention of the bad wolf. 

Now, what happens next depends on the version you are reading. In the Charles Perrault version, Red gets gobbled up by the wolf. However, across Europe, North America, and many other tellings, she was saved by her hood or a guy with an ax. 

Moral: This fairy tale intends to teach children to follow directions and express their courage at the time of need.  

6. Jack and the Beanstalk

Jack is a rule-breaker and loves to prank. Once, he traded a family cow for a couple of magic beans in the hope of climbing the beanstalk and reaching the giant’s castle to steal his magic possessions. 

This story will help you teach your naughty little pranksters that no matter how daring you are, one should never cross certain boundaries in life. 

Moral: The story shows that undying greed for more will take away what you already have in your life. 

7. Sleeping Beauty
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Sleeping Beauty is slightly similar to Snow White. The story revolves around a Sleeping Beauty who was cursed by a wicked fairy. Beauty spends all her childhood sleeping, but on her 16th birthday, her prince charming finds her and wakes her up after years of slumber. 

Like other fairy tales, different interpretations of Sleeping Beauty are also available. However, Disney’s Maleficent in the year 2014 achieved the most success. 

Moral: The story shows that growing up has its own hurdles but in the end, love conquers all.

8. Puss in Boots

If you want to raise a little animal helper, this is the perfect story for you. Puss is a bold trickster who masquerades as the servant of a nobleman. His tactics bring him fame, fortune, and a wife at a young age. 

The boots in this fairy tale symbolize wealth and wisdom. The story is set back in the 16th century when people used to be barefoot. So, having boots at that time was a significant sign of wealth. 

Moral: The story’s moral is simple — your wisdom can help you win wealth. 

9. Hansel and Gretel

This tale talks about the hunger of the heart and stomach. Hansel and Gretel are abandoned by their stepmother in the forest. Both children can’t resist eating a real gingerbread cottage out of hunger. But they get caught by a cannibal witch who lives there.  

In the end, they shove the witch into the fiery oven to escape. 

Moral: This story will teach your kids how fortunate they are to have food on their plates. It will help them be grateful in life and never have any egos! 

10. Frog Prince

In this story, a frog helps a princess to find her golden ball in the pond and then invites her to live in the castle. It is then that the frog turns into a prince. The storyline of The Frog Prince is quite similar to Beauty and the Beast.

Moral: The story teaches that it’s important to value kindness and goodness over physical beauty. It also tries to convey the importance of keeping our promises.

Related Reading: Best Riddles for Kids of all Grades (With Answers)!

Benefits of Reading Fairy Tales to Your Little Ones 

Are you wondering how centuries-old fairy tales can benefit your child in this digital age? Well, no matter how old fairy tales are, they can always make your kid’s childhood happy and memorable.  

Be it The Brothers Grimm or Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont, all the classic magic stories can benefit your child in a number of ways:

Early development 

Storytelling plays a significant role in a child’s development. That is because 95% of the human brain develops by the age of six. Therefore, reading or listening to fairy tales can build imagination and literacy for your child. 

Your child can engage in fantasy land and learn to distinguish the fantasy world from the real world. They can learn to express their thoughts and ideas better. 

Some studies even indicate that storytelling helps to improve vocabulary and confidence among children. 

Develops problem-solving skills 

Through stories, children and even adults can learn how to handle certain problems. Cinderella’s story fits perfectly in this context. It tells how a young woman escapes her difficult life despite her wicked stepmother and stepsisters’ cruelties.  

Stories allow people to step into the character’s shoes and learn how they can easily conquer problems and presents children with an interactive method of learning. This is one of the reasons why SplashLearn creates visually appealing and character-based animated games. 

SplashLearn8217s game 8211 with different Oolzoos as characters

Sign up & play learning games!

Builds faith in goodness 

Children connect better with the characters in the stories. This helps them learn from their favorite characters’ life stories. The stories can show children how to believe in goodness amidst problems and anxieties. 

For example, Beauty and the Beast portray how selfishness can turn a prince into a beast. It also shows how beauty and kindness can turn a beast into a prince again. 

Helps to understand cultural literacy 

Fairy tales can bring cultural flavors into your child’s life. Different versions of stories are available today that can help your children interact with different cultures.  

Strengthens emotional resiliency 

Fairy tales show that life isn’t perfect. Children discover that bad things happen to everyone. But if you are emotionally resilient, you can overcome all challenges. 

This helps children stay strong during hard times and always believe in the richness of life despite hardships. 

Stimulates imagination 

Exposing your child to the world of fantasy can stimulate their imagination. It might amaze you to see how children can give a spin to traditional stories and interpret them into something completely different. 

For instance, the University of Hawai’i conducted a study to evaluate the positive impact of fairy tales on children. In the study, researchers exposed children to different classic stories to understand their impact. 

Interestingly, after listening to Little Red Riding Hood, a seven-year-old boy draws the wolf to the size of an ant. He used his imagination to create a funny interpretation of the bad wolf and show his courage.  

So, when you introduce a story to your child, you are providing them with an opportunity to think and imagine different scenarios. 

Teaches moral lessons 

Every fairy tale is attached to a moral lesson. Fairy tales often leave us with a strong message, whether it is being good or believing in love or friendship. 

You might have a hard time making your toddler understand where the difference between good and bad lies. But stories like “The Emperor’s New Clothes” can better show to your kids, the consequences of convincing yourself that something was true when it wasn’t.

Helps parents bond with their kids

Through classic fairy tales, parents can bond with their children in a great capacity. They can relive their childhood memories with their kids and build some new memories.

Teach, Motivate and Stimulate Imagination with Games

You can forget anything in your life, but you can never forget all the classic fairy tales that you have heard in your childhood. Have you ever thought, why? 

That is mainly because stories capture our interest in a much better way. And once we learn something with an interest, we tend to not forget that information. 

SplashLearn creates learning games to spike and capture kids’ interest. The engaging characters and visuals motivate the little ones to learn. Different mediums like games, worksheets and courses on Math and English can help them remember and retain concepts their entire life. 

Today, you can try SplashLearn with your kids to see how they actually interact with interesting learning mediums. 

Parents, sign up for free!

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Which is the oldest fairy tale?

According to some researchers, The Smith And The Devil is the oldest fairy tale. It goes back by 6,000 years to the Bronze Age.

Do all fairy tales have morals?

Yes. Fairy tales are written with a motive to teach a lesson to children via interesting characters and a storyline

How do fairy tales affect child development? 

When children listen to fairy tales often, it affects their imagination and helps them to think about new things. The fairy tales affect the emotional, physical, and mental development of a child. 

Do fairy tales have the truth? 

Fairy tales have been passed down from many generations and cultures. However, today there’s no solid source from where these tales come from, but they have been inspired from somewhere. So, we can say that some fairy tales are adaptations of real-life events. 

Are fairy tales timeless?

Yes. The storyline might have changed in many tales with time, but the central idea has always been the same. 

What is the right time to read fairy tales to your child?

There’s no specific time to read stories to your kids. However, most parents prefer to read stories before bedtime. But you can read them to your child anytime as soon as they turn two.

 

7 of the Greatest Underrated Fairy Tales You Will Really Love

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If you ask most people what the first story they remember being told as a child, chances are, they’ll give you the name of a fairy tale.

We’ve been reading our children fairy tales for hundreds of years, and you can probably name a couple of dozen. Cinderella. Snow White. Hansel and Gretel. Sleeping Beauty. Little Red Riding Hood.

Those are the first names that come to mind, right? And it’s no wonder; those are some great, classic stories, ones that a lot of us grew up on. But the world of fairy tales is much, much wider than you may realize. There are literally thousands out there, so it’s a bit disappointing when the same few get all the attention. These are seven of my favorite underrated fairy tales… that you’ve probably never heard of.



#1 SNOW WHITE AND ROSE REDPhoto: Snow White and Rose Red by Jessie Willcox Smith, 1911

“We will not leave each other.” “Never, so long as we live.”

Origin: Germany

No relation to Snow White of the seven dwarfs! (Though there is a dwarf in here… an evil one, to be precise. ) This is a story about two sisters who are opposites in every way except their love for each other.

Loads of fairy tales feature sibling rivalry, so the loving and supportive relationship between Snow White and Rose Red is a deeply heartwarming change of pace.

One winter’s night, the two sisters decide to shelter a talking, intelligent bear from the cold, and this sets them on the path towards their happily-ever-after.

This is a sweet, simple tale of sisterly love and the wonderful things that can happen when you offer help to someone in need.

Read it here.

#2 THE SEALSKINOndine movie is about a selkie. Credit: Paramount Vantage

Origin: Iceland

This story has a few variations, but this one is my favorite. This story serves as a sort of precursor to The Little Mermaid, following the marriage between a human man and a selkie.

Selkies are beautiful, immortal women who live as seals in the water but shed their sealskin to walk on land. But even selkies who marry human men will get homesick and pine away for the sea.

This is a melancholy, simple tale, but it’s extremely effective. Give it a read; you won’t be forgetting it any time soon.

Read it here. 


#3 THE LOVER’S GHOST

Origin: Hungary

For those of you who like a bit of darkness before you get to your happily-ever-afters! A young woman’s beloved goes off to war, and she, of course, promises to wait.

But when years go by, and he doesn’t come home, she consults her godmother for advice. With the help of her godmother’s magic, she’s able to find out what happened to her beloved… and she doesn’t like the answer.

This story is spooky and somber, but it ends on a happy note and features a remarkably proactive protagonist. Plus, her main ally is a witch — how cool is that? No damsels in distress here!

Read it here. 

#4 THE FOX SISTERThis Kdrama is about a kumiho.

“The man’s wife discovered that she was pregnant, and in time she bore a beautiful girl. The man was happy. But when the daughter was about six years old, strange things began to happen…”

Origin: Korea

A spooky, traditional Korean folktale about the legendary kumiho — a beautiful, evil spirit that takes the form of a nine-tailed fox and eats human hearts. In the story, a man with three sons desperately wants a daughter.

One night, he prays, “Give me a daughter. Even if she’s a fox.” And if there’s one lesson to be learned from fairy tales, it’s be careful what you wish for. This is one of my favorite non-Western fairy tales; it’s stuck with me from the very first time I read it. I’d love to see more stories featuring the kumiho — as this story perfectly demonstrates, she makes for one creepy, powerful villain.

Read it here.

#5 THE ENCHANTED MAIDEN

Origin: Portugal

This is a Cinderella-esque tale of three sisters. The elder two marry princes, while the youngest ends marrying a peasant. This causes the girl’s sisters to refuse to associate with her, leaving her alone. Or at least, up until the youngest sister’s daughter is born and is blessed by fairies with beauty, grace, and riches.

Oh, but don’t worry; it’s not long before karma comes knocking. Like I said before, this story reminds me a lot of Cinderella, which is why I’m surprised it’s not more popular. It’s a lovely story about the dangers of superficiality, and it’s one I think a lot of you will enjoy.

Read it here.

#6 THE THREE SPINNERSGrimm’s Household Tales, 1912.

“Let me have your daughter with me in the palace, I have flax enough, and there she shall spin as much as she likes.”

Origin: Germany

An underrated story from the Brothers Grimm themselves! I’d describe it as Rumplestiltskin but turned on its head. A young woman is lazy and refuses to use her spinning wheel. But now, she’s found herself in a bit of a bind — specifically, the Queen has put her in a room full of flax and told her, if she spins it all in three days, she can marry the prince. Fortunately, three old crones come to the girl’s aid.

This story is extremely light-hearted and lacks the gory and, well, grim atmosphere the Brothers are famous for. I especially love how, for once, the ugly, older women aren’t wicked witches tormenting the beautiful maiden. Instead, they get to be her allies.

Read it here. 


#7 HANS, WHO MADE THE PRINCESS LAUGHPainting by Vasnetsov

Origin: Norway

A sweet, simple story about a princess who never laughed… and the young man who becomes determined to change that. I’m a sucker for the old “defrosting the ice queen” trope, and this is pretty much the ultimate example of that.

And when you read along with Hans’ ordeal as he tries to get the princess to at least crack a smile, it’s hard not to smile, too. There are many variations on this story floating around out there, but this one is my favorite.

Read it here. 

Like I said before, there are literally thousands of fairy tales out there — these seven don’t even scratch the surface. If there are any underrated fairy tales you wish would get more love, tell me about them in the comments! I’d love to check them out! 


Featured image: Sleeping Beauty oil painting by John Collier

Funny Tales - read free online

Funny Tales - works of peoples of the world and writers that will entertain your children. In them, adults and peers of the young reader, animals and birds get into ridiculous situations. However, even household items and things from the wardrobe of a child or his parents can be in a funny environment. Read funny stories to the guys in the evening, or when they are clearly bored. In addition to laughter, these works will evoke other emotions and thoughts in the young listener. They will gently teach children the ability to dream, empathize, notice and use puns in their speech. nine0003

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    Every child should be cheerful and cheerful. And in order for a smile to appear more often on the face of a little “miracle”, this section with funny tales was created. Here are collected the funniest fairy tale stories that will cheer you up and cheer you up. If your child wants to laugh and have fun, then read him the fairy tales presented here. Reading these fairy tales, the child develops positive thinking and a positive attitude in life. nine0003

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    A fairy tale about a wedding, but only an unusual one. The bride is the cathedral bell tower. Her matchmaker is a flour store. nine0003

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    The comic fairy tale "How a lot lined up" Pisakhova Stepan tells about how the author walked in the forest

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    the eyes of fear are large ”the heroes were afraid of the imaginary danger that they saw.

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