Good fairy tales for storytelling
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 Children1. 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 BeastRelated 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. RapunzelRapunzel 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 DwarfsRelated 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 HoodA 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.
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 BeautyRelated Reading: Learning Styles That Make Learning Easy-Peasy For Kids
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 BootsIf 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 GretelThis 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 PrinceIn 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 developmentStorytelling 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 skillsThrough 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.
SplashLearn’s game – with different Oolzoos as charactersSign up & play learning games!
Builds faith in goodnessChildren 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 literacyFairy 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.
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 imaginationExposing 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 lessonsEvery 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 kidsThrough 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 GamesYou 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.
Choose Stories By Age, Reading Time...
Fairy Tales to Enchant You…
Welcome to our huge fairy tales library!
Sleeping Beauty, Rumpelstiltskin, Little Red Riding Hood, and stories of Cinderella… Brothers Grimm and Hans Christian Andersen… Arabian Nights, Aesop’s Fables, Greek myths and Norse legends…
Browse our most popular fairy tales collections
Famous Fairy Tales
The story of beautiful Snow White, the seven dwarfs and the evil Queen.
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The classic Hans Christian Andersen tale of a Little Mermaid, and what she will do for love.
A king suspects that his twelve daughters go dancing every night… and a young prince takes the challenge to discover them.
Ali Baba discovers a wonderful cave of riches… but will the forty thieves discover him?
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Brothers Grimm Fairy Tales
A Prince called Desire seeks a bride in warmer lands.
This marvellous musician has a strange way of making friends and keeping them!
Three Dwarfs meet a poor girl who shares the last of her bread with them.
A younger brother is a wise dwarf who teaches his brothers kind things.
A little tailor tricks two giants and a King, winning against all odds.
The story of beautiful Snow White, the seven dwarfs and the evil Queen.
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Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales
A butterfly takes his time in deciding which flower he should marry.
A beautiful story of a much loved Grandmother who dies, by Hans Christian Andersen.
A snow man falls in love with a hot stove…
Five peas in a shell discover their destinies…
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A Prince offers a Princess gifts that she refuses.
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English Fairy Tales
A witty wife helps her husband solve his problems in all sorts of sticky situations!
A Prince steals a magical ring from a fairy queen in order to defeat a wicked dragon.
A little weed feels worthless, until it helps some hungry birds.
A giant keeps Jack prisoner for seven years… until finally he makes his escape!
A prince learns how to have empathy with the help of a fairy and a ring.
A young man wants to marry a silly girl… but must find three sillier people first!
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French Fairy Tales
A Princess, by enchantment, transforms into a white doe.
Will true love prevail and help her break the spell?
A handsome courtier begs a princess marry a king, but the princess falls in love with him instead.
A prince has a red hat that makes him invisible, and uses it to pursue Love.
A pair of lovers are separated when a king is turned into a blue bird.
A friendly frog helps a queen and a princess to escape a lion witch.
A yellow dwarf forces a queen and her daughter to make a promise they cannot keep…
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Chinese Fairy Tales
Molo goes to great lengths to help others and become a sword hero.
A family of human-ogres shows strength in the difficulties they face being both.
When the king’s daughter is taken by a bird with nine heads, who will save her?
Rose of Evening is beautiful and kind, but what is she keeping secret?
Giauna is beautiful but also kind, and can heal the sickness of others.
A boy called Bamboo helps a turtle escape a temple, and goes on a big adventure.
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Oscar Wilde Fairy Tales
The status of a Prince begs a sparrow to help him bring happiness to the sad and poor of his city.
A short story about a beautiful child of the stars, who learns about humility.
The tale of a selfish giant who closes his beautiful garden to children.
The tragic tale of a selfish miller, and his poor and generous friend.
The haunting story of a nightingale who creates a red rose for a lover.
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Norse Myths and Legends
A plump pancake manages to escape being eaten by 7 children!
A boy keeps meeting a rat who promises they will soon be married.
A child called Minnikin conquers three trolls to save two captured princesses.
It all seems like a perfectly normal wedding… or is it?!
Cinderlad is lazy, until he meets a King that will put him to the test!
The story of a cat who literally eats everything in sight, even the moon!
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Aesop’s Fables
A wordless counting picture book based on the Aesop fable.
A raven tries to copy an eagle, but finds it’s not so easy! An Aesop fable.
A collection of Aesop’s fables in short poetry form – along with vintage illustrations.
A town mouse and a country mouse visit each other’s home, to find they like their own best.
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Japanese Fairy Tales
A story of the Sun, the Moon and an Empress all working together for peace.
A hare deceives some crocodiles, and learns to tell the truth.
A hero fights an ogre, and steals his arm.
An old man loves his dog, who brings him tragic heartache and good luck.
The story of Prince Yamato Take and his protector the Sun Goddess.
Princess Hase has a cruel stepmother, but she remains kind.
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Scottish Fairy Tales
A Prince meets a strange ghost in an inn, who asks him to do her a favour.
Lady Janet acts courageously to rescue her True Love from a fairy queen’s grasp.
The fairy tale of a Princess, a boy, a magical Grandmother and an army of Goblins.
When a Princess is caused by a spell to be as light as air, a Prince discovers the way to make her happy.
Janet must trust a fairy named Tamlane, in order to return him to human form.
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Russian Fairy Tales
A Princess trusts a wicked old witch, who turns her into a white duck.
A boy is stolen by a wicked witch, and recovered by a kind and brave girl.
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Read Our Complete Fairy Tale Library !
Tales for children of any age. Read online
Fairy tales - poetic stories about extraordinary events and adventures, with the participation of fictional characters. In modern Russian, the concept of the word "fairy tale" has acquired its meaning since the 17th century. Until that moment, the word "fable" was supposedly used in this meaning. One of the main features of a fairy tale is that it is always based on a fictional story, with a happy ending, where good triumphs over evil. The stories contain a certain hint, which enables the child to learn to recognize good and evil, to comprehend life on illustrative examples.
Andersen 
N. Mamin-Sibiryak 
H. Andersen Reading fairy tales is one of the main and important stages on your child's way to life. A variety of stories make it clear that the world around us is quite contradictory and unpredictable.
Listening to stories about the adventures of the main characters, children learn to appreciate love, honesty, friendship and kindness. Reading fairy tales is useful not only for children. Having matured, we forget that in the end, good always triumphs over evil, that all adversity is unimportant, and the beautiful princess is waiting for her prince on a white horse. To give a little good mood and plunge into the fairy-tale world is quite simple!
Fairy tales for children to read. 1500 fairy tales with pictures online.
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. Read "Gingerbread Man" Once upon a time there was an old man with an old woman. Here...
Grade 2 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…
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…
Grade 2-3Scientists recently discovered that there are naughty children in the world who do everything the other way around. They are given useful advice: "Wash in the morning" - they take and do not wash. They are told: "Hello to each other" - they are here ...
Grade 1Kitten named Woof - a series of short stories about the adventures of the kitten Woof and his friend Sharik the puppy. Ridiculous situations constantly happen to Gav, as soon as he goes out into the yard. Together with his friend, he manages…
Grade 1 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….
A tale about a cowardly hippo who ran away from the clinic because he was afraid of vaccinations. And he got jaundice. Fortunately, he was taken to the hospital and cured. And the hippopotamus felt very ashamed of his behavior… “About the Behemoth who was afraid…
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. "Teremok" read There is a teremok in the field. A mouse runs past. I saw the tower, stopped and asked:—...
A tale about a hedgehog, a hare and a crow who could not share the last apple among themselves. Everyone wanted to own it. But the fair bear judged their dispute, and each got a piece of a treat... It was late to read "Apple"...
Grades 1-2 A story about one serious and independent boy, whose name was Uncle Fyodor and his friends: the cat Matroskin and the dog Sharik.
Uncle Fyodor's mother did not like animals very much and did not want to start them. To live with a cat…
CHARACTERS Cat; Two kittens; Cat Vasily; Rooks; Goat; Beavers; Goat; Pigs; Rooster; Ram; Chicken; Sheep; Pig; Narrator. Chorus Beam-bom! Tili-bom! Outside is a tall building. Carved shutters, Painted windows. And on the stairs there is a carpet…
Grade 1A fairy tale about a wooden boy carved from a log by Carlo's father, his adventures in the theater of Karabas Barabas, meeting with scoundrels Alice the Fox and Basilio the Cat, Malvina and Artemon the poodle, Tortila the tortoise and Duremar. "Pinocchio" to read to the Joiner ...
A story about animals and a 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 the princess came out onto the balcony of the palace, the townspeople came running to the square and it began…
The tale about the Hedgehog, how he walked at night and got lost in the fog.
He fell into the river, but someone carried him to the shore. It was a magical night! "Hedgehog in the Fog" read In the evenings, the Hedgehog went to the Bear Cub in ...
A short story about the kid and the prankster Carlson adapted by B. Larin for children. "Kid and Carlson" read This story actually happened. But, of course, it happened far away from you and me - in Swedish ...
1st gradeA short story for the little ones about three restless kittens and their funny adventures. Small children love short stories with pictures, that's why Suteev's fairy tales are so popular and loved! “Three kittens” read Three kittens — black, gray and…
The tale tells about an evil wolf who changed his voice, made his way into the goat's house and ate little goats. 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 ....
1st grade A fairy tale about a girl named Zhenya, who was presented with a magical seven-colored flower.
It had seven petals and could grant any seven wishes. Zhenya spent the first six wishes, but did not receive any pleasure and only made her last wish ...
The tale of Tsar Saltan, his glorious and mighty son Prince Gvidon Saltanovich and the beautiful Princess Swans was created on the basis of the folk tale "Wonderful Sons" . Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin enriched the folk work with new plot twists, ...
4-5 gradeThe Snow Queen is one of Hans Christian Andersen's most famous fairy tales about love, which can overcome any trial and melt even an icy heart! "The Snow Queen" read The first story, which tells about the mirror and its ...
This section of our website presents Russian folk tales with vivid illustrations, as well as a selection of fairy tales by foreign and Russian authors: Andersen, the Brothers Grimm, Perrault, Pushkin , Tolstoy, Suteev and many others. The site is constantly updated with new authors and works.
For your convenience, we have written a brief description of each fairy tale and developed a system of labels (tags).
Thanks to them, you can easily pick up fairy tales according to age and preferences. To quickly find the desired author, use the menu. Happy reading :)
Fairy tales for children are one of the very first literary works that young readers get acquainted with. The roots of these stories go far into antiquity, but they do not lose their relevance today. Children believe in magic, in reincarnation, in the victory of good over evil, in the existence of good wizards, and it is children's fairy tales that give rise to this belief - pure, naive, bright, at the same time instructive and educating. Most often, animals are the main characters, so popular works also instill love for our smaller brothers.
The site mishka-knizhka.ru contains a fabulous collection - a real magical wealth for the children of domestic and foreign authors, Russian folk tales and tales of the peoples of the world, illustrated and printed without abbreviations. Through such works, kids get to know the world and learn to distinguish good from bad, highlight the positive and negative qualities of a person, form their correct position in life.
They learn the rules of conduct, the way of life of their own and other countries. The benefits of a children's fairy tale can hardly be overestimated, and the huge variety and popularity is a direct confirmation of this. The whole section is completely at your service, so you won’t have to look for a long time what to read with your child. A convenient online format will allow you to use the site, read with your child anytime and anywhere, even if you are in transport or waiting in line. Spend time with benefit, plunging into the world of unique reincarnations.
Reading is an important stage of learning. At an early age, children can listen to adults and look at illustrations, imagining unprecedented colorful pictures, empathizing with the characters, trying to find clues, draw logical chains and draw conclusions. Looking at the pictures, the child is transferred to a magical world and imagines himself as a part of what is happening. We have selected the brightest and kindest illustrations that will appeal to both children and adults.
