Good bedtime stories for adults
10 Bedtime Stories for Adults to Help You Get Some Serious Shut Eye
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I’ve never been blessed with the ability to fall asleep fast. I have to toss and turn and click around on my phone for an hour at least before I can even attempt to get some shut eye. It drives me up the wall sometimes when I have an early morning or a big meeting the next day and all I can do is lie there.
Bedtime stories as a kid always helped me shorten that empty time between when I got in bed and when I actually fell asleep. But, as I’ve moved into adulthood, the fairytales and fables have been replaced with social media and mindless scrolling. I know, I know, this so does not help my inability to sleep. It’s hard to turn it off sometimes and sit in silence instead.
Which got me wondering, are there bedtime stories for adults that could take the place of those from my childhood? There are apps, I know, that play white noise or block notification or limit your screen time. But I wanted that feeling of being a kid and reading a nice, gentle story before bed.
If you’re in the same boat I am, seeking that same feeling but a little more grown up, try one of these bedtime short stories for adults to see if you can get some sleep.
“Whitefoot” by Wendell Berry
“Whitefoot” focuses on the life of a mouse much in a similar vein of the many fables your parents read you as a kid. Whitefoot the mouse encounters some tribulations, obstacles from the large world around her, but (spoiler alert) she gets out unscathed, ready to keep at it. It’s long, gentle, and beautiful. You’ll have images of little Whitefoot’s journey with you as you fall asleep.
“Hills Like White Elephants” by Ernest Hemingway
I’m sure many of you have read “Hills Like White Elephants” at some point in your school career. Masked in metaphor and implications, the surface level of the story is simply a conversation between a couple while waiting for their train. Sure, there’s subtext if you want to dig into it.
But, if you turn off your thinking brain and read the straightforward prose, you’ll be drifting off in no time.
“Ghosts and Empties” by Lauren Groff
Some of you may share a fondness for walking when you can’t sleep, much like the main character in “Ghosts and Empties.” She walks off her anger, her pent up feelings, through her neighborhood and the ones surrounding it. She ponders her neighbors, the people she sees, thinks about her home and her boys and her husband. If walking soothes you, this story will too.
“With the Beatles” by Haruki Murakami
“With the Beatles” traces a man’s discovery of The Beatles in his young adulthood through his life alongside his dating history. It has the feeling of remembering the first time you found your favorite band and how that love develops through your life, major events coinciding with new releases. You know that feeling when you play a song and remember where you were in life when you were obsessed with it? This story feels like that: nostalgic and comforting.
“The Book of Martha” by Octavia Butler
“The Book of Martha” is, at it’s core, about how to make a perfect world. Or, I guess, how difficult that is. God grants Martha the power to help humanity. But that proves much harder than she thought. In a careful exploration of belief, perfection, and humanity, “The Book of Martha” is sure to catch your attention without keeping you up too late. Plus, it’ll give you something to think through when you close your eyes, pushing those pesky daily worries out the window.
“Cousin Tribulation’s Story” by Louisa May Alcott
This short story set on New Year’s Day follows a family who sacrifice their meal to help their neighbors in need. It’s heartwarming and sure to restore your faith in humanity before you go to sleep. Plus, it’s only 800 words! You won’t be up late into the night to find out what happens, and you’re sure to have a smile on your face when you do.
“Bruce and the Spider” by James Baldwin
This quick, fable-like story follows a king as he watches a spider.
The spider keeps failing to connect her web, and the king, also having failed in battle, sympathizes with her. But she keeps trying, and so he decides to take her cues and try again himself. It’s sure to inspire you in its simplicity and put you to sleep with it too.
“Instructions” by Neil Gaiman
This is more of a poem, and intended for a younger audience perhaps, but the rhythm is sure to lull you no matter your age. As the title implies, “Instructions” is a list of, well, instructions on how to leave home, how to interact with the world, and how to come back again. You’ll meet an imp, an old woman, a ferryman, an eagle, and ghosts in time. You’ll pick strawberries and return favors and grow up in your time away. This is one of those bedtime stories for adults and children alike.
“Kew Gardens” by Virginia Woolf
This short stories centers around the Kew Gardens in London on a summer day. Various pairs of people walk past the flowers, each lost in their own thoughts.
A young couple, a pair of men, and an elderly couple meander through the narrative. A snail makes an appearance as it climbs a flower. The story is gentle and slow, making it perfect to help you drift off tonight.
“A Telephone Call” by Dorothy Parker
“A Telephone Call” is a sweet, light-hearted story of a woman waiting by the phone. That’s it. Much the same way we wait for that text or Snapchat now, the main character sits beside the telephone waiting for a man to call. The internal monologue and lack of much else won’t raise the blood pressure or keep you too engaged. You’ll sleep, maybe thinking of your own telephone call.
I hope these bedtime stories for adults helped you get some shut eye. If you’re still looking for something low-key or soothing, try these comforting books for hard times or these comforting comics, if those are more your speed. You can also be read to sleep with these soothing audiobooks to fall asleep to.
Home of the Brave – A Bedtime Short Story by Thom Brodkin – Reedsy Prompts
A mom’s job is never truly finished—Elise knew this instinctively when her son was born.
For at least the hundredth time, she sat next to his bed in that chair mending his quilt. There was no way of knowing, the day she bought it at a flea market, that it would become her son’s most valued possession.
To call it a quilt stretched the definition as it was nothing more than a thousand pieces of oddly shaped swatches stitched together, layer after layer, until the whole of it was thick enough to hold in the warmth of a small boy's body as he drifted off to sleep. The person who pieced together this labor of love must have spent countless hours shaping the useless remnants into a usable blanket. Elise felt it was her duty to repair the inevitable rips as an homage to the unknown creator and as a manifestation of her adoration for the little boy who cherished it.
“I love how cool it feels when I first get into bed,” her little man observed the first night he wrapped himself in the old quilt. “But before long, it warms up, and I’m snug as a bug in a rug. Where did you get it?”
The question was one whose answer was too mundane to inflict on a wide eyed little boy, so Elise stretched the truth just a little.
“It was brought over on the Mayflower by the Pilgrims,” she answered to her son's delight. “It’s made from pieces of fabric from all over Europe and is the first blanket used by the first Americans.”
It was just a little white lie, but it was also the beginning of a cherished tradition. As stitches unraveled and as tears ripped the quilt and the little boy's heart, Elise sat by his bed and mended the heirloom. Then she would continue the "true" story of how the quilt had found its way to her son.
“During the Revolutionary War, your quilt was captured by General Cornwallis and used to keep his legs warm on the cold winter nights.” Elise said, weaving a story as intricate as the blanket itself. “It wasn’t until the surrender at Yorktown that it was returned.”
“Yorktown?”
“Yes, Yorktown,'' she said smiling, “George Washington took it from Cornwallis and used it during his eight years as president.”
“You mean my blanket has been to the White House?”
“Of course it has,” Elise answered with a wink.
“But not because of George Washington, silly. John Adams was the first president to live in the White House.”
“Who then, Mom? ``The little boy asked., “Who took my blanket to the White House?”
“That’s a story for later,” Elise replied, kissing her son on his forehead. “Now you get some sleep, and I’ll continue the story next time.”
Elise, unfortunately, had far too many opportunities to continue the blanket’s tale as her son was given to debilitating headaches. At first, the doctors thought he was prone to systemic migraines, but the truth was much worse. Many nights, too many, the little boy would curl up in pain, his teeth clenched in a faux smile. The headaches were excruciating, only soothed by a cold wash cloth, his mother’s gentle voice, and the telling of the quilt’s tale as he drifted off to sleep.
There were also many a night where Elise would sit with her son as he slept, meticulously piecing back together the tears that threatened the blanket entirely, wishing there was a way she could also mend her son.
The room would be completely quiet save for the sound of Elise’s song. It was something she had done since she was his age. Inadvertently yet intentionally she would let the air slip through her lips, creating a tune just for him that would live for that moment, replaced the next time by one equally beautiful and equally unique.
“As it turns out, the first time the quilt made it to the White House was just after Abraham Lincoln was elected president,” Elise said the next night, continuing the story from where they’d left off. The pain had become more frequent and more intense, requiring more chapters more often. The story's continuation, however, had the desired results, a distraction and a smile.
“Abraham Lincoln, he used my quilt, too?” her son asked, too young to doubt his mother.
“Of course he did,” Elise responded, tickling her son just to hear him laugh. “It’s a little known fact, but Mount Rushmore was actually created to show all of the presidents who used your blanket.
”
Elise always had a basin of cold water by her side whenever she sat with her son. Very early on she learned that the coolness of the cloth would help quiet the pain in his head. It was her greatest joy to moisten the cloth keeping it cold throughout her story. The little boy’s head still throbbed, but while his mom was telling the story she would gently wipe his forehead with the cold cloth, and it was almost as if he forgot the pain for a time. If all went well, he would fall asleep listening to the tale of his blanket, as sleep was becoming his only relief from the pain.
“Did you know your blanket went to the moon?” Elise asked one day when her son seemed particularly down. “Neil Armstrong may have been the first man to set foot on the moon, but he laid out your quilt so he and Buzz Aldrin could have a picnic.”
The idea of two astronauts having a picnic on the moon resulted in spontaneous laughter for both mother and son.
“Is Buzz Lightyear named after Buzz Aldrin?” he asked his mom, as both continued to laugh.
“As a matter of fact he was,” Elise replied with a smile. “If you must know, Buzz Aldrin presented your quilt to Buzz Lightyear as a gift which means your blanket has been…”
“To infinity and beyond!”
“Exactly,” Elise confirmed as she refreshed his cloth and placed it back on his head.
Day after day she would take her boy to doctors and then specialists and eventually to the hospital. Then, night after night, she would sit by his bed and tell the story of the quilt. Elise did everything she could to stretch out the story, and as each new adventure was passed from mother to son so too was hope, in the only way she knew how.
The night that she finished the story was, in so many ways, just like most of the other nights. Elise was home in her favorite chair next to her son’s bed. Her breathing was labored and her voice unsteady. “And then I stopped by a flea market on my way home from the store and there it was, your beautiful, wonderful blanket. I knew you must have it, so I scooped it up, paid the nice woman, and brought it home to you.
”
Tears filled Elise’s eyes as she sewed the last stitch on the old quilt. Holding it up, she remembered the first time her son covered himself with the blanket. I love how cool it feels when I first get into bed.
“It’s finally fixed. It’s perfect.” Elise said out loud, tears continuing to flow. “I love how cool it feels, too.”
Summoning every bit of her strength, she lay the beloved blanket on the empty bed in front of her.
Being a mom is a job that is never truly finished, at least she had hoped so. With nothing else left to do for her son, she sat back in the chair and silently sobbed.
16 short FAIRY TALES FOR ADULTS that make me burn! (18+)
1. A joint French-Russian fairy tale about patriotism
Papa Dubois had three sons: the elder Jacques, the middle Jules and the younger Jean the Fool.
It's time for them to get married. They went out to the Champs Elysees and began to shoot in different directions.
Jacques hit the deputy of the National Assembly, but he was already married.
Jules got into the cure, but religion does not allow him to marry.
And Jean the Fool hit a frog, and in fact he didn't hit that one, but missed. The frog tried to explain to him in Russian that she was really a princess, and turned into a frog so as not to stand for a visa at the embassy, but Jean was a Frenchman and did not understand Russian. He cooked a frog according to an old recipe and became a chef in a Parisian restaurant.
Moral: girls, sit in your native swamp and don't croak. There is nothing for you to do on the Champs Elysees. And we have enough fools at home.
2. Sister Alyonushka and brother Ivanushka
Once upon a time there was a sister Alyonushka and brother Ivanushka. Alyonushka was smart and hardworking, and Ivanushka was an alcoholic. How many times did his sister tell him: “Don’t drink, Ivanushka, you will become a goat!” But Ivanushka did not listen and drank.
Once he bought some singed vodka in a stall, drank it and felt that he could no longer stand on two legs, he had to lower himself by four points. And just then the shameful wolves come up to him and say: “Well, the goat, did you drink it?”. And so they hit him on the horns that he threw back his hooves ...
And his sister Alyonushka got his apartment, because good always triumphs over evil!
3. Arabic folk tale "Ilyich and Aladdin"
In a certain sultanate, in a certain emirate, Aladdin lived. Once he found an old lamp in a landfill and decided to clean it. As soon as he began to rub, a genie came out of the lamp, and let's fulfill wishes. Well, Aladdin himself, of course, ordered the palace
, to marry the princess, the magic carpet is the six hundredth and all. In short, since then, all Aladdin's problems have become a light bulb. Just a little - rub it and dictate the conditions to the genie. And then one day he went on a cruise, and left his wife at home.
And then a man walks down the street and shouts - "I am changing old lamps for new ones!"
Well, the wife was delighted and changed Aladdin's lamp for Ilyich's lamp. And how much later Aladdin did not rub this light bulb, Ilyich did not get out of there and did not fulfill his desire. This is how technological progress defeated the backward Asian superstitions.
4. About the tail
Once a fox stole a whole load of fish from a peasant. Sits and eats. And a hungry wolf comes out of the forest. “Fox, give me fish!” “Go and catch it yourself,” the fox replies. "But as? I don’t even have a fishing rod,” says the wolf. “I don’t have it either,” said the fox, “but I threw my tail into the hole, so I caught it.” "Thanks for the idea!" - the wolf was delighted, tore off the tail of the fox and went fishing.
5. Seaside folk tale about the Old Man and the Golden Fish
There lived an old man with his old woman near the blue sea.
The old man threw a seine into the sea, a seine came, and there - a pike. "What the heck? the old man was surprised. — Like a goldfish should be. I'm not Emelya, after all. “That's right,” the pike replied. - We worked with the goldfish for a long time in one sector of the market.
And just recently, the board of directors reached an agreement on the takeover of one enterprise by another.” And the pike burped satedly.
6. A folk tale near Moscow about the wrong personnel policy
Once upon a time there was a pop - a thick forehead. He had his own business, his own clientele, and there was only one assistant, and even that one was a bullshit. But nothing, the pop coped. Moreover, the assistant worked for a long time literally for this - well, bullshit, what do you say. However, even
and the bulldozer ran out of patience. “Master,” he says, “when are you going to pay?”
And the priest answers him: "Go to hell!". Well, the bastard went.
And he sold all the trade secrets of the priest to the devil. The devil then enticed all the clients from the priest, and he went bankrupt. And serve him right. Because the staff should be paid on time, not wait,
while they flick you in the forehead.
7. Petersburg folk tale about a smart old woman
A soldier was walking home from service. He knocked on the way to a house. “Let me in,” he says, “to spend the night, masters.” And in the house lived a greedy old woman. “Spend the night, sleep,” she said, “only I have nothing to treat you with.” “It doesn’t matter,” the soldier replied, “just give me an ax, and I’ll cook porridge out of it.” “What are you, a soldier,” the old woman was indignant, “do you think I’m completely stupid? What am I going to chop wood with later? So the soldier remained without salty slurping. By the way, his name was Rodion Raskolnikov.
8. A man and a bear. Moldovan folk tale.
Somehow a man decided to organize a joint venture with a bear.
"What we are going to do?" the bear asks. “This year - to grow wheat,” the man replies. "How to share?" "It is known how: my tops, your roots." "He's coming," the bear agreed. They grew wheat, the peasant took all the tops for himself, sold, sits and rejoices, counts money ... And then a bear came and brought his roots ...
9. Moscow folk tale about money and whistling
Somehow the Nightingale the Robber wanted to get gold and silver. He went to Koshchei the Deathless to offer security services. Koschei got angry, unleashed an unclean force on him - the Nightingale left a little alive. Then he went to the Serpent Gorynych to demand a ransom
. The Serpent was angry, blazed with fire - the Nightingale barely took his legs. He goes sad, he sees - towards Baba Yaga. He thought at least to get money from her, but Yaga departed with a bone leg so that the white light became not nice to the Nightingale. Then he wept bitterly, and Yaga took pity on him.
“Go,” she said, “to the road, and bury yourself there in the green bushes.
When you see a person passing by - whistle with all your might, he will give you money.
The Nightingale listened to the advice of the wise, but since then he has not known the need. That's how traffic cops started up in Rus'.
10. Medical folk tale about Koshchei and a healthy lifestyle.
Ivan Tsarevich married a stupid frog… no, not like that. Ivan the Fool married the frog princess, and she ran away from him with Koshchei. Ivan was offended and decided to kill Koshchei. How long, how short Ivan walked around the world - he came to Baba Yaga.
- Where are you going, good fellow? Yaga asks.
- Well, grandmother, you didn’t get drunk - you didn’t feed, but you ask? Ivan says.
“You are a fool, you are a fool,” replies Yaga. How can I feed you if you haven't washed your hands?
Ivan washed his hands, told Yaga about his misfortune. And Yaga answered him:
- The death of Koshcheev is in the needle, the needle is in the egg, the egg is in the duck, and the duck in hospital number 8 is under the bed.
Ivan went to hospital #8, found a duck, broke an egg and put Koshchei on a needle. This is where Koshchei ends. Drug addiction, it does not bring anyone to good.
11. Spanish folk tale about the sleeping beauty.
Once upon a time there was a king and a queen, and they had a daughter. And they arranged a ball, and invited everyone there, except for the most harmful fairy, because they knew that she would come anyway. The most harmful fairy came and said: “Are you happy? Oh well. But when the
princess turns 18, she will become a drug addict and inject herself with such a dose that she will pass out and not come to her senses. The princess turned 18 years old, she became a drug addict, injected herself and did not come to her senses. And the king and queen, courtiers
and the servants took a sedative out of grief and also passed out. And gradually all the roads to the castle were overgrown with a dense forest. A hundred years later, a handsome prince rode past and asked what kind of reserve it was.
The good people told him the whole story and added that only then would the princess come out of the blackout when the handsome prince kissed her. The prince bravely rode through the dense forest, entered the castle, took the key to the treasury from the king's neck, loaded all the gold and diamonds on his horse and rode back. And he didn't kiss the princess, no. In fact, why does he need a drug addict?
12. Marriage-frog
In a certain kingdom, in a certain state, a father had three sons - two stupid ones, and the third was none at all. The father decided to marry them. He took me out into the yard and ordered to shoot whoever hit where. The first son fired and hit the air. The second shot -
hit the police. The third shot - hit the headstock. Father spat in his hearts, gave each a frog and went to sleep. And what kind of frog gender, and did not check ... In general, it turned out badly.
13. Danish folk tale about a little mermaid
Once upon a time there was a little mermaid somewhere in the outback.
And she wanted to be a pop star. She went to the witch.
“That can be arranged,” the witch says, “only you give me your vote.”
- No problem, - the little mermaid answers, - why do I need it? You, most importantly, make your legs longer.
— Okay, — the witch agreed, — just keep in mind, if you don’t spin, you will become sea foam.
And what do you think, did it become foam? No matter how! For a month now, he has been holding the top lines in the charts. And this is no longer a fairy tale, but the harsh truth of life ...
14. Administrative folk tale about a traveling frog
Once upon a time there was a frog. She lived in her swamp and saw nothing but mud. And her duck neighbors traveled abroad every year. Well, the frog, of course, also wanted to, so she persuaded the ducks to take her with them. She clung to the twig with her mouth
, and the ducks picked it up with their beaks and flew away. And from below, the heron looks and is surprised: “Wow, what clever ducks! Such a method of transportation was invented!
“These are not ducks, I am smart!” the frog screamed and fell back into the swamp.
Then the heron ate it. Moral: we, of course, have freedom of speech, but if you want to fly high, keep your mouth shut. And they won't eat it.
15. Administrative folk tale "Winnie the Pooh and all-all-all"
Somehow they appointed Winnie the Pooh in the forest to manage the household. He took Eeyore and Piglet as his deputies. And he put Rabbit to work, because he is the smartest.
But no matter how hard the Rabbit tried, under the leadership of Winnie the Pooh, the economy still fell apart. They began looking for the culprits. Went to Winnie the Pooh. He says, “What about me? Look what deputies I have - one donkey, the other a pig!
They come to Eeyore and Piglet. They say, “What are we? Look at our boss - he has sawdust in his head!” In general, in the end, the Rabbit was given in the ears. And everyone else was given a hat. From rabbit fur. Another
play was written about this, “Woe from Wit” is called.
16. Untitled
There lived a king with his queen near the blue sea.
They lived and lived, but they had no children. And the king says to the queen:
- Bake me, queen, a bun!
- Completely fucked up, or what? the queen answers. — What am I to you, cook?
- Oh, you, - the king was offended, - but I took you as a simple Cinderella, shod and dressed you, brought you into people ...
And the fairy tale does not end here at all. Their fairy tale ended on the second day after the wedding ...
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10 exciting fairy tales for adults
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01. "The Wild Swan and Other Tales" by Michael Cunningham
A collection of 10 recognizable classic tales that Cunningham has reworked and added new, relevant meanings. For example, you will find out how the life of the Prince turned out, for whom his sister did not have time to finish the shirt, so instead of his right hand he was left with a swan wing. It is not very convenient to ride the subway and take a taxi with him.
Cunningham offers his own version of the development of events that are usually left behind the scenes in fairy tales.
2. The Ocean at the End of the Road by Neil Gaiman
Neil Gaiman's books often blur the line between real life and magic. So in The Ocean at the End of the Road, the main character, a boy from an ordinary English suburb, discovers that the world is not at all what it is commonly believed. He will have to see with his own eyes strange creatures from the other world.
Each reader decides for himself that this is a fantasy of a boy who is trying to escape from reality, problems in the family and loneliness, or indeed there is a place in our life for something unusual.
Buy at LitRes
3. The Winter's Tale by Mark Helprin
Mark Helprin's most famous magical realist novel. What is not here: snowy New York, heroes in unusual circumstances, love and miracles. A magical story in which the fates of the characters are intertwined in an exciting narrative.
4. "Dwellers of the Hills", Richard Adams
The story of the rabbits who left their home and went to look for a new one is not childishly psychological and intense. The rabbits in The Hill Dwellers, like people, have their own language, culture, legends (for example, about the terrible Black Rabbit Inle). And rabbits act in difficult situations also in different ways, just like people.
5. "Tales of the Brothers Grimm in a new way", Philip Pullman
British writer Philip Pullman has prepared his own interpretation of stories familiar to us since childhood - the fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm. He chose fifty of his favorite stories and retold them as closely as possible to the original. The most interesting thing is that after each fairy tale there is a detailed commentary: its type, analysis, other interpretations of the same story in different countries and by other authors.
Buy at LitRes
6. The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Graham
The story of Mr.
Rat the water rat, Mr. Mole, Mr. Badger and Mr. Toad the toad remains popular even 100 years after it was first published. An adult reader will like not so much the plot (it is rather uncomplicated), but rather the philosophical attitude, subtle English humor and poetic narration. The same book that will brighten up the evening with a cup of tea and a blanket.
Buy at LitRes
7. "The Riddle of the Old Forest", Dino Buzzati
Dark tale-legend about childhood and how fleeting it is. And, of course, about the connection between man and nature. All this is presented in the form of a parable, where trees have spirits, animals talk, and the wind sings its songs. Buzzati's style is simple, concise, with hints and understatements. An adult reader will surely be captivated by the atmosphere of the work.
Buy at LitRes
8. "Moomin and Comet", Tove Jansson
The world of Moomins captures in childhood and does not let go over the years.
Jansson's stories are always about the world's good and bad, adventure and quiet reflection. Moomintroll and the Comet is one of the first books in a large series of fairy tales. Here, even in the anxious atmosphere of anticipation of an impending catastrophe, there is a place for hope. It is for this philosophical optimism that we love Tuva.
Buy at LitRes
9. "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" by Roald Dahl
Like any other good fairy tale, the story of the boy Charlie is an adventure. Together with other children, he gets on an excursion to the most unusual Chocolate Factory in the world. And, as in any other good fairy tale, good will be rewarded, and evil will be punished.
Buy at Bookvoed
10. Urban Legends, Charles de Lint
Charles de Lint writes fairy tales set in the modern urban world. The collection of short stories is united by the setting - the fictional large city of Newford. Ordinary people - students, artists, office workers, the poor - are faced with things strange and inexplicable.
